Hatteras Island power outage and response

North Carolina's Hatteras Island experienced a power outage last week when construction activity damaged two underground transmission cables serving the island.  While the damage is repaired, residents face mandatory power conservation rules and visitors have been evacuated.

Hatteras Island is a barrier island located in North Carolina's Outer Banks.  While the island is relatively far offshore, it is connected to the northern Outer Banks islands by the Bonner Bridge.  Hatteras Island's roughly 4,000 residents and tens of thousands more seasonal visitors are supplied electricity by Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative, a member-owned, not-for-profit electric distribution cooperative.

According to the cooperative, on July 27 a contractor building a replacement for the Bonner Bridge "accidentally drove a steel casing through the cooperative’s transmission cables" at the south side of the bridge.  The cooperative says it is taking steps toward both temporary and permanent solutions. For now, it is using a permanent diesel generator in the village of Buxton as well as temporary backup diesels to provide power to the island and is "working to expand the temporary generation service on Hatteras Island in order to accommodate a staged reentry of visitors." Meanwhile, the cooperative is working to splice the damaged underground cable and to build a new overhead transmission line, so permanent transmission service can be restored.

Calling the incident an "unprecedented complete loss of power delivery to Hatteras Island," Dare County issued a mandatory evacuation order for all visitors to Hatteras Island effective July 29, citing "life safety issues from the loss of reliable electrical power on Hatteras Island and growing uncertainty as to when repairs to the main transmission line will be completed to enable restoration of full power to the island."  Estimates suggested over 10,000 visitors have been kept off Hatteras Island as a result of the evacuation order, with proper credentials required for reentry.

According to the county's website, a complete repair might take from one to two weeks.  The county notes that the on-island diesel generators "will only be able to run if load is at minimal levels and everyone is conserving." The county cites mandatory power and water conservation measures in effect, including a requirement to disconnect system circuit breakers for air conditioning systems and hot tub heaters.

Vermont issues updated energy plan

Vermont energy regulators have completed an update of key energy and electricity plans for that state. The Vermont Department of Public Service has updated the Vermont Comprehensive Energy Plan (CEP) and Electric Plan, two plans required by law to be complete and adopted by January 1, 2016, and updated every six years thereafter. 

The updated Comprehensive Energy Plan reaffirms Vermont's overall goal of achieving 90 percent of its total energy needs from renewable sources by 2050, adds interim goals (including reaffirming the statutory goal of 25% by 2025), and provides greater detail on Vermont’s pathways towards achieving these goals.  In particular, the plan includes the following new and more detailed goals:

• Reduce total energy consumption per capita by 15% by 2025, and by more than one third by 2050.
• Meet 25% of the remaining energy need from renewable sources by 2025, 40% by 2 035, and 90% by 2050.
• Three end-use sector goals for 2025: 10% renewable transportation, 30% renewable buildings, and 67% renewable electric power.
• Greenhouse gas reduction goals include: 40% reduction below 1990 levels by 2030, and 80% to 95% reduction below 1990 levels by 2050.

Conversion of heat and transportation applications to "highly efficient electric technologies, such as heat pumps and electric vehicles," is one strategy highlighted in the plan.  The plan also includes a 20-year electric plan, based on the principles of least-cost planning, that serves as a basis for Vermont electricity policy.

August 4, 2010 - House CLEAR Act; Monhegan energy

One of the dominant forms of energy on Monhegan Island, Maine: propane tanks.  About 10 miles offshore, Monhegan does not have any electric cables to the mainland, relying instead on a 300-kilowatt diesel generator. For home heating, cooking, lighting and even refrigeration, many island residents still use propane.  Monhegan is also considering wind resources.

On July 30, 2010, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3534, the Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources (CLEAR) Act by a vote of 209 to 193.  Much of CLEAR came from the previous Blowout Prevention Act of 2010 (H.R. 5626) (things like requiring blowout preventers, CEO accountability, etc.)

CLEAR also does the following:

• Shifts around Dept of Interior agencies (abolishes the Minerals Management Service)
• Reforms Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act and Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Program to protect environment and safety, and to repeal certain royalty relief and royalty-in-kind provisions
• Reforms oil and gas royalties.
• Full funding for the Land and Water Conservation and Historic Preservation Funds.
• Alternative energy development, specifically leasing federal land for commercial wind and solar leasing program.  The Bureau of Land Management and US Forest Service can lease land for commercial wind and solar projects.  It has a transmission savings provision ("Nothing in this title shall affect the authority of a Federal agency to issue right-of-way grants for electric transmission facilities.")
• Coordination and planning.  Better interagency coordination on the use of Federal energy resources.
• Geothemal production expansion.
• Conservation fee on all oil and gas leases on Federal onshore and offshore lands.  $2 per barrel of oil, 20 cents per million Btu of gas, sunsetting in 2021.