The Regulatory Noose: Logan City’s Adventures in Micro-Hydropower

Abstract

Recent growth in the renewable energy industry has increased government support for alternative energy. In the United States, hydropower is the largest source of renewable energy and also one of the most efficient. Currently, there are 30,000 megawatts of potential energy capacity through small-and micro-hydro projects throughout the United States. Increased development of micro-hydro could double America's hydropower energy generation, but micro-hydro is not being developed at the same rate as other renewable sources. Micro-hydro is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and subject to the same regulation as large hydroelectric projects despite its minimal environmental impact. We studied two cases of micro-hydro projects in Logan, Utah, and Afton, Wyoming, which are both small rural communities. Both cases showed that the web of federal regulation is likely discouraging the development of micro-hydro in the United States by increasing the costs in time and funds for developers. Federal environmental regulation like the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and others are likely discouraging the development of clean renewable energy through micro-hydro technology.

Closure to “Leakage Control and Energy Recovery Using Variable Speed Pumps as Turbines” by Gustavo Meirelles Lima, Edevar Luvizotto Jr., Bruno Melo Brentan, and Helena M. Ramos

“…These costs can be significantly variable, but several studies show the feasibility of this technology around the world (Ramos and Borga 1999;Corcoran et al 2013;McNabola et al 2014;Carravetta et al 2018). The study cited for Logan City, Utah (Hansen et al 2016) was a drawback due to the requirements of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which was similar to what is observed for regular hydropower, requiring complex and costly studies, reducing the project feasibility. Specific regulations that encourage and facilitate the installation of micro-hydropower are necessary to avoid this situation, and is already in course in many countries.…”

Discounting the Benefits for Natural Gas Utility Energy Efficiency Programs

“…20 Natural gas is certainly no exception . Hansen et al . (2016) note that the unseen costs of natural gas-fired generation produce social and environmental costs that include potential human health problems in neighboring communities, negative effects of energy production on the environment, and effects on global climate.…”

Regulatory Impediments to Micro-Wind Generation

“…Micro-wind, unlike the more common micro-hydro, is more isolated from the grid and focused on residential power creation, but that seeming isolation does not necessarily mean that regulation does not exist. Micro-wind regulation is primarily concerned with physical limitations and construction rather than the other more technical aspects which are more relevant to micro-hydro [2]. Many residential areas have zoning, permitting, and covenant guidelines that must be adhered to including, but not limited to, height limits, which proves to be a serious issue for accessing higher speed winds, and noise level caps.…”

“…We first review the history of these production approaches and then focus on the effects regulation has on micro-wind generation. We use the framework developed in previous work on micro-hydropower and published in "The Regulatory Noose: Logan City's Adventures in Micro-Hydropower" [2].…”