Breaking News: Maine Sets New Record

by | Dec 17, 2013 | Thayer News

Breaking News: Maine Sets New Record

Cousins Island Power Plant

Lately, much of the United States has experienced unseasonably cold weather for the month of December.  Record lows have been recorded in many states.  While no meteorological records have been set in Maine this month, the weather has been colder and snowier here also. This early winter has us seriously concerned about energy cost and supplies in Maine.

Electricity in Maine is purchased from other states and produced locally from a variety of sources including renewables and hydro.  Increasingly, power is produced from gas-fired power plants.  When gas was plentiful and relatively cheap we enjoyed the benefits of stable electricity costs.  As gas distribution pipelines lately have been extended to many new communities and businesses, conversion to gas has been very popular. Unfortunately, this has pushed the limit of existing gas pipeline capacity in our region.

Last Saturday afternoon (December 14th), a new record of sorts was set.  The spot market price for electricity in Maine set a record at $1.00 per Kw/Hr.  The “spot market price” is the price of power that one utility company pays another for power.  The typical price is $0.02 to $0.06 per Kw/Hr, thus this peak price was nearly a staggering 1700% spike!  Most electric utilities buy power on the spot market for their daily peak power demands.  These daily peaks are biggest during the Monday through Friday work week, reflecting the combined demand of business and residences.  The typical daily peak demand duration is two to six hours, and happens twice a day, morning and late afternoon/evening.  Saturday’s record spot price wasn’t due to the unusual demand, as it was on a weekend, or the uncharacteristic wintry weather.  This record price is a frightening precursor of energy price hikes to come.  These extremely high spot market prices ultimately will be borne by ratepayers.

So then, why was the cost so high?  Ironically, efficient natural gas-powered generators were operating at extremely reduced capacities due to a shortage of gas at the Calpine power plant in Westbrook, while a few miles away the Cousins Island oil-fired power plant (that is frequently idled) ran at full capacity.  It burned expensive oil and spewed comparatively high emissions to the atmosphere.  Last year, the Cousins Island plant produced power for only one day out of the entire year.  Even more ironic is the fact that the Cousins Island plant is for sale; a buyer has been located and has likely scheduled demolition for next summer to clear the site for a residential assisted living community development.

The long-term solution will require additional gas pipeline capacity and/or imported Canadian purchased power. Both of these solutions will be contentious, political, costly, and at minimum require three years for completion.  In the meanwhile energy conservation remains our best value.

Dan Thayer, P. E., CEM

 

Light Up The Season With LEDs

by | Dec 17, 2013 | Thayer News

Light Up the Season with LEDs

 LED holiday lights

While outfitting your home or business with LED seasonal string lights is a relatively simple task, effectively applying LED lighting for indoor or outdoor area lighting is very challenging.  Unlike string lights that are generally individual mini LEDs, area lighting bulbs and fixtures are groups of multiple tiny light sources.  The light emitted from these bulbs and fixtures tends to be very directional and does not diffuse like the nearly obsolete incandescent bulbs and now-popular CFL bulbs and fixtures.

Although these lights have significant benefits for longevity and energy usage, they haven’t been used widely due to this challenge.  As manufacturers improve the photometric qualities of the fixtures by applying innovative diffusers and reflective enclosures, their use has become more widespread leading to higher volumes produced and lower unit prices. Retrofit kits are also becoming more readily available.

When properly applied by specialists such as those at Thayer Corporation, LEDs are increasingly becoming the preferred lighting technology for both retrofit and new construction for many applications.  There are other characteristics of LED lights such as the Color Rendering Index (CRI) and Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) that can be chosen to give spaces markedly different appearances and utility as well.  Increasingly, clients are asking us more about the “non-flicker” properties of LEDs.

Older fluorescent lights flicker at a rate of 100-120 Hz, which isn’t noticeable to most, except those with light sensitivity.  Some building occupants with diseases such as autism, epilepsy, lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, Lyme disease and vertigo are especially impacted by the flickering, sometimes called the “beat effect.”  Anecdotally, building managers tell us that even some healthier occupants also suffer from chronic headaches and irritation due to the flickering.  Fortunately, LEDs have no beat effect at all.

Aside from their excellent life, low energy consumption, selected health and productivity benefits, low environmental impact (mercury-free) and efficacy, occupants really like how well-applied lighting can transform the appearance of a space.  Yet another benefit to consider, Efficiency Maine has excellent incentives to help defray installation costs in both their Prescriptive Rebate Program and even more generous Custom Program.

Like the saying goes, “the devil is in the details.”  We have found the effective application of LED lights really calls for the experience and expertise of lighting specialists.  Call us today and ask to talk to our professionals for an opinion about the use of LEDs in your building.

Dan Thayer, P. E., CEM