| This week's sponsor is OpenText. |  | Information powers your business: Take control of it with information governance. Learn how information governance strategies help manage risks, reduce costs, and drive operational excellence in the new white paper from PennEnergy. |
Also Noted: Meru Networks
DOI can't match oil and gas industry salaries and much more... MidAmerican makes good on 2012 solar commitment
MidAmerican Solar and NRG Energy have completed their Agua Caliente Solar Photovoltaic Facility between Yuma and Phoenix, Arizona -- the largest solar PV project in the world with more than 4.9 million solar panels. The electricity generated by the 290 MW facility, which sits on 2,400 acres of land, can support 230,000 homes at peak capacity. Article
Energy efficiency helps ISO NE meet 2014 summer demand
The New England Independent System Operator (ISO NE) is reporting that it expects the region to have the needed resources to meet consumer demand for electricity this summer, with electricity demand forecast to peak at around 26,660 MW at conditions of about 90 °F. Article
MidAmerican had Goodle in its crosshairs
MidAmerican Energy will fully supply the first phase of Google's data facilities in Council Bluffs with 100 percent renewable wind energy, which will allow additional phases of Google operations to be supplied with wind-sourced energy as the company grows in Iowa. Article
News From Across the Energy Industry:
1. Who made SEPA's solar list?
2. Utility customer assistance rivals that of federal government
3. U.S. Army/TEP renewable energy partnership
More headlines...
| This week's sponsor is Oracle. |  | Making the Most of Your CRM: How Best-in-Class Sales Teams Maximize Revenue and Customer Experience
This Research Brief combines research from a number of Aberdeen Sales Effectiveness research data sets, to create a holistic view of the most effectively deployed CRM systems. Download today.
|
Today's Top News 1. Energy efficiency a cheap path to CO2 compliance
Energy efficiency could be used in an upcoming U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standard to reduce CO2 levels with no net cost to the economy. Currently under review by the White House Office of Management and Budget, and likely to be released in early June, the standard would set a CO2 emissions limit for existing power plants under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. A study by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) outlines how the Environmental Protection Agency could use four common energy efficiency policies to set a carbon pollution standard that reduces emissions to 26 percent below 2012 levels. In 2030, these policies would save 600 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions, save more than 925 million MWh of electricity, reduce electricity demand by 25 percent, and avoid the need for 494 power plants, according to ACEEE. Further, adoption of these policies would significantly boost the economy, increasing the national gross domestic product by $17.2 billion and creating 611,000 new jobs across the country in 2030, including people employed in jobs directly related to energy efficiency, ACEEE contends. "If the Environmental Protection Agency is looking for a way to cheaply cut carbon pollution and boost the economy while giving states the freedom to use their energy resources, energy efficiency is the answer," said ACEEE executive director Steven Nadel. The policies in the plan include setting a state energy savings target of 1.5 percent per year, implementing updated national model building codes, constructing economically attractive combined heat and power facilities, and adopting standards for five appliances. The energy efficiency technologies included in the plan have already been tested and are ready to be deployed. The vast majority of states already take advantage of some end use energy efficiency programs and policies, and all states have vast untapped reserves of this resource. For more:
- download this report Related Articles:
Customers, utility benefit from energy efficiency program
Energy efficiency crystal ball Read more about: Clean Air Act, Steven Nadel ACEEE
back to top |
2. Hawaiian PUC orders state utilities to take action
The Hawaiian Public Utilities Commission has made four major decisions and orders requiring the Hawaiian Electric Companies (HECO) to: develop and implement major improvement plans to aggressively pursue energy cost reductions, proactively respond to emerging renewable energy integration challenges, improve the interconnection process for customer-sited solar photovoltaic systems, and embrace customer demand response programs.  | | Waimoku Waterfalls, Haleakala National Park, Hawaii. Credit: Paul Keeler/Wikimedia Commons | Hawaiian Electric Industries' electric utilities, including Hawaiian Electric Company, Hawaii Electric Light Company and Maui Electric Company, are all affected by the four PUC decisions and orders. The decisions and orders include Integrated Resource Planning, Reliability Standards Working Group, Policy Statement and Order Regarding Demand Response Programs, and Maui Electric Company (MECO) 2012 Test Year Rate Case. Integrated Resource Planning rejected the HECO Companies' Integrated Resource Plan submission, and, in lieu of an approved plan, has commenced other initiatives to enable resource planning and proffered a white paper entitled, "Commission's Inclinations on the Future of Hawaii's Electric Utilities." The white paper outlines the vision, strategies, and regulatory policy changes required to align the HECO Companies' business model with customers' changing expectations and state energy policy; and provides specific guidance for future energy planning and project review, including strategic direction for future capital investments. Reliability Standards Working Group makes various rulings regarding the final work product of the working group and provides the PUC's observations and perspectives regarding integrating utility-scale and distributed renewable energy resources in a reliable and economic manner. It directs the HECO Companies, and in some cases, the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, to take timely actions to lower energy costs, improve system reliability, and address emerging challenges to integrate additional renewable energy. Policy Statement and Order Regarding Demand Response Programs provides specific guidance concerning the objectives and goals for demand response programs, and requires the HECO Companies to develop a fully integrated demand response portfolio that will enhance system operations and reduce costs to customers. Maui Electric Company 2012 Test Year Rate Case, which accepted the PUC consultant's report reviewing MECO's System Improvement and Curtailment Reduction (SICR) plan, directs MECO to file a Power Supply Improvement Plan to address the SICR plan's shortcomings. HECO has reacted to the PUC's orders with the following statement. "In this challenging, fast-changing energy environment, we welcome the PUC's clear direction and roadmap. We've been working on many of these initiatives, and these directives confirm the energy policy priorities that will guide our strategies and implementation," said Dick Rosenblum, HECO president and chief executive officer. "We understand the importance of moving quickly and see this as an unprecedented opportunity to move aggressively on a shared vision for the utility of the future and on our role in meeting the needs of our customers." For more:
- see the decisions and orders, docket 1
- see the decisions and orders, docket 2
- see the decisions and orders, docket 3
- see the decisions and orders, docket 4 Related Article:
HECO taken to TASC on solar Read more about: Hawaiian Public Utilities Commission
back to top |
3. $1B Energy Strong settlement reached
Public Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) has reached a $1.22 billion settlement with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) in PSE&G's Energy Strong proposal to proactively protect and strengthen its electric and gas systems against severe weather conditions. The stipulation is under review by the other parties and participants in the case and will be submitted to the BPU for review and approval. The settlement culminates more than a year of public and evidentiary hearings before the BPU and negotiations with other parties in the case.  | | Credit: Tony Webster/Wikimedia Commons | In February 2013, a PSE&G filing with the NJ BPU sought approval to invest $2.6 billion during five years to harden its electric and gas systems, with the ability to seek approval to spend an additional $1.3 billion in the following five years to complete the proposed 10-year, $3.9 billion program. If approved, PSE&G will invest $620 million to raise, relocate or protect 29 switching and substations that were damaged by water in recent storms; $350 million to replace and modernize 250 miles of low-pressure cast iron gas mains in or near flood areas; $100 million to create redundancy in the system, reducing outages when damage occurs; $100 million to deploy smart grid technologies to better monitor system operations to increase our ability to more swiftly deploy repair teams; and $50 million to protect five natural gas metering stations and a liquefied natural gas station affected by Sandy or located in flood zones. As part of the agreement, PSE&G will earn an authorized return on equity of 9.75 percent on the first $1 billion invested based on an accelerated recovery mechanism. PSE&G will seek to recover the remaining $220 million in a base rate case. The impact of the $1 billion investment on the typical residential combined electric/gas customer bill is expected to be approximately 2 percent in 2018, which will be more than offset by transitional charges stemming from deregulation that are expiring in the same timeframe. For more:
- see this fact sheet Related Article:
PSEG in talks over Energy Strong Read more about: New Jersey Board Of Public Utilities
back to top |
4. Energy independence hinges on closing gas infrastructure gap
Without a solution to the significant gas pipeline infrastructure gap that currently exists, the energy independence that the shale gas revolution could provide may never be realized. That is according to a new report from global law firm White & Case LLP.  | | Credit: Glen Dillon/Wikimedia Commons | "The United States has a golden opportunity to become a powerhouse in global energy markets, to truly achieve full energy independence and to use natural gas to power our economy," said White & Case partner Daniel Hagan. "But that path is far from assured without a major expansion of the long-distance pipeline network." The United States currently lacks the capacity to transport all its available oil and gas to users and investors have been slow to support the development of additional pipeline capacity. But White & Case suggests there are actions that could hasten development of critical infrastructure. For example, pipeline investment and financing could be made more attractive through added revenue streams from pipeline systems; legislation pending before Congress could address this issue. A solid partnership between industry and regulators, as well as a national energy strategy, are critical to kick-starting an ambitious pipeline expansion program, and coordination between gas and electric power companies needs improvement. Finally, breaking the bottleneck in liquefied natural gas (LNG) export authorizations and tapping into world demand for LNG is critical to spurring investment in pipeline infrastructure, White & Case contends. For more:
- see this report Related Article:
Natural gas poised for worldwide growth Read more about: gas infrastructure
back to top |
5. Oil and gas deal activity high but losing value
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the oil and gas industry reached the highest first quarter level of deal volume in more than a decade due to increased activity in the upstream sector and interest in oil and gas assets by foreign players, according to PwC U.S. Although deal activity was high, the total value of deals dipped compared to the fourth quarter of 2013 due to companies divesting smaller non-core assets, a trend that PwC expects to continue through 2014. For the three month period ending March 31, 2014, there were a total of 43 oil and gas deals with values greater than $50 million accounting for $19.8 billion -- compared to 41 deals in the first quarter of 2013. However, on a sequential basis, deal volume in the first quarter of 2014 dropped by 23 percent from the 56 deals in the fourth quarter of 2013, with total deal value in the first three months of the year declining 54 percent from $43.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013. "The first three months of 2014 represented a historic first quarter across the board led by deal activity in the upstream sector, including in the Gulf of Mexico and interest from foreign players," said Doug Meier, PwC's U.S. energy sector deals leader. "Divestures continue to be a major source of deal activity, but we are seeing smaller deals taking place; larger portfolio adjustments have already been made. Smaller deals are also happening in the oilfield services sector as a result of companies selectively looking to fill in the white space by adding assets that can increase productivity and reduce costs." According to PwC, there were 17 deals with values greater than $50 million related to shale plays in the first quarter of 2014, totaling $6.2 billion, or 31 percent of total deal value. In the upstream sector, shale deals represented 14 transactions and accounted for $5.7 billion, or 29 percent of total upstream deal value in the first quarter of 2014. There were two midstream shale-related deals in the first quarter of 2014, representing $210 million, a drop in volume from the six deals representing $7.7 billion in the first quarter of 2013. "First quarter shale deal activity was on par with what we anticipated as we see the continued shift towards unconventionals," said John Brady, a Houston-based partner with PwC's energy practice. "A third of total deal value was related to shale plays in the first three months of the year, indicating the ongoing attractiveness of capitalizing on the long-term prospects for shale gas. Unconventionals will continue to play a large part in deal activity going forward, as will finding opportunities for reducing cycle times and increasing productivity through new technologies and processes to increase speed and efficiency." The most active shale plays for M&A with values greater than $50 million during the first quarter of 2014 include the Eagle Ford in Texas, which had five deals with a total value of $3.0 billion, followed by the Bakken and Permian plays with three deals each, representing $863 million and $276 million, respectively. The Utica Shale generated only one deal -- however this deal represented the second largest in value in the first quarter at $924 million. The Niobrara contributed one deal worth $180 million. During the first quarter of 2014, master limited partnerships (MLP) were involved in 11 transactions, representing about 27 percent of total deal activity in the quarter, consistent with recent historical levels. Financial investors continued to show interest in the oil and gas industry with two total transactions, totaling $1.9 billion during the first quarter of 2014, which was more than a 230 percent jump in deal value compared to the same time period in 2013. PwC notes that during the first quarter of 2014, there were five mega deals, representing $10.1 billion, compared to eight mega deals worth $19.7 billion in the first quarter of 2013. For more:
- see this report Related Articles:
Funds increasingly funneled to exploration, development of existing assets
Interest in oil and gas deals to continue in 2014
2013 asset activity a good sign for 2014 Read more about: John Brady PwC, oil and gas industry
back to top |
Also Noted | This week's sponsor is Clean Coalition. |  | Custom Webinar: Planning the Grid for Distributed Energy Resources
Wednesday, May 14th, 2pm ET / 11am PT | 1 hour Distributed energy resources - such as distributed generation, advanced inverters, demand response, and energy storage - are transforming the power system. Optimizing the locations and portfolios of distributed energy resources will be key to maximizing the value to utilities and ratepayers. Register Today! |
News From Across the Energy Industry:
> FERC approves Transco expansion Post
> NY revolutionizing solar market Post
> U.S. EVs maturing, expanding Post
> Stream-reach hydropower still untapped Post
> Energy benchmarking law goes from cities to county Post
> Seattle City Light completes community solar project Post
> ARPA-E funds allocated to reduce methane emissions, develop thermal management systems Post
> Planning the Grid for Distributed Energy Resources - Wednesday, May 14 - 2pm ET / 11am PT Distributed energy resources - such as distributed generation, advanced inverters, demand response, and energy storage - are transforming the power system. Optimizing the locations and portfolios of distributed energy resources will be key to maximizing the value to utilities and ratepayers. Register Today!
| > Whitepaper: Download a FREE PREVIEW of the 2013 Smart Grid Hiring Trends report! Featuring 76 unique tables illustrating nearly 30 Smart Grid hiring topics, this original research offers human resources professionals and hiring executives unique insight into emerging Smart Grid human resources challenges, solutions and trends. Click here to download the executive summary. > Whitepaper: 802.11ac in the Enterprise: Technologies and Strategies Download the White Paper "802.11ac in the Enterprise: Technologies and Strategies" to learn from industry expert Craig Mathias about the technologies behind 802.11ac, deployment misconceptions and review steps that every organization should take in getting ready for 802.11ac.
Download today! | |
No comments:
Post a Comment
Keep a civil tongue.