An Ignoble Experiment

2. NJAW looking beyond traditional reliability and emergency planning

California legislation to expand access to solar and other renewables would create thousands of local jobs and economic benefits to the state according to new research released by Vote Solar.

SB 43 and AB 1014 would establish a solar pilot program for up to 1,000 MW of new shared renewable energy systems for customers of Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), Southern California Edison (SCE) and San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) who do not own their own roofs. Customers who choose to participate would receive credit on their utility bills for their portion of the clean power generated. A portion of the program will be reserved for both residential customers and for projects located in low-income communities to ensure diversity of participation.

"Three out of four Californians are currently unable to take advantage of renewable energy through the state's renewable power programs. They pay into programs to support renewable energy, yet can't install their own power generation system for a variety of reasons. SB 43 rectifies this inequity," said Senator Lois Wolk in a statement.

According to Vote Solar, the program would provide several economic benefits to the state without requiring any state funds or shifting costs to consumers who chose not to participate, including: 12,700 local jobs; $130 million in tax revenue from sales tax on renewable energy systems; $4.3 billion in total economic activity.

For more:
- see the report

Related Article:
LADWP solar incentive apps increase 400%

Read more about: Southern California Edison
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By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

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3. Transformation of IEMS could benefit utility bottom line

Every year, New Jersey American Water (NJAW) spends approximately $40 million on updating the pipes, pumps and valves that make up its nearly 9,000 miles of underground water infrastructure. Due to the increasingly frail nature of the system and subsequent water-main breaks and other failures, that cost is continuing to rise.

The utility recently testified before the New Jersey Clean Water Council regarding ways to protect this critical infrastructure from storm-related damage, as well as water system resiliency and planning issues.

New Jersey American Water Vice President of Engineering Suzanne Chiavari testified about the utility's "new normal" -- a time of unprecedented natural disasters combined with an aging infrastructure that is driving the company to review traditional planning and design criteria.

"This new normal has led us to look beyond traditional reliability and emergency planning into a world that needs the speed of recovery and resiliency for much more widespread events," she said and offered some lessons learned from Superstorm Sandy.

These learning points, Chiavari testified, need to be a high priority in the state.

A large network of resources to improve resiliency.
Asset Management Systems that reveal all assets and their condition, where they are located, their maintenance history, and spare parts inventory. Geographic Information Systems and computerized maintenance management systems provide information at the utility's fingertips instead of having to hunt for records in file drawers or remote storage.
Planning and Risk Assessment which should start with comprehensive master planning for each system and look at service needs over a 15 to 25 year period.
Planning Criteria that is regularly and consistently reassessed for changing conditions, and includes multi-utility impacts. For example, assessing not only the water network, but the sewer system and auxiliary power capacity.
Critical communications, including reciprocal communications via social media, to all stakeholders so when service levels are impacted or lost, customers know what is happening and when they can expect service levels to be restored to normal.
Regulators must be partners in increasing resiliency to support the long-term sustainability of water infrastructure and operations by defining criteria for a resilient utility infrastructure, a reliable fuel network, and a more resilient power grid to attract and retain businesses and jobs.
State agencies should consider establishing resiliency criteria for grants and loans.

For more:
- see the testimony

Read more about: water infrastructure
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By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

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4. Pacific Northwest natural gas loads shifting

Industrial energy management and energy efficiency is a largely untapped industry for utilities. Industrial Energy Management Systems (IEMS) are evolving quickly to help utilities and industrial facilities minimize energy use while meeting the production demands of the facility.

Technology, processing capabilities, software applications, and business intelligence insights are progressing quickly in the IEMS market, as vendors apply the latest innovations and advancements from other markets and application areas to the industrial sector, according to Navigant Research.

"The IEMS market is opening to new firms, new technologies, and unique products and services," Eric Woods, research director with Navigant Research said. "This is good news…as fresh ideas make IEMS more accessible."

The traditional market is changing from large equipment manufacturers to major IT companies with expertise in handling large data sets and sophisticated real-time business analytics applications, according to Navigant.

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is one progressive organization that has taken advantage of the opportunities in the industrial market. Its Energy Smart Industrial (ESI) program -- recently recognized as "exemplary" by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy – delivers energy savings across a wide variety of industrial markets via its Northwest utilities. Now in its fourth year, the ESI program serves 99 percent of the industrial load in Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington and has saved nearly 368 million kilowatt-hours.

"ESI's achievements are tied directly to outstanding collaboration among our regional stakeholders," said Jennifer Eskil, industrial sector lead at BPA. "We have more than 90 percent participation among public utilities, and we've serviced over 500 of their industrial customers."

In other news affecting the industrial market, if passed, a new bill could offer more encouragement for industrial energy efficiency upgrades through tax credits and state grant programs, research and development funding and increasingly stringent efficiency standards for new building codes, E² Wire reports.

For more:
- see this article

Related Article:
$150M in manufacturing tax credits up for grabs

By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

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5. Union Station goes 100% wind

The 10-year outlook for natural gas demand appears to follow the trend of steady but modest regional growth across the Pacific Northwest, including Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia, according to the Northwest Gas Association's (NWGA) 2013 Natural Gas Outlook Study.

The report projects an annual growth rate of 1.2 percent, leading to cumulative growth of 10.3 percent by 2022 — slightly higher than the 2012 study. The trend toward increased gas demand for power generation is also notable, rising from an annual rate of 1.0 percent in 2012 to 2.6 percent in 2013.

"Our regional load profile is changing, while industrial loads once made up almost half of our natural gas use today they make up a third, with the remainder closely split between generation, residential and commercial uses," said Dan Kirschner, executive director of the NWGA. "This trend reinforces the value of continued communication between regional stakeholders as abundant, clean burning natural gas remains a fundamental fuel for the Pacific Northwest."

For more:
- see the report

Read more about: natural gas
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By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

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