SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2008 SECTION 3: The Sustainability of Our Power Profile

Our brand is deeply rooted in environmental stewardship, and we strive to keep our power profile as sustainable as possible.  We and our stakeholders have identified Vermont's Energy Future and Climate Change Risks as our top material issue.  This is why we continuously strive to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.  In 2008, 52.2% percent of our energy came from hydro, wood and wind.  In 2008, Green Mountain Power generated electricity without any coal, and only 1.2% percent of our generation was from fossil fuels.    EN6

Our energy strategy can be summarized very simply: RELIABILITY, COST, CARBON.   Balancing these three elements is vital to all of our energy decisions.   We need to provide reliable electricity to our customers at an affordable rate while minimizing our carbon footprint.  The implementation of this strategy requires a serious commitment to increasing the in-state generation of renewable energy.  Renewable energy provides long-term reliability, less price volatility, and low carbon emissions.  Our renewable energy strategy is multi-faceted and has been crafted with the input of our customers and other stakeholders.  We engage our stakeholders through a variety of media to gather input on various aspects of our energy strategy.  Specific results from our engagement efforts appear throughout this section, as we discuss our various energy sources.  For specific details on our renewable energy strategy, see Our Material Issues.

Generation Facilities

Green Mountain Power owns and operates 11 generation facilities, all of which are in Vermont.  These include: one wind plant; eight hydro plants (two have peaking fossil generation); and two fossil fuel peaking plants.  We also own interest in the McNeil biomass plant in Burlington, Vermont, the Wyman Station in Yarmouth, Maine, and the Stonybrook Station in Ludlow, Massachusetts.  

Power Mix

Our power supply is evidence of our continued effort to reduce the use of fossil fuels, while emphasizing the use of alternative energy sources.  It is important to note that the power we purchase as part of market purchases is likely to be generated largely from fossil fuels. EN6

Hydro

Approximately 47.6% of Green Mountain Power's power supply in 2008 came from hydro power, most of which came from Hydro-Québec .  For information about the sustainability efforts of Hydro-Québec , refer to Hydro-Québec's 2007 Sustainability Report, at

www.hydroquebec.com/publications/en/enviro_performance/2007/index.html

Our stakeholder engagement efforts in 2008 revealed that our customers support building on our relationship with Hydro-Québec . The results from our telephone interviews are as follows:

Results provided by RKS Research & Consulting

Hydropower is an energy source that Green Mountain Power continuously invests in and takes great pride in maintaining.  We also recognize, however, that hydropower can have a number of environmental impacts. We included a thorough discussion of these impacts in our 2007 Sustainability Report, which is available on our website.

Green Mountain Power has been working with local communities on micro-hydro projects.  As the name implies, these projects are small scale and designed for minimum impact.  They take advantage of small sites such as water supply facilities, run-of-the-river, and farm ponds.  Although these sources are not expected to become a major part of our power mix, they have the potential to play a role in reducing the overall impact of our power generation.  The town of Plainfield, Vermont recently received a Clean Energy Development Fund Grant, which it may use to build a hydro plant.  We are planning to partner with Plainfield on the project, which would generate 345,000 kilowatt hours per year.  EN26

Wind

In 2008, 0.5% of our power came from wind.  After 10 years of operation, our wind farm in Searsburg, VT continues to provide enough clean, renewable electricity each year to power 2,000 homes and prevent approximately 11,000 tons of CO₂ emissions from entering the atmosphere.  In October 2008, one of our turbines failed when one of the blades came in contact with the turbine's tower causing it to buckle during high winds. The blade had recently been repaired, but the repairs left it unable to withstand the high winds of the tail end of a hurricane.  Approximately 20 gallons of heavy oil spilled from the unit when its fluid reservoirs were damaged, all of which was contained and removed from the site.  While equipment this size is no longer manufactured, we are searching for replacement turbines.

Iberdrola recently received Vermont Public Service Board approval to build a wind facility adjacent to our Searsburg wind plant. The new facility would have 17 state-of-the-art wind turbines generating 35 MW, enough electricity to serve 10,000 homes annually.  We have a letter of intent to negotiate a power purchase agreement with Iberdrola.  The U.S. Forest Service is currently reviewing a special use application for the plant, as the turbines would be the first wind energy facility on National Forest System lands in the country.  EN26

Green Mountain Power is also exploring the feasibility of building a 30-40 megawatt wind plant in Lowell, Vermont. More detail about this project is available at www.kingdomcommunitywind.com

 

Wood/Biomass

Green Mountain Power obtained 4.1% of its power in 2008 from biomass (wood).  A substantial portion of this comes from the McNeil biomass facility in Burlington, Vermont.  Green Mountain Power has an 11% ownership interest in this plant, which uses sustainable harvesting practices to ensure that land impact is minimized.  Burning wood releases oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, but CO₂ emissions are considered to be sufficiently off-set by the amount of CO₂ that trees absorb during their lives.  For specific information on the types of fuel used at McNeil, visit: http://www.burlingtonelectric.com/SpecialTopics/Mcneil.htm

EN26

Please note that data for 2005 was not available.

EN1

Nuclear

In 2008, 39.7% of Green Mountain Power's energy came from the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.  Vermont Yankee is located in Vernon, Vermont and it generates 620 MW of electricity. It uses the adjacent Connecticut River for condenser cooling water.  It began operations in 1972, and it currently meets 35% of the overall energy demand of the State.  The NRC performed a tri-annual inspection of the Vermont Yankee facility in July-August 2008.  It found three "minor faults."  For more information on the Vermont Yankee facility, visit: http://www.entergynuclear.com/plant_information/vermont_yankee.aspx

In last year's Sustainability Report, we included a discussion of the pros and cons of nuclear power, including environmental impacts.  This year, we focus more on Vermont Yankee's license and on engaging our stakeholders about Vermont Yankee. We have also included an updated discussion on nuclear waste and how nuclear fits into our long-term energy vision.

Vermont Yankee's current Nuclear Regulatory Commission license expires in 2012.  In January 2006, the owner, Entergy Nuclear Vermont Yankee, LLC ("ENVY"), filed an application for a license renewal with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.  The decision on this license will likely be reached sometime in 2009 or 2010.  Green Mountain Power is currently in negotiations with Entergy for a new contract if its license is renewed, although we are actively pursuing other alternatives if that does not occur.  For information on our Energy Strategy, see Our Material Issues.

Stakeholder Reaction to Vermont Yankee

Nuclear power continues to be an issue with some of our stakeholders.  Our employee engagement sessions revealed that many of our employees support nuclear power as a necessary component of the country's energy future.  Our customer telephone surveys in 2008 revealed the following:

Results from RKS Research & Consulting

 

Waste from Vermont Yankee

Some of our stakeholders have expressed real concerns about nuclear waste.  Entergy recently exhausted the capacity of its existing nuclear waste storage pool and needed to store nuclear waste in "dry cask storage" facilities that were constructed on the site.  Entergy received approval from the Vermont legislature and the VPSB to construct and use Independent Spent Fuel Storage Installation (ISFSI) sufficient to store enough spent fuel to allow the plant to operate through the end of its current operating license in March 2012.  Green Mountain Power supported this authorizing legislation, which requires Entergy to contribute $15.6 million between now and 2012 to the Vermont Clean Energy Fund in support of Vermont-based renewable energy projects.

 In August 2008, Vermont Yankee successfully completed the first dry storage campaign with the transfer of its casks from the reactor building to the storage pad.  Each cask is loaded with 68 spent fuel assemblies. The casks were moved from the reactor building to a storage pad located above the 500 year flood plain of the Connecticut River using a large specially designed cask moving machine.  The dry casks are rated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for about 100 years of storage life.

Our Position on Nuclear Power

Almost every week we hear of scientific reports warning that the urgency of carbon remediation has increased.  For this reason, more and more environmental leaders have called for keeping nuclear power in the mix.  In July 2008, we launched a new Energy Vision for our customers - cost, carbon, and reliability. We can achieve this in part by building or buying new renewable energy generation such as wind and biomass while continuing to push energy efficiency.  But the fact is that without Vermont Yankee in our mix, our carbon footprint will grow substantially.

Vermont Yankee can and should be a significant partner in this vision if conditions are met that will ensure continued safety and reliability of the facility.  Specifically, the plant must be deemed safe according to independent safety and engineering reviews.  Secondly, Entergy must offer real economic and clean energy value to Vermont in return for another two decades of operation.  We support the relicensing of the Vermont Yankee facility to the extent that it is a good deal for Vermonters. EN26

Fossil Fuels

Green Mountain Power obtained 1.2% of its power in 2008 from the fossil-fueled facilities shown in the following table:

The environmental impacts from burning fossil fuels are considerable.  Not only are fossil fuels non-renewable, but they result in the emission of hazardous air pollutants and greenhouse gases.  This is why we strive to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and increase use of alternative energy sources.

Most of the fossil-fuel peak generation facilities owned by Green Mountain Power are nearing retirement age.  For this reason, we are beginning to replace certain units. 

Air Emissions

Our air emissions for 2008 are summarized in our Wholesale Power Profile, which is shown below.  EN20 and EU 1

 

Please note that while Green Mountain Power has data on the amount of CO₂ that is emitted from our power profile, we have not quantified all of the greenhouse gases from our direct emissions, indirect emissions, or operations and do not have certain plans to do so.  However, we have committed to participating in both the Carbon Disclosure Project and the Global Framework for Climate Risk Disclosure (through Ceres).

Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) and The Climate Registry

Several years ago, we joined the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) and voluntarily committed to meeting definite greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals.  We have renewed our relationship with CCX thru 2011 (phase 2).  Currently, CCX is focused only on CO₂ for power plants, and we have all the data we need to calculate our baseline (audited by NASD).

This year was our first year participating in The Climate Registry.  In June 2009, we reported our 2008 emissions to this voluntary program which will help us to establish an emissions baseline and track emissions.  The emissions that were submitted will be reviewed by a third party to verify credibility.

 

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)

Green Mountain has supported Vermont's agreement to participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative ("RGGI").  Beginning in 2009, RGGI seeks to cut carbon emissions from power plants in member states (including Vermont) 10% by 2019 through a carbon cap-and-trade system.  We have one existing power facility that is affected by RGGI, an oil-fired turbine in Berlin which only runs a few hundred hours per year.  On December 17, 2008, we participated in its first RGGI auction.  The clearing price for that auction was $3.38 per allowance, and we bid on 1,000 allowances to offset the carbon emissions of Berlin.  We expect to need roughly 5,000 allowances per year to offset the total carbon emissions of Berlin, which will translate to roughly $20,000 per year or less.  This new cost has not yet affected the operation of Berlin; however, if the cost per allowance increases substantially then it will become a consideration.

T&D System Upgrades and Impacts

Significant upgrades as part of the Northwest Reliability Project have been proposed and approved for the transmission system serving northwestern Vermont.  Construction on the line began in February 2006 and was completed in 2009.

Other major transmission reliability projects Green Mountain Power is working on with VELCO include: two reliability projects in Chittenden County, called the East Avenue Loop and the Gorge Area Reinforcement; a reliability project in central Vermont, called the Lamoille County project; a project aimed at improving the reliability of Vermont's overall bulk electric system, called the Coolidge Connector; and several other smaller transmission and substation projects. 

 

Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF₆)

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) is a gaseous dielectric used in high voltage electrical equipment.  SF₆ is the most potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential that is 23,900 times greater than that of CO₂.  Potential sources of SF₆ emissions occur from: (1) losses through poor gas handling practices during equipment installation, maintenance and decommissioning; and (2) leakage from SF₆-containing equipment.   Our system includes 12 breakers with SF₆, which we monitor closely for leaks.  We do not currently belong to U.S. EPA's SF6 Emission Reduction Partnership for Electric Power Systems, due to our very low use of SF₆.  In 2008, we purchased no additional SF₆ to replace lost gas.  We had two small leaks in breakers that required replacement gas.  The amount required was very small and difficult to track accurately (less than 5 pounds recorded on the density monitors).

Electromagnetic Radiation

Some people are concerned about potential adverse health effects of electromagnetic radiation emanating from power lines.  In the U.S., there are no federal standards limiting occupational or residential exposure to power line EMF.  Occasionally, customers who are considering purchasing homes near power lines contact Green Mountain Power for more information.  We respond by sending a monitoring team to the site to collect data on the amounts of EMF emitted in the area and give the customer information on the research. Quite often the homes are located far enough from the lines that the home would be considered unexposed, but occasionally homes do have low levels of exposure.

PCBs

Green Mountain Power has been making a significant effort to replace PCB-containing equipment with non-PCB materials (see the Operations section of this report for data on PCB waste generation).  Currently, Green Mountain Power does not maintain a complete inventory of all of the equipment that contains PCBs, as testing each small unit (such as pole-mounted transformers) is not practical.  However, if a unit requires maintenance or removal, we test for PCBs and ensure that, if present, the units that contain PCBs are replaced.  Of the larger units, we know that 31 units have PCBs at a concentration of 50-499 parts per million (ppm).  14,761 units were purchased prior to December 1978 and therefore have the potential to contain PCBs.  These units have not been tested for practical reasons.

Impacts on Native Ecosystems and Species

Over the years Green Mountain Power has considered the impacts of its facilities and operations on various native ecosystems and species, including biodiversity-rich areas. See our 2007 Sustainability Report for details on the various flora and fauna that may be impacted by our operations, including bears and birds.  One particular animal of interest for our stakeholders is the Common Loon.  Green Mountain Power is always interested in supporting efforts to protect Vermont's Common Loon population, as many of the birds live in areas near hydro dams.  The following is an excerpt from the Vermont Loon Recovery Project's "2008 Breeding Status of Common Loons in Vermont":

"The Vermont Center for Ecostudies (VCE) and the Nongame and Natural Heritage Program (NNHP) of the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department (VFWD) continued their statewide monitoring and management program for the Common Loon (Guvier imber) for the 31^st year.  Vermont's breeding loon population reached 61 nesting pairs and a record high 86 territorial pairs.  The Common Loon was designated a state endangered species in 1987 and removed from this list in 2005.  Vermont's breeding loon population gradually increased by 1984-1989, stabilized during the early 1990s and 13-16 nesting pairs annually, and increased substantially since 1995.  Population numbers and results from the annual statewide loon count, Loonwatch, are presented below:"

For more information and complete data since 1997, contact the VLRP, Eric Hanson, VLRP Biologist (802-586-8064, ehanson@vtlink.net)

Biodiversity-Rich Habitats

Green Mountain Power owns several parcels of land that are likely home to biodiversity-rich habitats, although studies confirming this have not yet been performed.  See our 2007 Sustainability Report for a complete list of these parcels.  EN11 and EN12, EN 14, and EN15

 

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SECTION 1: PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW                                         

SECTION 2: OUR MATERIAL ISSUES                                                

SECTION 3: THE SUSTAINABILITY OF OUR POWER PROFILE                     

SECTION 4: RESOURCE USE AND OPERATIONS                            

SECTION 5: EMPLOYER                                                                      

SECTION 6: CUSTOMERS AND COMMUNITY                                               

SECTION 7: FINANCIAL                                                                

SECTION 8: COMPANY FACTS & FIGURES                                       

SECTION 9:  GLOBAL REPORTING INITIATIVE (GRI) SUMMARY