| | | | This week's sponsors are FierceEnergy & FierceSmartGrid. |  | Fierce Innovation Awards 2013: Energy Edition
This utility-reviewed awards program from the publishers of FierceEnergy & FierceSmartGrid is designed to recognize the innovative companies and products that are defining the future of the energy & smart grid industries. Applications due August 23. Apply Today! |
Also Noted: SmartGrid Careers
It's all in the cloud and much more... Charging rates make EVs attractive in Hawaii
To reduce Hawaii's dependence on fossil fuel, the State of Hawaii has set a goal of achieving 70 percent of its energy from clean sources by 2030. The widespread deployment of EVs in Hawaii is a key approach toward the reduction of fossil fuel dependency. Increased use of EVs can reduce Hawaii's dependency on imported oil and encourage use of electricity from indigenous renewable resources, such as wind and solar. Fueling a vehicle with electricity, even from conventional generation, is cleaner and costs the customer less per mile than using gasoline in an internal combustion engine.Article
Caribbean Community works out renewable energy strategy
The Worldwatch Institute is assisting the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in developing a more strategic approach to implementing renewable energy and energy efficiency measures in the region, or Caribbean Sustainable Energy Roadmap and Strategy (C-SERMS). Article
Major regulatory decisions affect net metering
Two state utility regulators' decisions highlight the growing controversy generated by increasing power production from distributed generation, particularly rooftop solar panels, and challenges in rate designs for U.S. utilities, according to Fitch Ratings. While distributed generation currently represents a small part of total power generation in the U.S., Fitch expects it to grow substantially due to continuing improved efficiency, lower cost and federal and state energy policies, leading to an increasing share of total system power sources. Article News From Across the Energy Industry:
1. Timing is everything for Xcel wind plays
2. EPRI research details how to evaluate consumer energy use
3. Exelon already at 89 percent of GHG goal
| This week's sponsor is Oracle. |  | Whitepaper: Customer Experience for Service
This Executive Brief explores the role of service and support in creating great customer experiences, the service goals market leaders use related to customer experience and the Oracle approach for empowering new service experiences.
Download today!
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Today's Top News 1. Race to the Top needs shot in the arm
National Grid last week, along with the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE), led a call for action on the "State Energy Race to the Top Initiative" sponsored by Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Joe Manchin (D- W.Va). The bill will enable the U.S. to double its energy productivity by 2030, according to National Grid, ASE and other members of the Alliance Commission on National Energy Efficiency Policy. The "State Energy Race to the Top Initiative" leverages $200 million to stimulate energy-efficiency policy innovation and investment at the state level, increase national energy productivity, and boost American economic competitiveness. ASE's Energy 2030 roadmap, drafted with the help of National Grid, carries a goal of doubling U.S. energy productivity over the next 17 years -- an ambitious blueprint in many regards that the industry is on target to meet in terms of mindset and investment. However, action must be taken in order to achieve the goal the first of which is enacting the Race to the Top initiative. Modeled after the successful education "Race to the Top," the initiative is a key pillar of the Commission's own Energy 2030 report that calls for the U.S. to double its energy productivity by 2030, which would save Americans $327 billion annually, add 1.3 million jobs, and reduce carbon emissions 33 percent below 2005 levels. "I don't think it will take that long, but you have to start somewhere," Ed White, vice president of energy products at National Grid, said. As part of the call for action, a letter signed by 16 energy leaders was submitted to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) imploring the inclusion of the bill as an amendment to the "Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of 2013" (S. 761) sponsored by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio.). "Today, the U.S. has the unfortunate distinction of being a leader globally in energy waste," Tom King, National Grid president and co-chair of the Alliance Commission on National Energy Efficiency Policy, said. "By adopting the Race to the Top legislation and other key tenets of Energy 2030, we can dramatically increase our energy productivity while giving the economy a serious shot in the arm." For more:
- see the letter Related Article:
Three keys to energy-efficiency's future Read more about: Alliance to Save Energy
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| This week's sponsor is AESP. | | 
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2. NY-BEST, DNV KEMA partner on battery/energy storage facility
The New York Battery and Energy Storage Technology Consortium (NY-BEST) and DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability, are entering into a partnership whereby nearly $23 million will be invested to build and grow the new Battery and Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Testing and Commercialization Center in Rochester, New York. NY-BEST, a consortium of battery and energy storage companies, universities and industry partners, has received $6.9 million in combined funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and Empire State Development Corporation (ESD) toward the creation of the Center. To leverage the state funds, NY-BEST, through a competitive solicitation, sought a private partner with specialized expertise to invest in and operate the Center. DNV KEMA was selected due to their broad capabilities in the transmission and distribution and renewable energy consulting space. Under the agreement, DNV KEMA will provide investments of up to $16 million, including re-location of its existing energy storage testing operations from its laboratory facility in Pennsylvania to the new Center in Rochester. NY-BEST will provide the initial investment of $6.9 million from state grant funds into capital improvements and purchase of additional advanced testing equipment. The BEST Test and Commercialization Center will be a unique asset for the energy storage industry, offering testing from single cells to megawatt systems and providing the key missing elements necessary for product commercialization and growth in the energy storage business, including a suite of test, validation and independent certification capabilities to accelerate commercial deployment of energy storage technologies. Services will include product development, performance validation and certification testing along with a wide range of environmental testing capabilities and battery lifetime testing. These services will accelerate the adoption and growth of energy storage technologies. These capabilities can be difficult for individual companies to procure, and are not currently available at reasonable cost or in reasonable geographic proximity, but are vital to the commercialization of emerging technologies. Energy storage is a crucial option for the transition to a more flexible supply of electricity that will be required as more intermittent renewable and distributed energy options are connected into the grid. Work is underway to construct the Center with completion anticipated by fall of 2013 and opening planned for December 2013. For more:
- visit this website Related Article:
NY-BEST grants $12M for energy storage research Read more about: DNV KEMA
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3. Appeals court ruling could set coal precedent
The United States 10th Circuit Court of Appeals has made a major ruling in favor of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and clean air advocates, by giving the EPA full authority to enforce federal regional haze regulations to clean up coal plants run by Oklahoma Gas and Electric (OG&E).  | | Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Credit: A.amitkumar/Wikimedia Commons | OG&E, whose coal plants in Ft. Gibson and Red Rock are two of the state's largest, now has the option to install scrubber technology to limit emissions or retire the coal plants and convert to cleaner energy sources in order to meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act. The ruling could lead OG&E to turn to the state's abundant sources of renewable energy such as wind. Environmental groups are hailing the ruling a victory with the Sierra Club calling it "a common-sense solution to a serious pollution problem" both in Oklahoma and around the nation. Early in 2011, Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) announced it would gradually phase out coal use at its Northeastern coal-fired power plant in Oologah in order to reduce its sulfur dioxide emissions. The ruling could set a precedent for other coal fleets. For example, PacifiCorp, who sells electricity through its subsidiaries in Oregon, California, Washington, Utah, Wyoming and Idaho, argued that the EPA did not have the authority to ensure that state programs meet federal requirements and only a state could determine the level of pollution controls or Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART). The ruling concludes, citing the Clean Air Act and its legislative history, that "the EPA may reject BART determinations that do not comply with the guidelines." The ruling confirms EPA's efforts to require PacifiCorp to retrofit its Wyoming coal plants in order to bring PacifiCorp's plants into compliance with the Clean Air Act. For more:
- see this ruling Related Article:
Sierra Club agreement puts screws to KY coal Read more about: Oklahoma Gas and Electric
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4. Conventional biofuel production to grow steadily; advanced biofuel slows
According to Navigant Research, biofuel production revenue will reach $7.6 billion by 2023, with $69 billion invested in new production capacity worldwide over the next 10 years. This is even as the global expansion of advanced biofuel production slows due to delays in the development of advanced biofuels, the boom in fossil fuels production in key markets like the United States, and a decline in global biofuels investment.  | | Green fuel refinery in Pasadena, Texas. Credit: Honeywell/Wikimedia Commons | The next wave of advanced biofuels is nearing commercialization, however, and conventional biofuels production is anticipated to grow steadily between 2013 and 2023. "Conventional ethanol, derived from corn starch, coarse grains, and sugarcane, is expected to remain the largest segment of biofuels over the next 10 years despite facing increased scrutiny as a viable long-term alternative to fossil-based liquid fuels," said Mackinnon Lawrence, principal research analyst with Navigant Research. "The fastest growing segment in the industry, though, will be advanced biofuels such as advanced ethanol, biobutanol, and green diesel, which are moving beyond the pilot and demonstration scale at a handful of projects across the globe." Demand- and supply-oriented policies will continue to play a critical role in the development of the biofuels market. Targeted production through supply-focused policies is expected to surpass current obligatory and voluntary blending policies by 2019, according to the research. Assuming that actual production keeps pace with current supply targets, this imbalance is expected to have a significant impact on ethanol and biodiesel blending policies at the country level. Policy makers will likely capitalize on greater supply and expand existing blending mandates to encourage greater integration of biofuels into their domestic fuel mix. For more:
- download the report Related Article:
Second gen biofuels most efficient use of EU bioenergy Read more about: biofuel
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5. Natural gas dominates new capacity; renewables close behind
In the first half of 2013, renewable energy sources, including biomass, geothermal, solar, water, and wind, accounted for 24.93 percent of all new domestic electrical generating capacity -- a total of 2,144 MW -- according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) Office of Energy Projects.  | | Credit: SFFE - Senter for fornybar energy/Wikimedia Commons | Renewable energy sources continue their rapid growth in the nation's electrical generation mix, outpacing traditional sources such as coal, oil, and nuclear power. Only natural gas dominated in the first six months of 2013, with 4,852 MW, or 56.41 percent, of new capacity. Among renewable energy, solar led the first half of 2013 with 94 units totaling 979 MW. Wind followed solar with 8 units totaling 959 MW. Biomass added 36 new units totaling 116 MW while water had 8 new units with an installed capacity of 76 MW and geothermal steam had one new unit at 14 MW. For the month of June 2013 alone, six new solar projects in North Carolina and one in New Mexico came online with a total capacity of 15 MW while a single 4-MW hydropower project was also added. No new capacity was reported for the month for natural gas but coal and oil had additions of 618 MW and 26 MW respectively. For the first half of 2013, compared to the first half of 2012, new capacity from all sources declined by 16.16 percent (from 10,259 MW to 8,601 MW). However, solar capacity grew by 3.70 percent while natural gas capacity increased by 12.47 percent. Water power saw a more than tenfold increase from 7 MW in the first six months of 2012 to 76 MW the first six months of 2013. Renewable sources now account for nearly 16 percent of total installed operating generation capacity in the United States -- more than nuclear and oil combined. Actual net electrical generation from renewable energy sources now totals about 14 percent. For more:
- see this report Related Articles:
Building a smarter renewable energy future
Report highlights states driving renewable energy Read more about: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
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Also Noted
> Fierce Innovation Awards 2013: Energy Edition - Deadline: August 23 This utility-reviewed awards program from the publishers of FierceEnergy & FierceSmartGrid is designed to recognize the innovative companies and products that are defining the future of the energy & smart grid industries. Applications due August 23. Apply Today! > 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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