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Week of December 29, 2008 |
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed (pdf) several changes to membership requirements to its Green Power Partnership program.
The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program founded in 2001. It consists of about 1,000 commercial, nonprofit, and public organizations that have procured an amount of renewable energy that is proportional to their annual electricity use. Read more. Source: Environmental Leader, 12/22/08
Visit U.S. DOE EERE Green Power Network for more information.
Newberry County will be the site for a new $170 million, 50-megawatt power generating station that uses logging residues and urban wood debris as fuel, local and state officials announced today.
Loblolly Green Power LLC will operate the biomass generating plant, which will be capable of generating enough electricity to supply power to 25,000 homes.
The Newberry power plant is expected to create 27 new permanent jobs, plus an estimated 200 jobs generated by contractor services and construction. Read more. Source: Columbia Regional Business Report, 12/23/08
Henry County, Va.-based Multitrade Biomass Holdings said it plans to build a $21.5 million biomass facility inside an abandoned underwear factory in Rabun Gap, Ga.
The former Fruit of the Loom factory is expected to be converted into a 17-megawatt plant producing energy from local forestry industry waste for Green Power EMC, a nonprofit group of 42 electricity corporations. Tucker, Ga.-based Green Power plans to derive renewable energy from sources such as biomass, solar, wind and hydro and sell it to customers of electricity co-ops.
The plant is expected to create 95 jobs and power 10,000 homes. It's expected to be operational in August 2009.
Leaf Clean Energy invested $21.5 million in Multitrade Rabun Gap, which was formed with the sole purpose of building the plant. The facility expects to use woody waste as the primary fuel in a conventional boiler to generate steam to power a steam-turbine electric generator.
The boiler is among several pieces of equipment leftover from the Fruit of the Loom factory. The boiler was previously used to supply steam and electricity to manufacture underwear.
Multitrade Biomass Holdings was formed in December 2006 to develop renewable wood-waste fired power plants in the Southern and Mid-Atlantic states. Its predecessor company, Multitrade Group, developed an 80-megawatt wood-fueled power plants in central Virginia. Source: CleanTech, 12/22/08
Five communities in Oakland County are exploring an innovative, Earth-friendly alternative to hauling their trash to area landfills.
West Bloomfield, Independence, Groveland, White Lake and Waterford townships recently won county funding to study whether to build a new kind of garbage processing plant in one of the communities. Read more. Source: Detroit Free Press, 12/14/08
San Diego Gas & Electric is betting that a startup company with an untested technology to generate solar power can provide it with much of the renewable energy it will need to meet a state mandate by 2010.
The plan is at the heart of SDG&E's arguments that the Sunrise Powerlink, a proposed 1,000-megawatt line across the desert and mountains, is needed to bring renewable energy from the Imperial Valley. Read more. Source: San Diego Union Tribune, 12/14/08
Currently, 19 percent of the world's electricity comes from water. But with two-thirds of water resources untapped, an enormous power plant has used coal and natural gas to provide power to New York City for decades. But now, under the waters of the East River, just yards away, a new technology is taking aim at the giant, armed with metal wings. Read more. Source: CBS News, 12/14/08
Oakland, Calif.-based BrightSource Energy, Inc., developer of large-scale solar thermal energy plants, has signed a contract with Siemens for the supply of a 123 MW solar-powered steam turbine generator for BrightSource's 400 MW Ivanpah Solar Power Complex in California's Mojave Desert. When completed, the turbine is expected to be the largest fully solar-powered steam turbine generator to date.
Due to a lengthy production process, turbine generators must be ordered approximately three years in advance of the planned delivery date. The Siemens turbine is slated for delivery in early 2011, and BrightSource expects this first phase of its Ivanpah Solar Power Complex to be operational and supplying solar energy to utilities in the fourth quarter of 2011. (Source: Business Wire, Dec. 9, 2008)
Contact: BrightSource Energy, 510-550-8161 ext 108. Source: EP Overviews, 12/11/08
Learn more about renewable resources.
The Utility Wind Integration Group (UWIG), National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, American Public Power Association, American Wind Energy Association, Western Area Power Administration and DOE's Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program are presenting a wind interconnection workshop Jan. 21-22, 2009, at Western’s Electric Power Training Center (EPTC) in Golden, Colo.
This workshop will focus on the interconnection of wind turbines to electric cooperative and public power distribution systems as well as other distributed generation applications. The workshop will begin with an overview of wind energy, distributed wind applications, economics, and development issues and opportunities. Following the overview, participants will use tools developed by UWIG to assess the impact of wind generation on distribution systems. Training will include an introduction to the theory behind the use of each applet and practical examples of their use using actual cooperative feeder data. Additionally, EPTC instructors will discuss North American Electric Reliability Corporation and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulations pertaining to wind energy and offer tours of the center.
Participants will have the opportunity to observe a demonstration of the EPTC’s miniature power system, which includes a wind farm simulator developed in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Wind Powering America Program. There will also be an optional tour on Jan. 23 of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s National Wind Technology Center.
Workshop registration is $300 and is limited to the first 30 registrants. Register online, or contact Bob Putnam of CH2M Hill, at 315-751-2638 for more information. Source: UWIG, 12/23/08
The Geothermal Resources Council (GRC) announced the call for abstracts today for the Geothermal Annual Meeting: Making Renewable Energy Hot, Oct. 4-7, 2009, at the Peppermill Resort and Casino in Reno, Nev.
Abstracts must be received electronically by March 3 to be considered for selection. The selection committee's goal is to create an educational and informative program that addresss topical and timely industry issues.
Email completed Call for Abstracts form and abstract in Word format to Anh Lay. For more information, contact Guy Nelson at 541-994-4670, or Sabodh Garg at 858-826-1615.
As part of the meeting, GRC is bringing back its Amateur Photo Contest to showcase quality photography featuring geothermal energy. Entries will become part of GRC’s photo library. Only amateur photographers are eligible to participate. Contact Steve Tromly, committee chair, 720-962-7256; or Judy Fischette, co-chair, for more information.
Sponsored by GRC and the Washington, D.C.-based Geothermal Energy Association, the industry’s largest meeting brings together leading geothermal energy scientists, geologists, engineers, academicians, producers, renewable energy industry stakeholders, regulators, utilities and key business leaders. Source: Public Renwables Partnership, 12/23/08
The Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System (WREGIS) is an independent, renewable energy tracking system for the region covered by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC). WREGIS tracks renewable energy generation from units that register in the system using verifiable data and creates renewable energy certificates (RECs) for this generation. WREGIS Certificates can be used to verify compliance with state and provincial regulatory requirements (Renewable Portfolio Standards, for example) and in voluntary market programs. Source: Stephanie J. Roghaar, WREGIS Administrative Assistant, 801-883-6850, 12/23/08
On Dec. 17, 2008, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) completed its second auction of carbon dioxide allowances in which all ten RGGI states participated. This alert discusses the results of the auction, amount of allowances and clearing prices achieved. Read more. Source: Nixon Peabody, 12/23/08
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has launched its preliminary Web site for its Western Region Energy Analysis collaboration. Some presentations are available from this site. Others cannot be released due to pending journal publication. Once they are released by the journals we will include them on this site. Source: Jeff Stewart, LLNL, 12/23/2008
The Public Renewables Partnership effort led by Western Area Power Administration on behalf of the U.S. DOE Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program is offering 10 travel scholarships of $500 each to electric cooperatives and public power utilities to attend the upcomming Utility Wind Integration Group (UWIG) Spring Workshop April 1-3, 2009, in Philadelphia, Pa. To qualify for the scholarship, your employer must be a member of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association or the American Public Power Association, have never previously attended a UWIG meeting, and have submited a scholarship request and be in reciept of a confirmation e-mail from Western. Please note, one scholarship per utility. To secure your scholarship, please contact Randy Manion at 720-962-7423. Source: December 2008 issue of UWIG Connected, 12/23/08
Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford, published a study in the Journal of Energy and Environmental Science ranking technologies by how clean they are. Jacobson’s research was considered in developing both RePower America and the Pickens Plan. He has also presented his findings to members of Congress.
The best to worst electric power sources, he found, are:
“The energy alternatives that are good are not the ones that people have been talking about the most. And some options that have been proposed are just downright awful,” Jacobson told press.
He also presented best to worst vehicle options:
Source: GEA Weekly Update, 12/23/08
The presentations from DOE's Tribal Energy Program Review held in Denver, Colo., Nov 17-20, 2008 are now available online. For more information, contact Lizana Pierce, Tribal Energy Program project manager; 303-275-4727; fax: 303-275-4753. Source: DOE Tribal Energy Program, 12/11/08
Two new reports from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) question the need for a new national extra-high voltage transmission network to support renewable energy expansion.
Energy Self-Reliant States estimates the amount of electricity that can be generated in each state by solar and wind. Its dramatic conclusion is that at least half the fifty states could achieve electricity self-sufficiency. “T. Boone Pickens, Al Gore and some environmental groups are arguing that $60 billion be spent on a new 19,000-mile national high-voltage transmission network for the nation to reach a 20 percent renewable electricity goal,” says ILSR Vice President David Morris. “Our study indicates that all states could meet over 25 percent of their electrical needs from homegrown solar and wind energy from inside their borders.”
“Renewable energy falls almost everywhere and should be harnessed almost everywhere”, notes ILSR Research Associate John Farrell, one of the report’s authors. “Especially since, as our studies indicate homegrown and locally owned renewable power is almost always cheaper, especially when you factor in social, environmental and economic benefits.”
Another recent report by ILSR and the North American Water Office (NAWO) suggests that upgrading the existing transmission system rather than building a new transmission system is the least cost way to expand renewable energy. Meeting Minnesota’s Renewable Energy Standard Using The Existing Transmission System relies on recent, pathbreaking studies by utilities estimating the amount of dispersed, renewable electricity that can be injected into the existing transmission network. "The data make a strong case that Minnesota regulators should put the brakes on new very costly long-distance transmission lines and instead focus on how the existing grid can be utilized more efficiently to support community based energy projects," says John Bailey of ILSR, one of the report’s authors.
Minnesota’s Renewable Energy Standard (RES) requires 25 percent of state electricity consumption be generated from renewable resources by 2020. “The utility studies strongly suggest that this new capacity can be met from dispersed, in-state renewable power projects integrated into the existing transmission system with strategic enhancements at a cost that's a fraction of the price for high voltage lines being proposed by regional utilities,” says George Crocker of NAWO. “All states should require their utilities to undertake a similar study.”
Taken together, the two reports make a strong case that states should first use in-state renewable resources to meet internal needs and upgrade their existing transmission and distribution networks to enhance the development of widely dispersed renewable energy projects. Source: Intstitute for Local Self-reliance, 12/08/08
Learn more about educational resources.
The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has published a compilation of green jobs ideas for the next economic recovery bill on its Web site.
“I directed my staff to assemble these ideas and proposals, and to make them available in a single compilation, both to encourage discussion among policymakers and to create a document for various interest groups and individuals that have a stake in ‘green’ proposals to share and compare ideas similar to theirs,” Chairman Bingaman said in a statement. “The goal of this volume is to promote a vigorous and informed discussion of how both to help the U.S. economy recovery from the current recession and to build long-term strength and capacity into our national energy and natural resource systems. It is my hope that by promoting this discussion, a thoughtful, deliberate, and transparent dialogue can take place.” Source: GEA Weekly Update, 12/23/08
The Bureau of Land Management has posted an updated Instruction Memorandum (IM 2009-043) for its Wind Energy Development Policy. Among the changes included:
As a reminder, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) is advocating, along with the Solar Energy Industries Association, for solar and wind rental fees to be cycled back into BLM for the purpose of processing more solar and wind applications. Virtually every other activity on BLM land enjoys this treatment. Read more about AWEA's Congressional proposal.
Additionally, the MOU between BLM and the Department of Defense has also been posted. Source: AWEA, 12/23/08
The U.S. Interior Department approved plans to open 190 million acres for geothermal projects.
The acreage is all on federal lands and will be used for geothermal exploration and development, the Deseret News reported. Lands within national parks will not be available in the geothermal leasing.
"Geothermal energy will play a key role in powering America's energy future," Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said.
The Interior Department estimates that by 2015 geothermal resources found on public lands will produce 5,500 megawatts of electricity in 12 states.
Thus far, watchdog groups like the Sierra Club have supported the Interior Department's plans, though the first part of a Bureau of Land Management lease sale in Salt Lake City was slowed by protests. Source: United Press International, 12/23/08
Reflecting on the wind industry’s third record year in a row, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) today identified the wind industry’s top accomplishments of 2008, and highlighted key environmental and economic achievements. Read more. Source: AWEA, 12/23/08
Learn more about legislative activities.
OGE Energy Corp. announced that its electric utility subsidiary OG&E is requesting proposals from wind power developers for construction of up to 300 megawatts of new capability.
OG&E intends to add the new capacity to its power-generation portfolio by late 2010. OG&E already has 170 megawatts of wind energy; 50 megawatts from a power-purchase agreement with FPL Energy that began in 2003, and 120 megawatts from the Centennial wind farm, owned and operated by OG&E since 2007. All 114 of the wind turbines currently dedicated to serve OG&E’s customers are located in Woodward and Harper counties in northwestern Oklahoma.
Adding up to 300 megawatts of wind generation would be a major step for OG&E toward its goal to add up to 600 megawatts of wind power over the next four to six years. Source: OG&E via UWIG, 12/23/08
The board of directors of the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (Midwest ISO) has approved the 2008 Midwest ISO Transmission Expansion Plan (MTEP08), a long-term plan that includes recommendations for transmission infrastructure additions and electric grid improvements in the Midwest.
MTEP08 is the fifth regional expansion plan issued by the Midwest ISO and recommends 332 new projects totaling $2.4 billion in investment in the electric grid. The projects, to be in service by 2015, include more than 1,900 miles of new transmission line construction.
Midwest ISO’s transmission owners are expected to make the investments necessary to implement the planned projects recommended in the plan unless alternative funding is provided for under the Midwest ISO tariff. Source: Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator Inc via UWIG, 12/23/08
Some U.S. labor groups that have long feared environmental campaigns as a threat to American jobs are starting to see advantages in going green.
This evolution was clear at this week's U.N. climate talks in Poland, where several American labor groups and environmental activists made joint appeals for policies that would promote high-tech renewable energy as the answer to both climate change and job losses.
About 25 representatives of U.S. unions were in Poznan — about twice the number at last year's U.N. talks in Bali, Indonesia — representing workers from the electrical, transit, steel, service and other sectors. Read more. Source: Associated Press via San Francisco Chronicle, 12/14/08
After providing cash incentives for residents who go green, incorporating environmentally friendly practices in city buildings and making solar-powered outdoor lighting mandatory for all businesses by 2018, Parkland is taking its green initiative another step forward.
The City Commission will discuss an ordinance that would require new residential units with building permits issued after Jan. 1, 2009, to install at least one solar-powered water heater.
Commissioner Jared Moskowitz proposed the ordinance. Read more. Source: iStock Analyst, 12/14/08
Seventy-five years ago, during the height of the Great Depression, one of the largest public works projects of the New Deal began to take shape on the banks of the Columbia River in eastern Washington.
Some 7,000 workers employed by the Works Progress Administration built Grand Coulee Dam - a mile wide and twice as tall as Niagara Falls - along with Bonneville Dam and a transmission grid that electrified the Northwest. The electricity from the dams still powers the region. Read more. Source: Idaho Statesman, 12/14/08
Massachusetts is accelerating its production of renewable energy, for the first time giving electric companies the chance to buy more green power than they are required to under a set of goals established a decade ago.
Much of the electricity—from solar and wind to landfill methane gas and low-emissions biomass—comes from within Massachusetts, but other New England states, New York and neighboring Canadian provinces also add to the total amount of green power available to local utility companies. Read more. Source: WHDH-Boston, 12/14/08
Lansing's MIRS News Service reports that the newly-created 11-member Wind Energy Resource Zone Board held its first meeting last week with members wrestling with how to carry out their responsibilities in the short six-month time frame mandated by the Legislature without any funding or staff. The state's new energy law, Public Act 295, required the Michigan Public Service Commission to create a board to study how economically viable wind energy production is in various parts of the state and how much land is available in those areas where wind energy would work. A preliminary report is due June 2, with a final report required about four months later after impacted local units of government and electric companies have had an opportunity to review the first draft and submit comments. Read more. Source: The Great Lakes IT Report, 12/15/08
Although many sectors of the economy are stalling, by all accounts the turbines of the wind energy manufacturing sector are still spinning away, at least if a recent American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and Great Lakes Wind Network event are any indication. Read more. Source: Industry Week, 12/15/08
A new plan for reviving and strengthening the U.S. economy calls for an investment of $500 billion over 10 years on a range of energy, education, construction, building and manufacturing programs that would create 5 million jobs.
The New Apollo Program is the creation of the Apollo Alliance, a coalition of business, labor, environmental and community leaders promoting clean energy, energy efficiency and green jobs. Read more. Source: GreenBiz, 12/09/08
Santa Rosa County commissioners in Florida have unanimously approved a partnership with Gulf Power to allow the electric utility to install a 196-foot-tall meteorological tower on Navarre beach to gather wind data as part of a one-year study to determine the feasibility of wind power in the area. Gulf Power is currently purchasing electricity from a solid waste combustion company in Panama City and is working to collect the methane gas from the Perdido Landfill for power generation. "We're looking at all of our options for diversifying our electricity," Gulf Power's Jeff Rogers said. (Source: NWF Daily News, Dec. 12, 2008)
For more information, contact Don Salter, chairman, Commissioners, Santa Rosa County, 850-983-1877, or Jeff Rogers, Gulf Power, 850-444-6243. Source: EP Overviews, 12/15/08
Stamford, Connecticut-based Hexcel Corp., a developer and manufacturer of carbon fiber and composite structures, and supplier to wind turbine manufacturers, is planning to build a new glass prepreg (pre-impregnated materials) plant in Windsor, Colo., near the location of Vestas' existing plant. Construction of the plant should begin before year-end, and be operational during the second half of 2009. Hexcel is already expanding its wind energy prepreg operations to meet growing worldwide demand and plans to open a new facility in Tianjin, China. (Source: Denver Business Journal, Dec. 9, 2008)
For more information, contact Hexcel Corp., 203-969-0666. Source: EP Overviews, 12/11/08
The North Dakota Public Service has approved Otter Tail Power Company's purchase of the Luverne wind farm near Valley City. The utility is purchasing 49.5 MW of production, including 33 turbines in order to fulfill its obligations to add 160 MW of wind energy as indicated in its most recent integrated resource plan. The Luverne wind project is being developed by M-Power LLC and was last mentioned in our Nov. 4, 2008 issue. (Source: Public Broadcasting, Dec. 8, 2008)
For more information, contact: Susan Wefald, president, Public Service Commission, 701-328-4559. Source: EP Overviews, 12/08/08
The Arizona Corporation Commission has approved the construction of a 280 MW solar power station to be built by Abengoa Solar Inc. 70 miles south of Phoenix. The Solana Generating location was approved based on a recommendation from the Arizona Line Siting Committee with the power being purchased by the Arizona Public Service under a 30-year deal. Previous project details were included in our Feb. 26, 2008 issue. (Source: Phoenix Business Journal, December 8, 2008)
For more information, contact Arizona Public Service. Source: EP Overviews, 12/08/08
Learn more about marketing and research.
The synopsis contains all of the updates to this document that have been posted as of 12/22/2008. If updates have been made to the opportunity synopsis, update information is provided below the synopsis. Read more. Source: Grants.gov, 12/22/08
Spire Corporation, a global solar company providing turnkey solar factories and capital equipment to manufacture PV modules worldwide, has received a contract worth $54.9 million US from Federal Prison Industries, Inc. to supply solar cells for a Spire-installed turnkey PV factory to be located at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Otisville, New York.
The Spire-supplied turnkey module production line at FCI Otisville will be operated by inmates who will be trained to find employment in the rapidly growing U.S. solar industry. Modules manufactured at FCI Otisville will be sold for government installations. Successful performance of the factory may lead to similar factories at other Federal Prison locations. (Source: Business Wire, December 8, 2008)
For more information, contact Nader M. Kalkhoran, VP Business Development, Spire Corporation, 781-275-6000. Source: EP Overviews, 12/15/08
New York State University College of Environmental Science and Forestry researchers are determining how much biomass would be available within a 25-mile radius of Syracuse. The research is supported by a $75,000 US grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Senior research associate Timothy Volk indicates that while the results of the study will be of interest to companies planning development of biomass plants in the area, the study will also have relevance outside Central New York. Volk aims to develop a methodology that energy developers could replicate in other areas. (Source: Syracuse.com, December 5, 2008)
For more information, contact Timothy Volk, research associate, Forest and Natural Resources Management, SUNY, 315-470-6692. Source: EP Overviews, 12/8/08
The Department of Energy recently announced they are extending their deadline for responses to the Renewable Energy Loan Guarantee Solicitation to Feb. 26, 2009. The $10 billion in loans will be for "New or Significantly Improved Technologies."
Grant and Scholarship applications are due Feb. 15, 2009. Source: American Public Power Association, 12/05/08
Learn more about funding solicitations.
This news item comes to you as a service of Western's Renewable Resources Program.
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