| Also Noted: Griddie finalists announced and much more... Energy efficiency reduces CO2 emissions for Constellation customers
Through Efficiency Made Easy, Constellation customers have collectively reduced their carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 75,432 metric tons or 166,299,142 pounds over the past two years. According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data, 75,432 metric tons of CO2 is equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of 15,715 passenger vehicles. Article
Consumers Energy to double renewables by 2015
Consumers Energy is adding 62 wind turbines to its Cross Winds Energy Park in Tuscola County, Michigan as part of its Balanced Energy Initiative, a comprehensive 20-year plan to meet the needs of its 1.8 million electric customers with a balanced energy portfolio, including energy efficiency, renewable energy and customer demand management. The units each have a capacity of 1.7 MW for a total installed capacity of 105.4 MW. Article  | Fracking regulation remains divisive
In just a matter of years, hydraulic fracturing -- or "fracking" -- has generated a fierce debate. The practice has gone from being a natural gas extraction procedure with limited exposure outside the energy industry to a controversial topic involving environmental groups, consumer advocates, lawmakers, energy companies and businesses. Everyone has an opinion about whether fracking should be allowed and, if so, how it should be regulated. Opponents cite a lack of understanding surrounding its environmental impacts, while supporters praise the potential of natural gas production to ignite the U.S. economy and drive down energy prices. Article
News From Across the Energy Industry:
1. Price satisfaction high among retail energy customers
2. Deputy Secretary defends DOI's energy development on public lands
3. Debating and debunking AC vs. DC
Today's Top News 1. Coal demand draining Illinois budget
The coal industry drained nearly $20 million from the Illinois state budget in subsidies and expenditures related to supporting the coal industry in Fiscal Year 2011, according to the latest research from the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability and Downstream Strategies.  | Caption: Commonwealth Edison Stateline coal plant in Illinois. Credit: Wikimedia Commons/ Sequeira, Paul, Photographer (NARA record: 8464471) | "Coal mining and support activities play a relatively insignificant role in the Illinois economy, representing only 0.2 percent of private industry economic activity in 2010," said the Center's Amanda Kass. "The level that state lawmakers subsidize the coal industry in Illinois does not pay off for the state budget or for state residents." Prairie Rivers Network, who commissioned the research along with the Sierra Club and Eco-Justice Collaborative, believes that Illinois state lawmakers need to redirect grants and tax breaks from the coal industry to sustainable energy development and job creation in the clean energy sector. Demand for Illinois coal is rising with exports up five times since 2010. "As the companies expand Illinois operations, the cost to the state associated with supporting and regulating the industry will grow as well, and these costs are significant, amounting to more than $66 million in Fiscal Year 2011," said Rory McIlmoil, former energy program manager at Downstream Strategies. "…the costs associated with the Illinois coal industry far exceed the revenues generated by coal-industry activity. This finding suggests that more should be done to maximize the revenues generated by the industry while at the same time reducing costs." Illinois does not impose a severance tax on coal exports, meaning that Illinois pays for, but sees no local tax revenue from, the exports, McIlmoil explained. "…coal costs us all. Coal exports from our state are on the rise yet little money comes into our state coffers," said Jack Darin Sierra Club Illinois chapter director. "Illinois subsidizes big polluters from the coal industry, while citizens pay the price for the impact of dirty coal on our health, the environment and accelerated climate change. Ending state subsidies and tax breaks for the Illinois coal industry will have a positive impact on the Illinois state budget as well as for the future of our families and environment." For more:
- see the report Related Article:
Mandatory groundwater monitoring demanded for Ameren coal plants Read more about: Coal
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2. ComEd's unique use of social media
ComEd is redesigning its bills with the goal of making them easier for customers to understand as part of an effort to enhance the customer experience.  | Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Paola Peralta | Through a technique called "crowdsourcing," in which customers engage via social media and other digital channels, to identify the features they need and want on their electric bills, ComEd hopes to redesign a bill that will allow customers to better manage their energy use. "Our customers have told us that our current bill is difficult to read and understand," said Val Jensen, senior vice president of Customer Operations, ComEd. "…now we are asking them for their help in designing a bill that will better meet their needs." Customers can provide feedback on the bill's design through various online forums, including an interactive "bill builder" that allows customers to arrange and customize features to visually illustrate where they would like each of the bill's components to be placed and the level of detail they wish to be provided. For example, customers can indicate if they would like to see information comparing their energy usage to their neighbors and whether this information appears in chart or graph form. Using its Facebook page, ComEd launched a "heat map" survey where customers pinpoint the sections of the current bill they find most helpful. The initial poll indicated 47 percent of respondents view the "billing summary" as the most useful part of the bill followed by the "total charge breakdown" (19 percent) and "usage profile" (19 percent). The "payment stub" is the least useful, according to 26 percent. The results will allow ComEd to incorporate the most popular areas of the bill and make them more prominent. Periodically, ComEd will launch other surveys and polls online to gather more feedback. ComEd hopes to have a full bill transformation in 2014. For more:
- visit this website Related Article:
Mobile, social efforts paying off for utilities Read more about: utility customer engagement, ComEd
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3. Hydrogen Energy California facing significant issues
The California Energy Commission and the U.S. Department of Energy have issued a preliminary staff assessment and environmental impact statement of the proposed Hydrogen Energy California (HECA) project, which would use integrated gasification combined cycle and carbon capture technology on a commercial scale, concluding that the proposed facility has significant and unresolved issues.  | Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Hannahpayne | There are 15 technical sections with either significant unmitigated impacts, non-compliance with applicable laws, ordinances, regulations, and standards (LORS), or outstanding issues that need resolution through additional data, further discussion and/or analysis, including air quality; biological resources; carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions; cultural resources; land use; noise and vibration; soil and surface water resources; traffic and transportation; visual resources; waste management; water supply; geology and paleontology; power plant efficiency; power plant reliability; and transmission system engineering. The DOE is proposing to provide financial assistance to design, construct, and demonstrate the HECA project. A forthcoming final staff assessment and environmental impact statement will help decide if the HECA project will be awarded funding. If awarded funding, the HECA project would be located on 1,106 acres of private agricultural land and use an integrated gasification, combined cycle system to produce and sell electricity, carbon dioxide, and fertilizer. The project would gasify coal and petroleum coke to produce synthesis gas (syngas). The hydrogen-rich syngas fuel would be used to generate up to 431 MW of electricity. The proposed plant would capture about 90 percent of the carbon dioxide produced from the gasification process and transport it by pipeline for use at the adjacent Elk Hills Oil Field for enhanced oil recovery resulting in sequestration. Once underway, the $4 billion HECA project will take about four years to complete. Construction is projected to start January 2014 with commercial operation expected by April 2018. For more:
- see the report Related Article:
Are unnecessary charges keeping CA IOUs in business? Read more about: California Energy Commission
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4. Mohave wind project gets DOI approval
The U.S. Department of the Interior has announced the approval of a major wind project in Arizona. When built, the wind farm will provide up to 500 MW to the electric grid.  | Credit: Bureau of Land Management | The project is part of President Obama's comprehensive climate change action plan, in which he challenged the DOI to approve an additional 10,000 MW above the original goal of 10,000 MW of renewable energy production on public lands by 2020. The project would erect up to 243 wind turbines on Federal lands for the Mohave County Wind Farm, which would be located in northwestern Arizona about 40 miles northwest of Kingman. "These are exactly the kind of responsible steps that we need to take to expand homegrown, clean energy on our public lands and cut carbon pollution that affects public health," said DOI Secretary Sally Jewell in a statement. "This wind energy project shows that reducing our carbon pollution can also generate jobs and cut our reliance on foreign oil." Including this most recent wind energy announcement, the DOI has approved 46 wind, solar and geothermal utility-scale projects on public lands since 2009, including associated transmission corridors and infrastructure to connect to established power grids. The Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has identified an additional 14 active renewable energy proposals slated for review this year and next. For more:
- get the facts Related Article:
DOI, BLM approve renewable energy projects Read more about: DOI Secretary Sally Jewell, Bureau of Land Management
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5. Wireless controls driving shift in building, energy-efficiency markets
Wireless controls are increasingly being used to link devices across a variety of building systems, including lighting, HVAC, fire and safety, and security and access -- and driving a major shift in the building and energy-efficiency markets. "While wireless controls are generally more expensive than their wired counterparts, they offer building owners and managers a number of economic benefits," said Bob Gohn, senior research director with Navigant Research. "The labor costs for installing wireless systems are much lower compared with wired, and wireless systems often provide networked control in buildings or areas where wired controls are simply too challenging or expensive to install." Further, automated building systems offer increased efficiencies which allow users greater control over the energy they consume. The use of standards-based technologies like ZigBee and EnOcean, is increasing, but most wireless devices and control networks continue to use proprietary, vendor-specific wireless radio frequency technology, which ensures device interoperability and ease of installation and operation. Some vendors have adopted a hybrid approach, using standards-based technology for the physical layer, media access control, and networking layers of a wireless network while developing their own proprietary applications for managing and controlling data, according to the research. For more:
- see this article Related Article:
Critical advances in smart buildings Read more about: wireless building controls, Energy Efficiency
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Also Noted > RETECH 2013 - September 9-11 - Washington, D.C. RETECH, the Renewable Energy Technology Conference & Exhibition educates and informs its international attendee base with a technical program that addresses cutting-edge topics in renewable energy technologies, power generation, military and government, & business. Learn more at www.retech2013.com > 2013 Smart Grid Hiring Trends Study Zpryme Smart Grid Insights and Smart Grid Careers would like to invite hiring managers or employees who play an active role in hiring, recruiting and/or retaining employees for Smart Grid roles in the U.S. to participate in the 2013 Smart Grid Hiring Trends Study. Participants receive a FREE Executive Summary and a discount on the report. Get started here.
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