Backup Generators Could Have Averted Energy Crisis

Backup Generators Could Have Averted Energy Crisis, CEC Study Says

CaliIfornia Energy Markets - 10/19/04

If all of the state's backup generators had been used during California's energy crisis, they would have supplied enough power to prevent blackouts, a California Energy Commission study has concluded. But those living near a backup generator would have found it a smelly solution to the shortages.

The Public Interest Energy Research program-funded study was instigated in 2001, when the CEC was contemplating incentives for running backup generators as a temporary demand relief program. But because of concerns about how the diesel- and gasoline-powered units might affect air quality, the project was shelved.

Backup generators are small units permitted for use during emergencies. Because of their size, there is little coordinated regulatory oversight regarding hours of use or the definition of an emergency and the CEC does not have jurisdiction over their permitting.

The commission ordered the study in order to find out how many backup generators existed in the state and what kinds of emissions they produced. The results were presented during an October 6 seminar at the University of California, Riverside.

There are 4,906 backup generators in the state, according to the inventory. Nearly half are located in the South Coast Air Quality Management district, which has 2,233. San Diego County counted 617, while the San Joaquin Valley had 527. Together, the backup generators have a total capacity of 3,880 MW.

That would have been enough to get the state through the energy crisis without any blackouts, said Wayne Miller, a UC Riverside researcher who headed up part of the study. Miller was in charge of finding a sample of all of the state's backup generators that would be representative, but small enough to physically test for emissions data.

"We wanted to find a subgroup that would best represent all of the backup generators that are out there," Miller said.

In the end, Miller's team tested 15 diesel-fired generators. The data they gathered indicated that emissions from backup generators were significantly lower than those estimated by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. The data gathered by Miller's study has been submitted to the EPA for consideration.

However, another part of the study concluded that the "near-field" effects of backup generators could be serious.

"What we found is that in a general sense, backup generators aren't as bad for air quality as we thought, but if you live near one, it can really be significant," said CEC spokesperson Chris Davis.

The CEC will use the results of the study to help guide policy on backup generators in the future, Davis said [Caroline J. Keough].

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