Sierra Club retained Synapse to analyze Northern Indiana Public Service Company’s (NIPSO) request for rider on $400 million in capital costs at three coal-fired power plants in Indiana (Bailly, Michigan City, and Schahfer) as they seek to comply with the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Coal Combustion Residual (CCR) rule and Effluent Limitation Guidelines (ELG). In this docket, NIPSCO seeks to retire four coal-fired units (Bailly 7 & 8 and Schahfer 17 & 18) while retaining three units (Schahfer 14 & 15 and Michigan City 12). Synapse assessed NIPSCO’s economic analysis and supporting “qualitative assessment” and examined whether the retention of the three units would be in the interest of ratepayers, and if the company’s qualitative assessment was reasonably constructed. Dr. Jeremy Fisher filed testimony demonstrating that NIPSO’s ratepayers see $200-$600 million in benefits with the incremental retirement of Schahfer 14 & 15 and that the Company’s application does not support the decision to install retrofits at the units.

Sierra Club retained Synapse to assess the 2017 Integrated Resource Pan (IRP) filed by Puget Sound Energy (PSE). Synapse's review found that the PSE IRP included a reasonable near-term resource plan but contained proposed actions that could lead to an unjustified deviation from that resource plan. In addition, Synapse identified a series of unjustified assumptions and conclusions regarding renewable resource costs and availability and coal plant retirement dates that resulted in a biased long-term resource plan. In comments submitted to the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, Synapse recommended that the Commission ensure full oversight of PSE's upcoming resource procurement processes and require PSE to use updated assumptions and enable full stakeholder participation in future IRP cycles.

On behalf of the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Synapse and Meister Consultants Group identified the opportunity, costs, and benefits available if strategic electrification is adopted as a key strategy for decarbonization in New York and New England. Dr. Hopkins, Kenji Takahashi, and Pat Knight are primary authors of the resulting report, Northeastern Regional Assessment of Strategic Electrification (July 2017), which characterizes the current markets for efficiency electrification technologies (such as heat pumps and electric vehicles), identifies policies to overcome market barriers, assesses the state of electrification technologies, and models the extent of electrification both possible given market dynamics and required to meet regional greenhouse gas emission goals. 

Synapse is actively working with a group of stakeholders to engage in the development of the Energy Information Administration's 2016 Annual Energy Outlook (AEO), to be released in mid-2016. The AEO is a critical source of publicly available information for public interest stakeholders working to improve planning and decision-making in the energy sector. Synapse is participating in working groups associated with three key areas of the 2016 AEO: the renewable energy sector, the electricity sector, and the residential/commercial buildings sector. Modeling of EPA’s Clean Power Plan will be a major change in the 2016 AEO from previous forecasts. Synapse is working with other stakeholders to participate actively in this process and advocate for reasonable policy and technology assumptions.

The Los Angeles City Council has mandated that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the largest municipally-run utility in the United States, analyze powering 100 percent of demand with renewable energy. To date, LADWP's efforts have been insufficient, as the utility has only published an analysis of a slight increase over current renewable energy targets and is not planning to finalize their 100 percent renewable study until 2020 at the earliest. 

Food & Water Watch engaged Synapse to analyze a potential pathway to 100 percent clean energy in Los Angeles by 2030. In our study, we found that it is possible for LADWP to exclusively use renewable resources to power its system in every hour of the year. What's more, we found that under one of the clean energy pathways analyzed, the transition to 100 percent renewable energy in every hour of the year can occur at no net cost to the system. The resulting report, Clean Energy for Los Angeles, provides a roadmap for how to achieve 100 percent renewables by integrating and harnessing renewable energy more efficiently and investing in additional efficiency, storage, and demand response.

Although the report only focuses on a single city, the results are important and applicable to many other parts of the country. Los Angeles's 4 million residents make the city larger than 22 entire states, while the annual energy served by LADWP is greater than sales in 13 individual states, indicating that if this transition is possible in Los Angeles, it is feasible in other parts of the country as well. 

The costs of both natural gas and solar power have declined precipitously since the draft Clean Power Plan was released in 2014. EIA’s latest release of the Annual Energy Outlook incorporates many of these new developments along with analysis of the Clean Power Plan. In this webinar from June 9, 2016, Synapse's Senior Associate Patrick Luckow and Senior Associate Pat Knight discuss scenarios in which United States electric sector CO2 emissions could decline by 30 percent by 2030 driven largely by these new realities, combined with economic retirements of older coal plants.

Synapse assisted the Ohio Office of Consumer Counsel with issues related to EPA’s Clean Power Plan. This work included providing consultation and analysis on the plan’s costs to Ohio consumers, allowance trading, energy efficiency as a compliance option, and the impacts of compliance pathways on bills and emissions. 

How will the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new rule on carbon emissions from power plants impact the broader public? Synapse takes on this issue in a webinar designed for health, environmental justice, and other consumer advocates who now find themselves with a critical role in the stakeholder process as states make choices about Clean Power Plan compliance. 

Based on Synapse’s in-depth analysis of emissions, costs to consumers, and energy options, this webinar provides an overview of the compliance planning process, particularly as it relates to stakeholder engagement and threats to community health. Panelists Elizabeth A. Stanton, PhD, and Pat Knight  also delve into issues that have caused confusion since the rule’s release. These include the role of energy efficiency, allowance trading and pollution hotspots, who gets the value from trading, and dispelling myths related to rate vs. mass.

How is this webinar different from previous Clean Power Plan webinars Synapse has hosted? We focus on what health, environmental justice, and other consumer advocates can do to get the best outcomes for the communities they represent. Please share this link with anyone within your network that you think would be interested in learning more about how to participate in the decision-making process.

Fairness, Health, and the Clean Power Plan - February 2, 2016

Synapse provided analysis and expert testimony on behalf of Sierra Club in Oklahoma Gas & Electric’s application before the Oklahoma Corporation Commission seeking approval to install dry scrubbers at the Sooner generating facility. Synapse’s Tyler Comings evaluated the economic case for the retrofits with a focus on the assumptions used for natural gas price risk and fuel diversity. Mr. Coming’s testimony found that installing dry scrubbers at Sooner is not the least cost option. Mr. Comings recommended that the Commission deny the proposal. Should the Committee accept the proposal, Mr. Comings recommended it do so with conditions that would protect ratepayers.

Earlier testimonies from the Oklahoma Gas & Electric CPCN Proceedings can be found here.

Riverkeeper retained Synapse to assess the potential impacts to energy reliability and electric power sector air emissions associated with the construction and operation of a closed-cycle cooling system as the "best technology available" (BTA) for the Indian Point nuclear power plant, in order to inform the analysis being conducted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) under the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). Synapse found that the retirement of the Indian Point nuclear facility would result in essentially no reliability impacts and minimal air emission impacts.

One of the key benefits most attributed to energy efficiency and renewable energy (clean energy resources) is that they reduce the use of fossil fuel resources consumed for generating electricity, and in doing so reduce fossil fuel-related carbon dioxide emissions. Synapse reviewed a range of sources and compiled evidence that clean energy resources have indeed displaced generation by fossil resources connected to the grid, and that they are projected to continue doing so in the future. The report includes:

• utility-level case studies of electric system integrated resource planning (IRP) model results;
• a review of national-level analyses;
• an overview of marginal resources in different regional transmission organization (RTO) areas;
• modeling case studies using EPA’s AVERT; and
• a review of historical data demonstrating the impact that energy efficiency and renewable energy have already had on fossil fuel use.

In addition, the report highlights original Synapse analysis using the ReEDS model on the impacts of expanding clean energy resources on emissions related to fossil-fuel generation.

Since 2005, Synapse has provided analysis of New Jersey's Basic Generation Service (BGS) procurement options for the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel. The BGS procurement process includes annual auctions held by the State of New Jersey for the procurement of fixed-price, basic electric generation service (BGS-FP). BGS-FP service is the name of the rate plan for those residential and small commercial customers who choose not to use a competitive supplier for their electricity needs. Synapse's BGS procurement analysis takes into consideration the BGS auction process and other factors relevant to procurement options for NJ BGS customers. Synapse's analyses include assessment of procurement options in other states; futures markets for electricity, natural gas, and coal; recent auction/RFP results for BGS-FP-equivalent services from other states; PJM technical issues affecting BGS procurement considerations; and other relevant issues. Project work for the 2012 proceeding completed in April 2013.

Synapse provided expert technical consulting services to the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel related to Exelon Corporation’s proposed acquisition of Pepco Holdings. Specifically, Synapse reviewed the Joint Applicants' economic impact analysis; merger-related reliability issues; and concerns regarding concentration of ownership, market power, and market manipulation. Synapse submitted testimony in the legal proceeding on behalf of the NJ DRC. Synapse performed similar analysis related to the merger on behalf of clients in Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.

Synapse is actively working with a group of stakeholders to engage in the development of the Energy Information Administration's 2016 Annual Energy Outlook (AEO), to be released in mid-2016. The AEO is a critical source of publicly available information for public interest stakeholders working to improve planning and decision-making in the energy sector. Synapse is participating in working groups associated with three key areas of the 2016 AEO: the renewable energy sector, the electricity sector, and the residential/commercial buildings sector. Modeling of EPA’s Clean Power Plan will be a major change in the 2016 AEO from previous forecasts. Synapse is working with other stakeholders to participate actively in this process and advocate for reasonable policy and technology assumptions.