Agenda - 06-15-2010- 7d - Laserfiche WebLink

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Conclusions and Interim Recommendations 12 Based on secondary research and expert testimony, the Energy Task Force makes the following six near -term interim recommendations: Interim Recommendation #1: End all use of coal on the UNC- Chapel Hill campus by May 1, 2020. Once a firm date for conversion is established and an alternate fuel supplier is contracted, UNC - Chapel Hill may be able to convert from coal to its replacement fuel at a date earlier than May 1, 2020. An aspirational target of May 1, 2015 or before is recommended, pending successful test fires and scaling of the alternate fuel regime. Interim Recommendation #2: UNC - Chapel Hill will seek to accelerate conversion from coal to a cleaner fuel or fuel mix. Because the Circulated Fluidized Bed (CFB) boiler in the Cogeneration Plant requires 50% solids to operate as specified, it is possible that some form of biomass (wood pellets or torrefied wood) may be substituted for coal. Yet given the rapid pace of developments in renewable markets, the task force recognizes that UNC- Chapel Hill may move in a different direction in order to meet the primary goal of ending coal use by 2020. Since we wish to ensure that one problematic fuel is not substituted for another, the committee encourages life -cycle analyses to be conducted prior to the adoption of any new fuel source. The goal is to convert from coal to an alternate, cleaner fuel or fuel mix at an earlier date if financially feasible. Interim Recommendation #3: If "biomass" is utilized as the alternate fuel, it will be sourced from certified "sustainably managed" forests, as determined by third party verification. Woody biomass is a potentially large source of renewable energy for UNC - Chapel Hill and the state, but along with opportunity comes a new set of challenges. There are a lot of "undermanaged" forests in NC. Even as UNC- Chapel Hill is considering this source of lower - carbon fuel, moreover, all the state's major electric utilities will likely be considering it as well, in order to meet their legal mandate under the 2007 Renewable and Efficiency Portfolio Standard (REPS) target of 12.5% generation from renewable fuels by 2021. Currently, there is a debate emerging as to the appropriate level of controls on sourcing to ensure that burning wood for energy does not have the unintended consequence of adversely affecting the state's forest resources and wildlife habitat. . Ideally the production of woody biomass for renewable energy could produce a revitalized commercial forest industry in North Carolina, with certified sustainable management practices and attendant benefits in jobs and revenues replacing widespread forestland that is not well managed either for human use or for wildlife. Without appropriate policies to assure this result, however, this increased demand could instead simply create incentives for more rapid and careless deforestation with attendant ecological and aesthetic damage. UNC would need contractual assurances that it source wood only from forests which are certified as "sustainably managed." Energy Task Force Interim Reports 4