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Energy sector should pare down IT components, access and much more... Utilities offer lessons on using social media effectively
Attendees at the AESP Spring Conference received first-hand lessons on how utilities can use social media effectively. Emily Johnson of National Grid outlined the utility's experiences with social media and said that Hurricane Irene and Superstorm Sandy were flashpoints. Article
TXU Energy COO on keeping customers
As retail electricity providers continue to expand their portfolios of products and services and regulated utilities face the possibility of competition, remaining focused on customers' needs and customer service continues to grow in importance, TXU Energy Chief Operating Officer Scott Hudson told energy executives at a recent forum. Article
Next stop for Cape Wind: Seafloor
Cape Wind, set to be the nation's first offshore wind project, has moved on to completing geophysical surveys of the project site and offshore cable routes. Survey vessels with a suite of geophysical instruments are surveying the seafloor and subsea geology on Horseshoe Shoal and along the offshore cable route. Article
Entergy rebuilding after EF4 tornado
Entergy is recovering and rebuilding after five tornadoes, one an EF4 with winds up to 200 mph, damaged its Arkansas electrical facilities. While power has been restored to customers, Entergy Arkansas continues on a massive, coordinated effort to rebuild numerous transmission and distribution facilities, including the Mayflower substation -- one of three major substations that supplies power to metropolitan Little Rock. Article
News From Across the Energy Industry:
1. Lessons from AESP: Key to revenue is market segmentation
2. Clean energy supporters celebrate Obama's Year of Action
3. Hydro shortage affecting ISO summer supply
More headlines...
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Today's Top News 1. CSAPR impact on power plant emissions questioned
The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) measure designed to limit nitrogen oxide (NOx) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from power plants, reversing an August 2012 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit which vacated the regulation originally set to take effect January 1, 2012.  | | Credit: Wikimedia Commons | According to Platt's Bentek Energy, the CSAPR mandate remains uncertain, with litigation still pending in the appeals court and EPA still reviewing this latest opinion. Details, such as when it would go into effect or the scope of new annual target allocations, remain undefined. Despite these uncertainties, Bentek's analysis of the latest data from EPA's continuous emissions monitoring system shows that if emissions annual targets remain the same as in the original rule, CSAPR alone will have a limited impact on overall fuel competition or market share. All impacted states with annual SO2 and NOx targets under the rule already are compliant with 2012 allowances, and many are compliant with 2014 targets. Specifically, 11 of 23 states affected by the rule are already compliant with CSAPR's 2014 SO2 budgets, and by 2017, coal plant retirements already planned in the next three years will bring an additional four states within compliance, according to Bentek. Since 2011, SO2 and NOx emissions from power generation have fallen 32 percent and 14 percent, respectively, in states with available allocations that are affected by the EPA's CSAPR mandates, Bentek Energy reports. Also helping to cut emissions are scrubbers at coal plants, but a key factor has been increased use of natural gas. Gas market share of generation in 2013 up 3 percent from 2011 at the expense of coal, and low natural gas prices in recent years have enabled utilities to burn more gas and rapidly approach compliance with the rule, according to Bentek. For more:
- review the Supreme Court's opinion Related Articles:
Texas hailed for challenging EPA regs
Court blocks EPA's cross-state air pollution rules Read more about: power plant emissions
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2. 40 solutions for meeting EPA carbon rules
The Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) has identified 40 technologies and services that can help meet requirements for greenhouse gas reduction and modernize America's aging electricity infrastructure. The AEE report, a technology-by-technology description of advanced energy benefits, comes as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to release draft guidelines for regulating carbon emissions from existing power sources under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act. Once that EPA rule is finalized in June 2015, states will be required to develop plans to meet the new emission standards. "The upcoming regulation of carbon emissions from power plants represents an opportunity to do what we need to do anyway -- create a modern electric power system for the 21st century," said Graham Richard, CEO of AEE. "The technologies described in this report can help states meet the new environmental standards and improve the quality of electric power service at the same time. If we seize this moment to put the proven technologies of advanced energy to work on a wider scale, we can modernize the electric power system and power our economy." The AEE report includes technologies ranging from zero- and low-emission electricity generation to sophisticated grid management tools to behavioral energy efficiency and volt-ampere reactive (VAR) optimization. Innovations in building and industry energy efficiency increase end-use efficiency and capture energy waste from the biggest users of electricity, reducing emissions and cutting costs. For example, advanced materials like quality insulation along with efficient heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC) equipment reduce power consumption, while energy management systems, software, and analytics optimize energy usage. In fact, energy efficiency initiatives can reduce consumer energy demand by 23 percent by 2020 and achieve savings of $680 billion, according to McKinsey & Co. Zero-emission resources like wind, solar, hydroelectric and nuclear power provided 32 percent of U.S. electricity last year with no carbon emissions, and natural gas plants generated more than 25 percent of U.S. electricity with less than half the carbon emissions of coal-fired power plants. Electricity delivery and grid management resources allow electricity distribution to be managed more effectively, with better protection against power outages. The Electric Power Research Institute estimates that a net investment of $400 billion over 20 years to deploy smart grid technology would produce a net benefit of $1.3 trillion to $2 trillion. These advanced energy technologies are well established in the marketplace, and states have years of experience with policies related to them. Revolutionary new technology can help utilities cut their carbon emissions, boost their bottom lines, and empower people worldwide to save energy and money. Embracing behavioral energy efficiency alone could abate 12 million metric tons of carbon dioxide pollution and save families $2.2 billion every year. For more:
- see this report Related Articles:
DOE invests in advanced energy technology
Policy needed to tap $1T advanced energy market
Breaking down barriers to advanced energy Read more about: Advanced Energy Economy
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3. "Dead" nuclear program can't collect fees
Today, under court order, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will zero out the fees assessed to nuclear power companies and their customers. The fees, related to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982, have been levied against nuclear power companies and consumers for the last 30 years.  | | Nuclear waste container. Credit: Bill Ebbesen/Wikimedia Commons | By law, the federal government assesses fees to nuclear power companies that pay for the nuclear waste program. State utility commissions have allowed the companies to pass these fees on to their consumers. Driven by litigation brought by National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), a federal court in 2013 directed the DOE to stop collecting the fees that pay for the nation's nuclear waste program. These fees, which are deposited in the Nuclear Waste Fund within the U.S. Treasury, collect about $750 million a year. Currently the Nuclear Waste Fund's balance is approximately $30 billion. The fees will not be reinstated until the government restarts its long-stalled nuclear waste program. "While we hope Congress and the federal government can jumpstart our nation's stalled nuclear-waste program, this action means consumers will get a break," said NARUC President Colette D. Honorable of Arkansas. NARUC and NEI sued the government shortly after it stopped funding the program, and actively tried to shut it down. The government continued charging the fees even though it considered the nuclear waste program dead. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered the DOE to stop charging the fees after determining the government could no longer adequately justify collecting the money. For more:
- see this report Related Article:
Sandia researchers seek to improve nuclear waste disposal Read more about: U.S. Department of Energy
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4. Georgia Power building largest solar facilities ever to operate on U.S. military bases
Georgia Power will build, own and operate three separate solar generation facilities on U.S. Army bases in Georgia, with each facility being capable of producing approximately 30 MW of solar energy. Located at Fort Stewart near Savannah, Fort Benning near Columbus, and Fort Gordon near Augusta, they are expected to be the largest solar generation facilities operating on U.S. military bases. Georgia Power has filed its intention with the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) as part of its updated Renewable Resource Action Plan.  | | Solar panels on the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center. Credit: Georgia Tech | The three projects will be brought online at or below the company's avoided cost, the amount projected it would cost the company to generate comparable energy from other sources. The facilities are expected to be completed by the end of 2016. Georgia Power is developing economical renewable energy as part of a balanced generation portfolio including new nuclear, advanced coal and natural gas, and energy efficiency. By 2016, the company projects it will have a solar portfolio of nearly 900 MW -- the largest voluntary solar portfolio in the nation. In addition to the solar projects with the U.S. Army, the company anticipates that more than 500 new solar projects will be brought online in the coming years through existing solar programs including the Large-Scale Solar initiative and Georgia Power Advanced Solar Initiative. "Georgia Power's program is representative of a transition to solar that is taking place at a faster rate in more parts of the country than was anticipated even a year ago," Julia Hamm, president and CEO of the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) said in a statement. "In a state without a renewable energy mandate and where retail electricity rates are low, Georgia Power's choice to go solar in a significant way is evidence of the strengthening value proposition of solar to utilities and their customers." Georgia Power recently placed in SEPA's Top 10 Rankings. For more:
- see the Renewable Resource Action Plan Related Articles:
No RPS needed: Georgia Power voluntarily adds solar
Who made SEPA's solar list? Read more about: Georgia Power
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5. Dominion Cove Point LNG could reduce U.S. deficit by $7B a year
A federal environmental assessment has found that the natural gas export project proposed for Dominion's existing Cove Point LNG facility in southern Maryland can be built and operated safely with no significant impact to the environment.  | | Credit: Dominion | "The 241-page report represents nearly two years of study, tens of thousands of pages of documentation, and many thousands of hours of work. This marks another important step forward in a project that has very significant economic benefits and helps two allied nations in their efforts to increase their energy security and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions," said Diane Leopold, president of Dominion Energy. "This project will be built within the existing footprint and fence line of an industrial site. There is no need for additional pipelines, storage tanks or permanent piers, thus limiting its impact and making an environmental assessment appropriate." Cove Point is the fourth liquefied natural gas export project to receive an environmental document from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The Environmental Assessment (EA) examined the potential impacts of the proposed project, including a thorough evaluation of the project's impact on public safety, air quality, water resources, geology, soils, wildlife and vegetation, threatened and endangered species, land and visual resources, cultural resources, noise, cumulative impacts and reasonable alternatives. "Based upon the analysis in this EA, we have determined that if DCP (Dominion Cove Point) constructs and operates the proposed facilities in accordance with its application, supplements, and our mitigation measures below, approval of this project would not constitute a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment," the FERC report concluded. The construction of the export project is estimated to cost between $3.4 billion and $3.8 billion, and the county currently receives $15.7 million a year from the LNG import facility. "This one project could reduce the nation's trade deficit by up to $7 billion annually while helping two important allies, Japan and India, meet urgent clean energy needs," Leopold said. "At the same time, the United States can continue to have ample natural gas supplies to meet domestic needs, and U.S. industry can maintain a significant energy price advantage over international competitors." For more:
- see the FERC Environmental Assessment Related Articles:
Coalition challenges permitting of Dominion Cove Point LNG
Dominion Cove Point LNG under fierce FERC scrutiny Read more about: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
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News From Across the Energy Industry:
> Report details quick transition to 100 percent renewable energy Post
> Washington Gas making STRIDEs on pipeline replacement Post
> Transco projects to provide supply-demand connection to National Grid Post
> Final solicitation for NY-Sun Competitive PV initiative wrapping up Post
> SMART Consortium to support distributed wind domestically Post
> Demand response PJM's saving grace in Polar Vortex Post
> Developing for the Internet of Things: Challenges and Opportunities - Wednesday, June 18th, 2pm ET / 11am PT Cisco estimates that 50 billion devices and objects will be connected to the Internet by 2020. Will there be a role for developers in this area? And if so, how can developers position themselves in the months ahead on this nascent but potentially explosive opportunity? Register Today!
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