IEPR: Energy Efficiency is Key

Energy efficiency will be key as California develops strategies to meet its goals for deep greenhouse gas emissions reductions, according to the draft version of the state Energy Commission’s latest energy policy and planning report.

The contents of the 2015 Integrated Energy Policy Report, or IEPR, were the subject of an hour-long workshop at the Energy Commission on Oct. 20. The 359-page document was released to the public earlier this month.

The Energy Commission’s required to prepare an IEPR every two years. The report addresses energy supply and demand; production, delivery, and distribution of energy; market trends; and major challenges facing the state. The assessments are used to develop energy policy recommendations.

“The real focus here is on energy efficiency,” Commission President Bob Weisenmiller said of the latest IEPR.

“I am extremely interested in pushing any number of things related to efficiency,” Energy Commissioner Andrew McAllister said at the opening of the workshop. “One of the reasons I agreed to be the [lead] commissioner on this IEPR is to delve into some of the themes going on related to energy efficiency.”

Improving energy efficiency in existing buildings, as well as the appliances and other devices within them, is critical to achieving California’s greenhouse gas reduction goals, the document declares.

Energy use at existing buildings currently accounts for over 25 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in California, according to state documents.

“Energy efficiency at a sufficient scale can reduce the need for new generation—both fossil and renewable—while increasing system flexibility and lowering costs,” the IEPR states.

Also according to the document, energy efficiency—especially when integrated with demand response—could greatly ease the transition to a cleaner resource mix, a development that’s been accelerated by the retirement of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and the impending retirement of coastal power plants using once-through-cooling.

Two other main themes in the IEPR are climate change and the ongoing drought.

Climatic changes can and have had many impacts on California’s energy system, including: decreased efficiency of thermal power plants and substations; decreased capacity of transmission lines; risks to energy infrastructure from extreme events like sea-level rise, coastal flooding, and wildfires; less reliable hydropower resources; and increased peak electricity demand.

Among the recommendations outlined in the document for dealing with climate change are expanding the transparency of utility energy data to better inform analyses of the impacts of climate change on California’s energy system. Specifically, the document suggests that the California Public Utilities Commission make utility data more accessible to researchers.

“Coordination of this kind has the potential to ensure research is actionable and informs the actual needs of both utilities and stakeholders,” the document states. “This is needed for a stronger, more unified effort to make the state’s energy system and communities more resilient to climate change impacts.”

Another recommendation offered is for the oil industry to study the impacts of climate change, including sea level rise, wildfire, and drought on oil extraction, refineries, and oil storage, transport and distribution infrastructure.

“This is an understudied area that requires more research to inform adaptation planning,” the IEPR states.

Regarding the ongoing drought, the document highlights that water and energy are inexorably linked and that what affects one ultimately affects both.

Recommendations outlined in the document for dealing with the effects of the drought include diversifying water resources by using storm water and recycling water; increasing the accessibility of real-time water and energy data; encouraging research and investment in water system improvements that promote leak detection and water loss minimization; and incentivizing water conservation for consumers.

Release of a final 2015 IEPR is scheduled for January 2016, according to the Energy Commission, with formal adoption of the report planned for February 2016. —Mark Edward Nero