Archive: Around Town

Lansing Central School District officials welcomed the idea of exploring the viability of converting school HVAC from natural gas to electric-sourced heating.  Energy engineer and Lansing resident Burt Bland told the Board Of Education Tuesday that he would like to consult with them on a possible conversion to heat pumps or some other alternative that would remove the schools from sketchy gas service in the wake of NYSEG's latest determination that the level of gas pressure provided to the school campus is safe, despite being below the pressure they previously deemed unsafe.

"There are a number of incentives now, because of this particular situation in Lansing," Bland said.  "The Public Service commission and NYSEG are interested in solving this problem, allowing economic development to proceed, making sure there is reliable natural gas service.  It's a developing situation.  They were about to spend $18 million on the West Dryden pipeline, so theoretically that's freed up for incentivizing other purposes."

The pressure issue is reportedly because the school is near the end of the gas line, which turns south from the schools to service Ladoga Park at the end of the line.  NYSEG previously said that pressure below 30psi presented a potential pressure that was too low to run the school heating systems.  In two incidents the pressure went below that threshold.  Pressure was measured at 28.61psi on January 6th when the temperature ranged between 3 and -2 degrees Fahrenheit, and 28.2psi on January 5th with temperatures between 3 and -1 degrees.

The issue stemmed from intense opposition in Dryden to a new pipeline stretching from Freeville to Lansing that would bring more natural gas into Lansing.  In February of 2017 the Tompkins County Energy and Economic Development Task Force (EEDTF) announced that NYSEG (New York State Electric & Gas) had requested PSC review a plan that provides an alternate approach to providing energy to the Lansing/Freeville Reinforcement Gas Pipeline Project, also known as the 'West Dryden Road Pipeline'.  In accordance with the plan, NYSEG imposed a moratorium on new natural gas customers in the Town and Village of Lansing, and proposed construction of compressors to increase gas pressure to reliably safe levels.

Town Supervisor Ed LaVigne and County Legislator Mike Sigler (Lansing) were opposed to the county recommendation, and have been lobbying the PSC to force NYSEG to provide more natural gas capacity to the Lansings as an 'interim transition solution' between using fossil fuels and renewable energy sources and arguing that the electric and gas company is supposed to deliver electricity and gas.  LaVigne and Village of Lansing Mayor Donald Hartill have repeatedly said that the moratorium has already cost Lansing potential jobs and caused developers to move potential projects to other localities.

But after spending $30,000 on the project, and upwardly revising its formal estimate of the project to $5.1, NYSEG filed a new report to the NYS Public Service Commission (PSC) at the end of January, that said, in part, that the low pressure levels experienced by the schools are now considered to be safe.

The loophole in the moratorium is that NYSEG will accept new customers if existing customers migrate away from natural gas, freeing existing capacity for possible industrial needs.  The Ithaca Tompkins Airport is currently in the midst of a year-long project that will bring significant improvements to the facility, including switching away from natural gas in favor of renewable energy.

"There's been a moratorium because NYSEG's worried about reliability on the coldest winter days," Bland said. "About a year ago they were proposing putting in compressors to boost the pressure.  After more data gathering they considered the natural gas pipeline that exists now reliable, so you don't have to worry about reliability on the coldest days as long as nobody else connects.  That may or may not constrain economic development in town.  Certainly electrification of heat is a price-competitive, viable technology for space heating, but there may be industrial uses that need natural gas."

Lansing is no stranger to heat pumps.  A 2010 capital project included the digging of 40 geothermal wells will supply over 150 heat pumps inside Lansing High School.  At that time Johnson Controls' David Angelo said a geothermal system is ideal for Lansing because the town sits on a rock deposit that makes other kinds of heating more expensive.  In concert with other energy upgrades made at the same time, school officials estimated a 39% savings in the school district's utility costs, and projected annual savings of 1,036,931 kilowatt hours and 45,490 natural gas therms.

Bland said that more geothermal wells or some alternative might prove to be cost-efficient, especially if incentives from the State and/or NYSEG make a capital project feasible at no added property taxpayer cost.

"We are definitely interested in learning more about it," School Superintendent Chris Pettograsso told Bland. "We've been talking with the Town Supervisor about the concerns for the Town.  It would be (Business Administrator Kate Heath) or I, and we would pull in our facilities group to look at what our current state is, and putting together an overview."

Bland works as a technical advisor to the Tompkins County Legislature among others.  He told school officials that as a Lansing resident, he volunteered to come explore natural gas alternatives. 

"I have no idea whether it's technically feasible or economically feasible," he said. "If you're interested in exploring that I'd be willing to help."

Pettograsso told Bland she would like to meet with him to discuss the issue before the beginning of the school year.

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