| Today's Top Stories
1. California ratepayers to receive cap-and-trade revenue
2. Offshore research facility to test technology accuracy
3. Solar emerging as competitor for utility-scale electric generation
4. Ontario nearly coal-free
5. Algae fuel development could replace 17 percent of oil imports Editor's Corner: The argument for a national FIT Also Noted: Spotlight On... Duke solar farm online in NC
New IEEE standards; privacy protections in danger and much more... Solar imperative: Strategies for accelerating PV growth
Moving the photovoltaic (PV) industry forward and enabling it to make a significant contribution to worldwide electricity generation -- greater than 25 percent -- will require four strategic initiative. Feature EPA prepping for a busy 2013
Energy regulation is a complicated game. Ensuring compliance requires utilities to navigate policy at the local, state, and federal levels while monitoring a host of commissions and government departments. The U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is among the most influential of these organizations, having carried the torch on issues ranging from air pollution to clean energy and water. Article News From Across the Energy Industry:
1. The importance of a corporate vision for smart grid
2. New Year ushers in smart grid technology twists
3. Research predicts 3.8 million EV drivers by 2020
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The argument for a national FIT
A 100 MW feed-in tariff (FIT) program for Los Angeles has been approved by the city's Department of Water and Power (DWP) Board of Commissioners, making Los Angeles the largest city in the nation to implement a feed-in tariff system with the largest rooftop solar program of its kind in the nation.
The FIT system will allow local property owners to sell solar power generated from underused rooftop space and parking lots back to the LADWP for the first time. DWP will release five 20 MW allocations of FIT energy by 2016 and propose an additional 50 MW this March. The program establishes an initial guaranteed price of 17 cents per kilowatt-hour and includes a fund for small projects in each of the five 20 MW allocations to ensure that local businesses also benefit from the program. Industry experts tell me that these will be major factors in encouraging participation. Read the entire Editor's Corner online at FierceEnergy. Read more about: Feedin Tariff System, Department Of Water And Power DWP Board Of Commissioners
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Today's Top News 1. California ratepayers to receive cap-and-trade revenue
California regulators unanimously approved a plan that will directly a large majority of the state's new cap and trade proceeds directly to residential ratepayers. Under the new regulation, 85 percent of cap-and-trade sales will be funneled back to state residential ratepayers. The California Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved the rules late last month in an effort to offset rising electricity costs. The revenue will be distributed as a biennial "climate dividend." The decision is the latest extension of California's cap-and-trade program, which was announced last year. The proposal projects the total dividend seen by customers to be between $5.7 and $22.6 billion over the course of the program. "The cost of emitting greenhouse gas pollution will now be reflected in most non-residential customers' rates, creating a strong incentive for businesses throughout California to invest in energy efficiency and clean energy," said CPUC President Michael R. Peevey, in a release. For more:
-see the proposal Related Articles:
CA cap-and-trade off to a good start
California ahead of the clean energy curve...again
Read more about: California Public Utilities Commission
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2. Offshore research facility to test technology accuracy
The Department of Energy is launching a research facility at the Chesapeake Light Tower, located in open water 13 miles east of Virginia Beach.  | | Part of an offshore wind farm off of England's south east coast. (Credit: Nuon via Flickr) | At first it might seem like a strange location -- on the water in the middle of nowhere. But not when the intent is testing the potential of offshore winds and underwater ocean energy. Research at the Reference Facility for Offshore Renewable Energy (REFORE) will help verify technologies that can collect reliable data, putting to rest questions about the accuracy of offshore data. The technology will feature devices incorporating LIDAR (light detection and ranging) placed on buoys in the ocean to measure offshore wind speeds, strength and direction by emitting light, and observing when and how some of that light is reflected off of tiny bits of dust, sea spray or other particles. To enhance the accuracy of the LIDAR, the devices will be placed both on buoys floating near the facility and also on the facility itself in order to determine the buoy-based technology's accuracy. Scientists are likely to start research at the facility in 2015. For more:
- see this article Related Articles:
Offshore wind holds promise for Dominion Virginia Power
Obama pushes for clean energy on both coasts
Virginia to install first U.S. offshore wind turbine
Dominion taps Virgina's offshore winds Read more about: wind
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3. Solar emerging as competitor for utility-scale electric generation
The adoption of U.S. utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) plants is expected to accelerate during the next decade, according to research from Frost & Sullivan. This will move the technology forward as a contender in a pool of conventional forms of electricity generation. Renewable portfolio standards, federal incentives such as investment tax credits and loan programs are driving large-scale commercialization of solar energy. As solar energy competes with conventional forms of electricity generation, the potential market for utility-scale solar power plants in the country is on the rise. Cumulative PV solar installations in the U.S. reached 1,855 MW with the utility-scale segment accounting for 32.2 percent. "Though no new CSP plants were installed in the United States during 2011, projects totaling more than 1.4 gigawatts were under construction," said Frost & Sullivan Senior Industry Analyst Georgina Benedetti, which should speed up overall market growth. However, before banks and investors fund these projects, they need some level of assurance that a power plant will operate long enough to see a return on their investment. "Therefore, well-established project developers using proven technologies will have an advantage in obtaining financing," said Benedetti. For more:
- see this article Related Articles:
Solar robust even in economic downturn
Muni's feed-in tariff will boost CA solar energy
California gaining PV market share Read more about: PV, Solar power
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4. Ontario nearly coal-free
In 2003, Ontario's government made a decision to stop burning coal. Since that time, Ontario has cut its use of coal by nearly 90 percent, and more than 80 percent of its power generation comes from water, nuclear, and renewables.  | | Lambton generating station | The last of Ontario's coal plant operations will cease by the end of 2013 -- a year earlier than originally planned. In 2014, Ontario's use of coal is expected to be less than 1 percent of total electricity generation -- down from 25 percent in 2003. Ontario's two largest coal-fired electricity plants, Nanticoke and Lambton, will close early as a result of the province's improved electricity grid, increased efficiency, strong conservation efforts, and diversified supply of clean energy -- effectively shutting down 17 of the Province's 19 coal plants. Ontario currently uses less coal-fired generation in its energy mix than any G8 nation and has been none the worse for wear. Clean energy and a modern electricity system have created tens of thousands of jobs and attracted investors and a high-quality workforce. In 2012, the renewable energy sector saw $12 billion in capital investment. In fact, in 2011, Ontario was the world's leading region for renewable energy projects, according to the Financial Times' fDi Intelligence think-tank. By the end of 2014, Ontario will be one of the few places in the world to eliminate coal as a source of electricity production. For more:
- see this article Related Articles:
Goodbye to coal?
FirstEnergy ready for more coal retirements
Exelon sells off Maryland Clean Coal
Future of coal unclear Read more about: Clean Energy
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5. Algae fuel development could replace 17 percent of oil imports
Micro-algae fuels powered by sunlight could be one way to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign energy and carbon dioxide emissions.  | | Truman Fellow Anne Ruffing looks at a flask of cyanobacteria with precipitated fatty acid floating on top. (Credit: Randy Montoya) | In fact, President Obama has advocated for investments in algae fuel development, citing the replacement of up to 17 percent of the oil the U.S. now imports for transportation. Sandia National Laboratories Truman Fellow Anne Ruffing has engineered two strains of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) to produce free fatty acids -- a precursor to liquid fuels -- and found that the process cuts the bacteria's production potential. "Even if algae are not the end-term solution, I think they can contribute to getting us there," Ruffing said. "Regardless of however you look at fossil fuels, they're eventually going to run out. We have to start looking to the future now and doing research that we'll need when the time comes." Blue-green algae are easier to genetically manipulate than eukaryotic algae, the natural "oil"-producing photosynthetic microorganisms more commonly used for algal biofuels, and can be engineered to create a variety of target fuels. "So I'm engineering the cell, then I'm trying to learn from the cell how to work with the cell to produce the fuel instead of trying to force it to produce something it doesn't want to produce," she said. "It is possible that there's a natural strain out there that could be a better option, so this is still pretty early research.There's a lot of exploration to do." Yields from engineered strains are currently too low for large-scale production. For more:
- see this article Related Articles:
Research supports algae for biofuel
Pike Research: Algae-based biofuels represent opportunity for utilities Read more about: President Obama, Bluegreen Algae
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Also Noted SPOTLIGHT ON... Duke solar farm online in NC The Washington White Post solar farm is the latest of Duke Energy Renewables' solar investments in North Carolina. The 12.5 MW commercial-scale project went online at the end of 2012. Article >Big data vs. big oil. Article
>IEEE approves WiGig standard. Article
>Microsoft's enterprise mobile trend. Article
>Privacy protections in danger. Article
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