An Ignoble Experiment

2. Short on skilled workers? Look to the military

A bill in the Massachusetts State Senate, SB 1970, would allow renewable thermal technologies to qualify for the Alternative Portfolio Standard and provide a credit that incentivizes renewable thermal technologies.

"As a national leader in clean energy efforts, passage of SB 1970 would be another big step forward for Massachusetts," said Rhone Resch, Solar Energy Industries Association president and CEO. "Today, approximately 44 percent of American energy consumption is attributable to heating and cooling. Renewable thermal technologies are a win-win, helping our environment and saving money for consumers."

The bill defines "useful thermal energy" as "energy in the form of direct heat, steam, hot water, or other thermal form that is used in production and beneficial measures for heating, cooling, humidity control, process use, or other valid thermal end use energy requirements and for which fuel or electricity would otherwise be consumed."

The bill further proposes an alternative energy portfolio standard for all retail electricity suppliers selling electricity to end-use customers in the commonwealth.

"Every retail electric supplier providing service under contracts executed or extended on or after January 1, 2009 shall provide a minimum percentage of kilowatt-hour sales, as determined by the department, to end-use customers in the commonwealth from alternative energy generating sources and the department shall annually thereafter determine the minimum percentage of kilowatt-hour sales to end-use customers in the commonwealth which shall be derived from alternative energy generating sources," according to the bill.

This includes combined heat and power, flywheel energy storage, energy-efficient steam technology, or any facility that generates useful thermal energy using sunlight, biomass, bio-gas, liquid bio-fuel. The bill excludes the following as alternative energy supplies: coal, petroleum coke, oil, natural gas (except when used in combined heat and power), and nuclear power.

For more:
- see the bill

Read more about: SB 1970, renewable thermal
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By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

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Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities Company (KU) are launching an aggressive hiring campaign to fill various open positions across its Kentucky facilities, seeking active and former members of the U.S. military.

Credit: Dianna Gee/Wikimedia Commons

The utilities already employ more than 300 service members. The available positions transfer the skills gained in the military to available utility positions. Positions include field technicians; trade and craft positions; engineers; administrative; customer services; and industrial electricians.

From 2012 to 2013, the company more than doubled its hiring rate among reservists and veterans, and set a goal to surpass these results through this year's hiring campaign as well as collaboration with military-affiliated employment organizations.

"We're currently in the largest construction phase of the company's history, investing more than $6 billion in capital improvements, and this is all taking place while we continue providing safe, reliable energy to our customers around the clock," said Paula Pottinger, senior vice president of Human Resources for LG&E and KU. "With so much activity taking place across the company, there are many new opportunities and open positions from entry-level to management roles."

For more:
- visit this website

Read more about: energy workforce, Paula Pottinger
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3. Tariffs helping SA CSP

By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

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4. $3M granted for tribal energy projects

As a result of a decision by the South African Department of Energy to increase the tariff uplift for producing power during the peaking hours of the day, concentrated solar power (CSP) is getting a lift, according to CSP Today -- with payments to plants of 2.7 times the agreed upon tariff rate.

Credit: Htonl/Wikimedia Commons

CSP with thermal storage can reduce peak demand, maintaining a high operational and capacity value. With energy supply a critical issue for South Africa, CSP's thermal storage capability can offer dispatchable energy that will stabilize the grid for years to come.

It can become an incentive to the CSP producers in South Africa to build plants that have at least six hours of storage. Plants with more storage have greater capacity to determine when they want to produce the power, which subsequently gives the power generator greater flexibility and influence over how much revenue it will be able to earn.

"All of these factors have contributed to a reduction in the risks for CSP, which in turn will make these deals more bankable," Alastair Campbell, former head of Power Finance at Standard Bank, told CSP Today. "The tariff uplift in the peak hours is forcing the CSP developers to structure their deals more like peaking projects than mid merit projects which, when compared against the cost of generating power from gas or distillate peaking alternatives in South Africa, starts to make a lot more economic sense. Over its lifetime, CSP with storage is probably the cheapest peaking alternative in this country, which in turn will make these projects eminently more financeable."

For more:
- see this report

Read more about: Alastair Campbell
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By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

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5. DOE, Intertek partner on AEV testing

More than $3 million has been awarded to 21 tribal projects to assist in developing energy and mineral resources, including a hydroelectric project that will provide low-cost clean power to tribal members, and encourage business on Crow lands.

"The Crow Nation is working to provide reliable, low-cost, renewable power to tribal members, and this grant will help make that vision a reality," said Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell who, as chair of the White House Council on Native American Affairs, leads a comprehensive Federal initiative to work more collaboratively and effectively with tribes to advance their economic and social priorities. "These grants are about strengthening self-determination and self-governance by enabling tribal nations to evaluate and promote their energy and mineral assets, negotiate the best agreements with partners or investors, and develop these resources for the social and economic benefit of their communities."

The $655,000 grant to the Crow Tribe will allow completion of all technical, environmental, engineering and economic analyses required for an 8 to 12 MW hydroelectric project. This will allow the tribe to seek power purchase agreements and financing to build the facility, which will provide electricity to its members and invite industry to the reservation with the certainty of reliable, sustainable and clean low-cost power.

The Interior Department's FY2015 budget requests $2.6 billion for Indian Affairs -- $33.6 million higher than the 2014 enacted level.

The 21 projects receiving grant awards for energy and mineral development includes six for mineral extraction, two for oil and gas production, and 13 for renewable energy, including wind, hydropower, geothermal and biomass proposals. Under the Obama Administration, the Indian Affairs Energy and Mineral Development Program has awarded more than $18 million to fund 96 projects to assess the potential of Tribal conventional and renewable energy resources and mineral deposits.

For more:
- see the list of recipients

By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

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