MADISON, Wis. - Although the hottest days of summer are still many weeks away, a new University of Wisconsin-Madison study is the first to shed light on the exact relationship between air conditioning use and power plant emissions.
Soaring temperatures typically coincide with the days of highest air pollution, and the study is the first to establish that on peak power-demand days, normally idle power plants are fired up to meet the increased demand for electricity to cool buildings.
Tracey Holloway, professor in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at UW-Madison, and her team completed this study, which offers new insight for cleaner air policies.
"Oftentimes these peaking power plants are the dirtiest power plants, because they only are used a few days a year," said Holloway, "and so it doesn't make sense economically to invest in these very expensive controls if you're only going to use them a couple of days a year."
Holloway was surprised that no one had studied this before, and said a combination of energy efficiency and renewable technologies such as solar may offer cost-effective strategies to spend less money on electricity, and have healthier air.
According to Holloway, most of the prior research on climate and air pollution has focused on other emission sources, chemical reactions in the air, and how weather patterns can trap pollution. She said the public-policy implications of the study, which was published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, suggest that changes should be made.
"One way is to have more energy-efficient air conditioners." said Holloway, "Another is to have more energy-efficient buildings, so that it takes less energy to cool them. A third strategy is to be getting more of our electricity from solar."
The study showed that heavy use of air conditioning contributes to air pollution, and Holloway and her team are working on more projects that can help scientists and policymakers make better decisions.
"Computer models can recreate this complicated link between buildings, power plants and air," said Holloway, "so that we can test out strategies for reducing the air pollution on these dirtiest days."
She said efforts to reduce peak electricity demand on the hot days of summer could be beneficial to public health.
Read an abstract of the report at Response of Power Plant Emissions to Ambient Temperature in the Eastern United States. (Must purchase temporary or full membership to view full article.)
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A new report found four dams in the Columbia River Basin are big emitters of methane.
Research from the organization Tell The Dam Truth showed the four lower Snake River dams in eastern Washington emit the equivalent of 1.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year.
Robin Everett, deputy western region field director for the Sierra Club, said it undercuts some of the claims the dams are helping provide the region with clean energy.
"It's really clear from this report that we have to take this a lot more seriously that there are some real impacts as far as emissions go from these dams," Everett asserted.
The reports showed the dams produce the equivalent emissions of burning 2 billion pounds of coal annually. Defenders of the dams counted they are important for barging and irrigation for the area's agricultural lands.
But Everett pointed out the dams have another effect on the region: they block the dwindling population of salmon and steelhead from traveling upstream on the Snake River. She noted it not only hurts fish populations but the tribes relying on them.
"We have an obligation for them to be able to fish and if there are no fish to fish, we have broken the treaties," Everett contended
Chinook salmon are also an important source of food for orca on the West Coast. Everett added protecting salmon is important for tribes and the region as a whole.
"Our moral obligation to the salmon and the orca that depend on them are met as well," Everett concluded.
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A proposed pumped-storage hydroelectric facility for Cuffs Run near the Susquehanna River in York County has been challenged by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
The foundation filed a motion to intervene in the proceedings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is considering granting a preliminary permit to build a 1.8-mile-long dam for the project.
Harry Campbell, science policy and advocacy director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said they are working to stop the project in order to protect the unique Cuffs Run area and its ecological benefits for future generations.
"If approved, this project would destroy it about 580 acres of prime farmland, fields and forests, some of which have not been disturbed in about 100 years," Campbell pointed out. "Those farms, fields and forests exist harmoniously with and in support of a plethora of plant and animal life."
The foundation is circulating an online petition and encouraged Pennsylvanians to provide comments before Sunday.
The stream is home to naturally reproducing brook trout. Advocates worry the $2.5 billion project would also be harmful to the Susquehanna River. Campbell noted about 40 families would be displaced.
"For those who call Cuffs Run home, it's more than just a place to live. It's their heritage and they want it to be part of their legacy," Campbell asserted. "This project just simply is the wrong idea in the wrong place. In order to honor that heritage and that legacy, we need to preserve this area."
Campbell emphasized the Cuffs Run project is about 993 acres of land draining into a 2.5-mile unnamed tributary. He added in terms of stream habitat, the rocks, pebbles and woody material have been identified as among the best in the region for supporting critters living in the water.
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Tennesseans want more say in how the Tennessee Valley Authority plans for their future electricity needs and a bill now in Congress could give the public more influence.
The "TVA Increase Rate of Participation Act," would require a more open decision-making process for the utility.
Brianna Knisley, director of public power campaigns for Appalachian Voices, said the TVA is currently developing its new Integrated Resource Plan to meet future energy demands. The bill would require more public participation in the plan's proceedings.
"Right now the stakeholders who get to provide input early on in the IRP process are all hand-selected by TVA," Knisley pointed out. "You can't choose to be in that IRP working group. And those are the only folks who get substantial input in the architecture of the IRP, as it's being designed."
The utility serves more than 10 million people across six states. The TVA said it is reviewing the legislation. A draft of the plan will be published at a later date. The TVA said it already has a "robust stakeholder engagement plan."
After the plan is released, Knisley noted public input happens during what's known as the scoping phase of the National Environmental Policy Act. Open houses are set up, where the TVA answers questions from the public. Knisley encouraged Tennesseans to raise any of their concerns during the public and virtual hearings.
"I think additional public input into our region's long-term energy plan is only going to strengthen outcomes," Knisley contended. "And make that long-term energy plan better meet the needs of the Tennessee Valley, as a whole."
She added it is important for Tennesseans to work with Congress on the best way to improve public input in the TVA decision-making process.
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