Category: NY Carbon Price Initiative

New York’s energy planning process continues its efforts to meet the aggressive goals of a remodeled energy system that relies on renewable energy. The latest boondoggle in that effort is a plan to price carbon in the wholesale electric market. I have not been able to let that go by without throwing in my two cents so this post describes my second submittal in the formal proceeding. I have been submitting my comments because I am convinced that all these efforts will cost extraordinary amounts of money but will have no discernable impact on global warming or any of the purported effects.

As part of the release of Pricing Carbon into NYISO’s Wholesale Energy Market to Support New York’s Decarbonization Goals (hereinafter the “Brattle Report”) there was an introduction authored by Brad Jones, President & CEO of the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) and John Rhodes, Chief Executive Officer of the New York State Department of Public Service (DPS). The introduction described the rationale for the report:

In this regard, the NYISO began a project through its stakeholder process in the fall of 2016 to examine the potential for using carbon pricing within wholesale markets to further New York’s energy goals. Initially, The Brattle Group was retained by the NYISO to evaluate conceptual market design options for integrating the social cost of carbon, a widely recognized regulatory standard, into competitive wholesale energy markets administered by the NYISO. That analysis explored how carbon pricing can align wholesale markets with state energy policies and looked at several factors, including the effect on customer costs and emissions reductions.

The Executive Summary of the Brattle Report notes that “Harmonizing state goals and the operation of wholesale electricity markets could leverage market forces to more efficiently meet both state goals and traditional electric system goals of providing affordable, reliable supply.” This statement makes for a nice slogan, but the reality is different. In this post I show that there are barely enough electric sector emissions available to meet the 2030 goal and nowhere near enough for the 2050 goal. Because the proposed carbon price is on only one sector of the economy, the theory that increasing the price of carbon will drive the market to less carbon intensive alternatives fails. Instead, driving up the price of electricity makes the conversion to electric based residential heating and transportation more difficult. I consider these fatal flaws to the proposed initiative.

The Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) state energy goals in 2030 are a 40% reduction in Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from 1990 levels and a 50% renewable generation. In 2050 the goal is an 80% Reduction in GHG emissions from 1990 levels. The NYSERDA Patterns and Trends document notes that the 1990 Carbon Dioxide equivalent (CO₂e, standing in for GHG) emissions were 235.8 million metric tons so the 2030 goal is 141.5 million metric tons or a 94.3 million ton reduction. In 2050 the goal is 47.2 million metric tons which is a 188.7 million metric ton reduction.

Figure 1 shows the trends in New York State CO₂e emissions, energy (TBtu) and CO₂e intensity which is the emissions divided by the energy. Note that the energy used in New York rose until 2005 and has since started to drop while the pattern of CO₂e has ebbed and flowed more but has also dropped since 2005. The question is whether pricing carbon in the electric sector can affect these trends to meet the state goals. In order to do that we have to look at what drove the trends.

In order to reduce GHG emissions there are three direct approaches:

1. Replace energy sources that generate GHGs with ones that don’t
2. Energy efficiency – use energy more effectively
3. Energy conservation – use less energy

In addition there are a couple of indirect ways: reduce the population and reduce the gross state product or economic growth. I mention those two methods to point out that neither approach is politically palatable as an approach to reduce GHG emissions and that historically the gross state product has increased and population has stayed relatively constant.

The NYSERDA Patterns and Trends document contains the energy and emissions data by sector needed to evaluate the causes of the observed reductions. Figures 2 and 3 show the trend of primary energy consumption by the residential, commercial, industrial, transportation and electric energy production sectors by total energy use (TBtu) and % of total. Residential has bounced around but is effectively the same since 1080 and the commercial sector trended up but has trended down to roughly the same levels as 1990. Given the growth in the economy it appears it appears to me that investments in conservation and efficiency have produced some results. The most notable decrease has been the industrial sector, down over 200 TBtu since 1980. While efficiency and conservation have helped with that it is more likely a result of the decline of the industrial sector in New York. Transportation energy use has grown consistently since the mid-80’s. The electricity sector grew until approximately 2005 and has since dropped. It does not appear on the basis of historic trends that energy conservation and energy efficiency will be major factors for compliance with the emissions goals.

That leaves carbon emission reductions to make the majority of the reductions necessary. Figures 4 and 5 show the trend of GHG emissions by the residential, commercial, industrial, transportation and electric energy production sectors and % of total. Note that these are emissions from fuel combustion only so the totals are not the same as shown before. The emissions trends for residential, commercial, industrial and transportation sectors are similar to the energy trends. Residential and commercial are roughly the same, industrial is down, and transportation is up. Electricity sector emissions are down more than the total energy. This is the only sector the proposed price on carbon will affect.

Because the electric generation sector is the only sector that will be affected by the proposed carbon price we need to evaluate the sources of electricity generated in New York. Figure 6 shows the percentage of electricity provided by different sources: coal, natural gas, petroleum (residual oil and distillate), hydro, nuclear, imports, other (landfill gas & biomass), wind and solar. Coal and petroleum have gone down significantly since 1990. Natural gas has increased significantly as has imports. After Nine Mile Point unit 2 came on-line nuclear has stayed about the same as has hydro. In the past few years enough solar and wind have come on line to appear on the chart. Figure 7 shows the total energy provided by the same categories. Clearly the biggest changes have been the reduction of coal and petroleum fuel use and increase of natural gas and imports.

In order to determine how much the carbon pricing program can directly affect CO₂e emissions we need to look at the electric sector emissions relative to emissions from the rest of New York State. Figure 8 shows the trends and Table 1 NYS Trend of CO2 by electric sector and rest of state shows the data. Statewide coal and electric sector oil have gone down 55 million metric tons but since 1990 natural gas has gone up. It can be argued that for the most part the major decreases in coal and oil were the result of changes in the relative cost of fuel and had nothing to do with New York State policy. Moreover, the State has drafted regulations to eliminate the use of coal so carbon pricing will have no effect on those emission and there are only 3.9 million metric tons of reduction available anyway. With respect to electric sector emissions, no further oil use reductions are expected because the current levels represent the minimum emissions necessary to maintain oil as a backup and emergency use fuel. That leaves natural gas emissions.

Overall, the total emissions in 2015 are only down 18% to 169.5 million metric tons and the 2030 target is 141.5 million metric tons so further reductions of 28 million metric tons are necessary. Putting a price on electric sector carbon could, in theory, reduce the total sector emissions of 29.2 million metric tons. However, the primary way to reduce emissions from the other sectors is to replace fuel combustion with electricity. The unintended consequence of the carbon price then will be to increase the price of electricity making those conversions less attractive.

On one hand carbon pricing is touted as a market-based solution to carbon reductions. However, that only works when the tax is applied to the entire economy. The proposed New York carbon pricing approach is only for the electric generation sector, so market intervention will be required to subsidize the electrification conversions necessary to meet the targets if only because the proposal increases the cost of electricity making conversions less attractive. As soon as that happens the elegant market-based solution devolves into special interest lobbying at the expense of the general public.

Already labor unions, community groups, environmental organizations, faith communities, and environmental justice advocates are supporting just such a carbon tax scheme. While the New York State Climate and Community Protection Act (CCPA) (S.8005 / A.10342) covers all sectors it specifically proposes to not only return the revenues to ratepayers but also includes subsidies to renewable energy sources in general and targeted subsidies as well and worker and community support.

While the intent of carbon pricing to harmonize state goals and the operation of wholesale electricity markets to leverage market forces to more efficiently meet both state goals and traditional electric system goals of providing affordable, reliable supply makes for a nice slogan the reality is different. There are barely enough electric sector emissions available to meet the 2030 goal and nowhere near enough for the 2050 goal. Because the proposed carbon price is on only one sector of the economy, the theory that increasing the price of carbon will drive the market to less carbon intensive alternatives fails. Instead, it drives up the price of electricity which makes the conversion to electric-based residential heating and transportation more difficult.

New York’s energy planning process continues its efforts to meet the aggressive goals of a remodeled energy system that relies on renewable energy. The latest boondoggle in that effort is a plan to price carbon in the wholesale electric market. I have not been able to let that go by without throwing in my two cents so this post describes my first submittal in the formal proceeding. I have been submitting my comments because I am convinced that all these efforts will cost extraordinary amounts of money but will have no discernable impact on global warming or any of the purported effects. My comments are submitted as a private retired citizen. They do not reflect the position of any of my previous employers or any other company I have been associated with, these comments are mine alone.

I am motivated to submit these comments to make the point that the majority of New York State ratepayers are unaware of the ramifications of this proceeding and have never heard of the Social Cost of Carbon (SCC). I doubt that if they understood the SCC as the basis for this initiative that they would favor its implementation as proposed. Therefore, I recommend that the carbon pricing initiative consider a range of SCC values including the proposed value and the values included in the Regulatory Impact Analysis for the Review of the Clean Power Plan: Proposal.

The SCC is the present day value of projected future net damages from emitting a ton of CO2 today. In order to estimate the impact of today’s emissions it is necessary to estimate total CO2 emissions, model the purported impacts of those emissions and then assess the global economic damage from those impacts. The projected global economic damage is then discounted to present value. Finally, the future damage is allocated to present day emissions on a per ton basis to get the SCC value.

Because of the huge uncertainties of the SCC providing a range of values is appropriate. The SCC future net damages includes impacts out 300 years. It is an act of extreme hubris to claim that any projection of how the world will operate in 100 years, much less 300 years, should be used to guide current actions simply because no one could have imagined the technology available in today’s society in 1917. In addition, the SCC relies on a complex causal chain from carbon dioxide emissions to social impacts that are alleged to result from those emissions. Richard Tol testified that these connections are “long, complex and contingent on human decisions that are at least partly unrelated to climate policy. The social cost of carbon is, at least in part, also the social cost of underinvestment in infectious disease, the social cost of institutional failure in coastal countries, and so on.”

The current value of the SCC proposed for use in this initiative was developed by the US Interagency Working Group (IWG). There are three technical reasons that the single value the IWG developed and proposed for use in this initiative should not be used exclusively: global benefits, discount rates and equilibrium climate sensitivity.

The IWG SCC value considers global benefits and impacts not just New York State benefits impacts. In other words New Yorkers are being asked to pay today for some estimated far future impact elsewhere. Given that the State has limited resources to provide benefits to New Yorkers today is reason enough to consider a range of the SCC for a program that could increase costs to ratepayers. The EPA RIA for the revised Clean Power Plan includes a domestic rather than international social cost of carbon value. Putting aside for the moment the question whether a New York only policy should only consider benefits to New Yorkers, it nonetheless seems obvious that the policy should at least limit benefits to the United States in any calculation on the value of the program to New Yorkers.

The IWG SCC value did not follow Office of Management Budget Circular A-4 guidance that states that regulatory analyses “should provide estimates of net benefits using both 3 percent and 7 percent.” The 7 percent rate is intended to represent the average before-tax rate of return to private capital in the U.S. economy. The 3 percent rate is intended to reflect the rate at which society discounts future consumption, which is particularly relevant if a regulation is expected to affect private consumption directly. The EPA RIA for the revised Clean Power Plan follows this guidance by presenting estimates based on both 3 and 7 percent discount rates in the main analysis.

Equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) is the expected change in temperature when the atmospheric CO2 concentration doubles. The costs of this warming are dominated by the higher possible values of the ECS. The ultimate problem is that the IWG did not use the most recent values of the ECS for the value that the price of carbon initiative proposes to use. On July 23, 2015, Patrick Michaels presented relevant testimony to the House Committee on Natural Resources.  Excerpts:

“In May 2013, the Interagency Working Group produced an updated SCC value by incorporating revisions to the underlying three Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) used by the IWG in its initial 2010 SCC determination. But, at that time, the IWG did not update the equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) employed in the IAMs. This was not done, despite there having been, since January 1, 2011, at least 14 new studies and 20 experiments (involving more than 45 researchers) examining the ECS, each lowering the best estimate and tightening the error distribution about that estimate. Instead, the IWG wrote in its 2013 report: “It does not revisit other interagency modeling decisions (e.g., with regard to the discount rate, reference case socioeconomic and emission scenarios, or equilibrium climate sensitivity).”

“Clearly, the IWG’s assessment of the low end of the probability density function that best describes the current level of scientific understanding of the climate sensitivity is incorrect and indefensible. But even more influential in the SCC determination is the upper bound (i.e., 95th percentile) of the ECS probability distribution. Apart from not even being consistent with the AR4, now, more than five years hence, the scientific literature tells a completely different story. And this is very significant and important difference because the high end of the ECS distribution has a large impact on the SCC determination—a fact frequently commented on by the IWG2010.”

Dr. Judith Curry has prepared a table of different values of the ECS that illustrates the relative impacts of the indefensible cherry picking of a value that suited the agenda of the IWG rather than a more recent value.

Because the extreme values are a key driver of the ECS, the 95^th percentile values are of most interest. Refer back to the Michaels testimony above to see that the IWG had lower values available to it for years but chose not to use them. There is another nuance to this table that is important to me personally as a meteorologist with over 40 years of experience with modeling and monitoring. The last two rows in this table are estimates based on monitoring and not modeling so, in my opinion, are more likely to be correct.

The SCC is the fundamental rationale of the NY carbon pricing program. When the time comes to decide whether to implement the carbon pricing initiative it is important for decision makers to be aware of the changes in the value of the program possible by tweaking two parameters in the calculation of the SCC. The uncertainties with the methodology and the three technical reasons support my recommendation to include the SCC values from the EPA RIA for the revised Clean Power Plan so a range of potential benefits is provided.