How Polluting is Your Power?

A Guide to Your Utilitys Environmental Disclosure Brochure





































Minnesotans for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ME3) is a nonprofit public interest organization
working to ensure a safer, healthier environment by promoting a clean, efficient, and fair energy
system. ME3 partners with citizens and allied organizations to protect the environment while
developing healthy economies through policy reform, education, and organizing.

Minnesotans for an Energy-Efficient Economy
46 East Fourth Street Ste 600
St. Paul, MN 55101
phone 651.225.0878
fax 651.225.0870
www.me3.org


©2004 Minnesotans for an Energy-Efficient Economy
1

A Guide to Your Utilitys Environmental Disclosure Brochure

Prepared by Minnesotans for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ME3)
Updated August, 2004



Why did ME3 advocate for disclosure of the environmental impacts of
electricity?

In 2000, ME3 asked the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to require the state's
regulated electric utilities to disclose the generation sources used to produce the company's
electricity and the air emissions caused by that power generation. Our reasoning was
straightforward: few electricity customers know how their power is generated, and even
fewer people know that electricity generation from conventional sources causes major health
and environmental problems. The PUC ruled in ME3's favor that this "environmental
disclosure" would be in the public interest and ordered Xcel Energy, Dakota Electric,
Minnesota Power, Otter Tail Power and Alliant Energy to provide the information in a
standard format, twice each year, with customers electricity bills.

Thanks to this brochure, you now have basic information on the energy resources your
electricity dollars are supporting. Just as Nutrition Facts labels are required on food
products, environmental information contained in these brochures will make it easier for
consumers to see the benefits of choosing efficient appliances that reduce electricity use and
of cleaning up our electricity supply by replacing coal power with renewable energy.

Why is ME3 providing this guide?

Many ME3 members have questions about their utilitys Environmental Disclosure
brochures. The brochures have limited space, and some Minnesotans are looking for a more
detailed explanation of their charts, facts, and figures. We thought it would be helpful to
provide our responses to some of the most commonly raised questions about these brochures.

How does Minnesotas electricity source mix compare to the nation as a whole?

Minnesotans get a much larger percentage of our electricity from coal than the average U.S.
customer. Minnesota uses about 23 percent more coal than the national average. We use
much less natural gas. Minnesota ranks third in the country in total wind power production,
leading the nation in new wind development in 2003. The following charts show how
Minnesota electricity sources compare to national percentages.
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Coal looks like a really cheap energy source in my brochure, but what does
Relative Energy Cost mean?

ME3 objected to the PUCs decision to represent relative costs in a chart without guidance on
how cost would be determined. The resulting cost-ranking chart can easily be
misinterpreted as a cost-comparison chart. The chart provided in the brochure considers
only the cost of the energy to the utility. Many costs are missingthe costs of damage to our
health by emissions from power plants; the damaging impacts of climate change; tax breaks
or incentives; fossil fuel production subsidies; pollution clean up costs. These costs are not
paid by the utilitywe all pay for them indirectly. When deciding which energy sources will
power Minnesotas future, we need to plan responsibly and consider the full costs.

For more accurate information about the true costs of electricity generation, visit the websites
below.
True Cost of Renewable Energy: http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/emaa/pubs/ceed/ceed.html
Fossil Fuel Subsidies: http://www.awea.org/faq/subsidi.html
Scientific Studies on Environmental Costs of Electricity: p. 16-17 of http://www.
wws.princeton.edu/cgibin/byteserv.prl/~ota/disk1/1994/9433/943304.PDF
Wind Energy Fact Sheet: http://www.awea.org/pubs/factsheets/Cost2001.PDF

If my utility adds more wind power, will my rates increase?
According to the U.S. Department of Energys National Renewable Energy Laboratory
(NREL), current wholesale prices of electricity generated from wind, which are as low as 23
cents per kilowatt-hour, are competitive with costs of conventional electricity generation.
Many peer-reviewed studies predict the cost of adding significant amounts of wind power to
be negligible when the costs are distributed among all customers (around 525 cents more
per household per month). Some studies predict a decrease in demand for fossil fuels as a
result of wind power investments, leading to an overall price savings.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy, 1999
Natural Gas
1%
Nuclear
17%
Hydro
3%
Other
3%
Wind/Solar
1%
Coal
75%
Other
2%
Coal
52%
Nuclear
20%
Hydro
7%
Oil
3%
Natural Gas
16%
U.S. ELECTRICITY FUEL MIX
Source: Minnesota Department of Commerce, 2000
MINNESOTAS ELECTRICITY FUEL MIX
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What does Relative Energy Reliability mean in this brochure?

Reliability can be defined in a number of ways. The PUC did not specify any criteria or
protocol for reporting reliability in these brochures. ME3 argued the resulting chart would be
highly subjective. Would you like to know what this term means to your utility? Write them
directly and ask. See the end of this paper for contact information.

How reliable is wind power?

While wind speeds vary, most modern wind turbines can be available to produce power
(often called availability) over 98 percent of the time. View some other common
misperceptions of wind power at the Department of Energy website.
http://www.eere.energy.gov/windpoweringamerica/pdfs/wpa/34600_misconceptions.pdf

What are Purchases?

Purchases include electricity from a variety of generation sources that your utility buys from
other electricity producers. The producers may be under short- or long-term contracts with
the utility to provide that energy. The reliability of electricity purchases is a feature of the
legally binding contract between the provider and the utility, not the energy source itself. The
cost of a utilitys purchases can also range considerably, depending on sources, time of
day, demand, transmission costs, and many other factors.

What is biomass?

The U.S. Department of Energy defines biomass as material derived from plants, consisting
of forestry residues, mill residues, urban wood waste, agricultural residues, and energy crops.
But some people define biomass much more broadly. Unfortunately, there are multiple
inconsistent definitions of biomass in Minnesotas statutes. Contact your utility to ask how it
is defining biomass in its brochure. Some utility companies will define biomass to
include using landfill gas or even burning tires to produce electricity. Depending on its
source, biomass can produce significant air emissions.

What is RDF?

Most of our refuse-derived fuel (RDF) is produced from municipal solid waste (MSW)
generated in the Twin Cities metro area. During processing and separation, the MSW with
the highest heat-generating capacity is collected and used as combustion fuel to generate
electricity. According to Great River Energy, just one RDF plant in Elk River reduces the
amount of waste entering Minnesotas landfills by more than 300,000 tons each year.

How do my utilitys emissions effect the environment and people?

Electricity generation emits far more greenhouse gases, toxins, and other air pollutants than
any other industry. As stated in your utilitys brochure, coal-fired plants are responsible for
50 percent of Minnesotas sulfur dioxide pollution, 35 percent of all carbon dioxide (CO
2
)
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pollution, and almost half (46 percent) of all mercury pollution. These pollutants cause
enormous environmental and health damages. For example, CO
2
, a greenhouse gas, is a
major cause of global climate change, sulfur dioxide causes acid rain, and mercury is a
dangerous brain toxin that can cause learning and developmental disabilities in children.

Yet no oneneither the state nor federal governmentlimits the amount of CO
2
or mercury
emitted by power plants. For more information on the health effects of electricity generation,
visit the websites below.
Union of Concerned Scientists: Air Pollution and Energy Use
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/renewable_energy/page.cfm?pageID=98
Environmental Protection Agency: Six Common Air Pollutants
http://www.epa.gov/air/urbanair/6poll.html

What is the Regional Emissions Average and how was it determined?

The regional average is taken from power plants that are part of the Mid-Continent Area
Power Pool (MAPP). The MAPP includes electric utilities located in Minnesota, North
Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and parts of Wisconsin, South
Dakota and Iowa. The emissions rate is calculated in units of pounds of pollutant per each
1,000 kilowatt-hours generated. Total particulate matter emissions d