OUC provides electricity and water to over 230,000 customers in central Florida. They have implemented several green initiatives including renewable energy demonstration projects, customer solar programs, and electric vehicle partnerships. Their corporate sustainability plan aims to reduce emissions and waste. Key projects include a 5 MW biomass plant, a 5.91 MW solar farm, a solar production incentive program, and installing over 300 electric vehicle charging stations through a partnership with ChargePoint America. OUC aims to lead the region in adopting renewable energy and electric vehicles.
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Greenovations ouc presentation
1. OUCOUC’’s Green Initiativess Green Initiatives
GREENOVATIONS at the Orlando Science CenterGREENOVATIONS at the Orlando Science Center
October 16, 2010October 16, 2010
2. About OUCAbout OUC
• Began serving utility customers in 1923
– Currently serving over 230,000 customers throughout Orange and
Osceola Counties
• Provides both water and electricity
• Governed by a 5-member board that includes City of
Orlando Mayor
• Gross capacity of 1523 Megawatts
• 2nd largest municipal utility in Florida
3. OUCOUC’’s Key Green Initiativess Key Green Initiatives
1. Corporate Sustainability
2. Renewable Energy
Demonstration Projects
3. Customer Solar
Programs
4. Electric Vehicle Projects
and Partnerships
4. OUC Corporate Sustainability PlanOUC Corporate Sustainability Plan
• Goals
– Operational Savings
– Improved employee recruitment and retention
– Reduced regulatory risk
– New business opportunities
– Opportunity to lead by example
– Reduced waste and emissions from our facilities
and operations
– Healthier working environment
– Happier customers
• Current Programs
– Conducted GHG Inventory
– Recruited internal sustainability team
– Paper Retriever fundraising program
– Single stream recycling at all facilities
– Teleconferencing options
– Biodiesel and electric vehicles for fleet
5. OUCOUC’’s New Administration Buildings New Administration Building
• Opened October 2008
• LEED Gold Certification
• Key Features
– Low-E Windows
– Under Floor Air Plenum
– Cistern
– Use of recycled materials
– Preferred efficient vehicle
parking
– Solar-powered EV charging
stations
– Solar hot water
– 32 KW PV System
– Window film
6. OUCOUC’’s Renewable Energy Businesss Renewable Energy Business
ObjectivesObjectives
• Balance sustainability with affordability
and reliability
• Provide a hedging strategy against
potential regulatory requirements
through the acquisition of renewable
energy credits (RECs) and Carbon
Offsets
• Leverage state and federal incentives
offered to encourage the development
of customer-sited assets
• Offer an option to customer requests for
environmentally-friendly energy
investments
• Pursue least-cost planning for future
energy investments
7. Key Renewable EnergyKey Renewable Energy
Integration ChallengesIntegration Challenges
• High Utility Reserve Margin
– OUC currently maintains 130% required energy capacity
– No need for power until 2020 due to slower growth rates and
customer conservation
– Heavy base load generation (coal)
– Low avoided energy rates (fuel only)
• Lack of Government Regulation
– No state or federal RPS
– No carbon legislation
• Higher Cost of Renewable Generation
– Renewables currently cost more than primary generation sources
making it more challenging to integrate without regulation
8. OUCOUC’’s Biomass Energy Projectss Biomass Energy Projects
• Orange County Landfill
Methane Recovery Project
– Currently displaces 3% of fuel
required for either of Stanton’s coal
units ~
– Expanding to 22 MW
• Harmony Hybrid
Solar/Biomass Power Plant
– 5 MW Plant will be located in
Harmony’s Florida Sustainable
Energy Research Park
– Uses biomass gasifiers and
concentrating solar to generate
electricity
– Includes educational partnership
with FSU
9. OUCOUC’’s Existing Solar Projectss Existing Solar Projects
• Solar Electric Vehicle Charging
Station at OUC
– 2.8 KW
– Provides 80% solar fraction for
charging
• Solar on Utility Poles
– Partnership with Petra Solar
– Uses micro-inverters
– 10 systems installed
• Stanton Solar Farm
– 5.91 MW DC (600 homes)
– 22% Capacity Factor
– Currently in permitting
10. OUCOUC’’s Customer Solar Programss Customer Solar Programs
• Solar Production Incentive
– Provides incentives for
producing energy from solar
hot water and PV
– Over 300 customer
participants
• Solar Billed Solution
– Provides no/low interest
loans through the Orlando
Federal Credit Union
(OFCU)
11. OUC Customer Solar Production IncentivesOUC Customer Solar Production Incentives
• $.03/KWH for all energy
produced from solar thermal
systems
• $.05/KWH for all energy
produced from solar PV
systems
• Requires customer contract
• OUC now offers a $250
credit to customers to
compensate for the cost of
the BTU meter installation.
• Currently re-evaluating
incentive levels
12. OUC/OFCU Solar Loan ProgramOUC/OFCU Solar Loan Program
Solar Thermal
Systems
(Up to $7,500)
Term Rate
36 Months 0.00%
60 Months 2.75%
84 Months 4.00%
Solar PV Systems
(Up to $20,000)
Term Rate
36 Months 2.00%
60 Months 4.00%
84 Months 4.75%
120 Months 5.50%
14. Benefits of Community SolarBenefits of Community Solar
• Reduces cost of solar through economies of scale
• Provides rate stability over the life of the project
• Provides an opportunity for customer education
• Requires no upfront customer investment
• Eliminates site-related barriers to participation
– Multi-family residences
– Renters
– Shaded sites
– Concerns about roof-penetrations or aesthetics
15. Community Solar Program DetailsCommunity Solar Program Details
• Solar array size of 500 KW (based on usable
square footage)
• Installed on a publicly visible, easily accessible
site
• Target fixed rate to customer of $0.13 to $0.15 per
KWH
– $.02 premium over current average residential rate
• Customers that use less electricity than their share
of the system produces receive a credit on their
bill at the retail rate
16. Commercial Solar AggregationCommercial Solar Aggregation
ProgramProgram
• OUC works with one vendor to install solar on multiple commercial buildings
• OUC buys down the solar rate
• No upfront cost to participate
• Fixed monthly rate for 20+ years
• Commercial customer retains energy and demand savings
• Price reductions from project aggregation
• OUC owns environmental attributes
17. OrlandoOrlando’’s Green Future Alliances Green Future Alliance
• Received USDOE Solar Cities
Grant to promote solar
• Established an integrated
energy alliance with the City of
Orlando and Orange County
Government to promote green
market transformation in
Central Florida
• Conducting a series of energy
training courses and
stakeholder workshops to
determine best practices and
needs of our community
18. OUCOUC’’s Electric Vehicle Readinesss Electric Vehicle Readiness
PlanPlan
• Develop a flexible framework and visionary roadmap for
successfully integrating electric vehicles into OUC’s
business environment
• Determine best practices for promoting efficient charging
management policies and procedures
• Develop a robust information management procedure for
obtaining, analyzing and sharing quantitative and
qualitative data from charging stations, host sites and
vehicle owners
• Collect high quality market intelligence to anticipate key
influencing factors for future planning
19. Charge Point America PartnershipCharge Point America Partnership
• Provides EV charging stations for
public, commercial locations to
encourage consumers to purchase
Electric Vehicles
• Partnering with Project Get Ready
Partners to deploy 300+ charging
stations in Central Florida
• Utilized competitive site selection
process for commercial locations
• Grant pays for equipment OUC
owns charging equipment and takes
easement for charging station OR
provides customer with an
installation rebate of up to $1,300
• 18 month deployment program
ending 10/31/2011
20. OUC Fleet InvestmentsOUC Fleet Investments
• One Toyota Prius Plug-In
Conversion
• 10 Nissan Leafs (on order)
• Four hybrid bucket trucks
on order
• One hydraulic hybrid
battery pack unit
• Installing charging stations
at all main OUC facilities to
grow our fleet
21. Customer EV Engagement StrategiesCustomer EV Engagement Strategies
• Seamless Customer Experience
– Get Ready Central Florida
– FAQs
– Vendor Network
– Permitting and Installation
Guidelines
• Considering Options for
Incentives
– Up-front rebates
– Monthly demand response related
payments
– Price Signals (TOU Rate)