| This week's sponsor is AT&T. |  | AT&T offers a wide range of Field Solutions, such as Fleet Management, Enhanced Push-to-Talk, and Workforce Management, designed to help keep your business on track. Learn more. |
Also Noted: Equifax
Google ditches Quickoffice; Facebook manipulates user emotions; and much more... Helms hydroelectric plant turns 30
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is celebrating 30 years of commercial operation and counting at its Helms Pumped Storage Project (PSP). The hydroelectric facility was considered an "engineering marvel" when it was built in 1984, and continues to play a vital role today -- as well in California's clean energy future. Article
OpenADR Alliance, ISGF partner on India's smart grid
The OpenADR Alliance and the India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) have formed a public private partnership to accelerate the development of smart grid technologies in the Indian power sector. Article
$1B Con Edison investment paying reliability dividends
Thanks to Con Edison's post-Sandy storm hardening improvements - part of Con Edison's $1 billion investment to protect its systems from severe storms -- 20,000 outages have been avoided so far in 2014, according to the company. Article
Power mag recognizes outstanding power plant achievements
Power magazine has announced the winners of its 2014 Plant of the Year Award, Marmaduke Award, and Water Award. Article
News From Across the Energy Industry:
1. The flip side of fracking
2. Mega deals comprised 93 percent of Q2 utility mergers and acquisitions
3. Where do utilities really stand with customers?
More headlines...
Today's Top News 1. State of wind industry demonstrates value of strong policy
The economic and other benefits of wind investments throughout the United States are significant but may not continue without further action from Congress.  | | Credit: Wikimedia Commons/London Rachel, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | So far this year in the U.S., more than 14,000 MW of wind power have either gone online or have started construction, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). "Today's great values on clean, low-cost wind power are encouraging utilities and major companies to sign more and more contracts for it. They show how successful the renewable energy tax credits have been in getting the private investment needed to build these new projects," said Tom Kiernan, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). Just since April, brands like Google, Microsoft, and IKEA have announced new contracts for, or investments in, additional wind energy. The industry is still adjusting to new rules signed into law at the beginning of 2013 for the federal renewable energy Production Tax Credit (PTC), which now allow any wind energy project that started construction or invested 5 percent of its capital by the end of 2013 to qualify for the PTC -- once the project starts generating energy for the grid. The IRS is expected to provide further guidance on the PTC, which may help increase the percentage of projects with long-term power sale agreements. But congressional action is needed to continue the incentive for private investment in new wind farms to avoid a downturn in development -- such as the one that occurred last year because of uncertainty up until the last-minute extension on Jan. 2, 2013. A further extension of the PTC through the end of 2015 is provided for in the EXPIRE Act, currently pending in the U.S. Senate, which includes extensions of 62 different tax policies important to business and individual taxpayers. The Senate Finance Committee kept the PTC in the package in April. "We can double American wind power by 2020, and double again by 2030 if Congress gets the rules straight by extending these critical tax policies as soon as possible, and continues to work on long-term policies that would provide a more predictable business environment," Kiernan said. "Wind is a very good deal right now for American consumers, and with consistent policies we can build a lot more of it." For more:
- see this report Related Article:
Wind industry could see renewed energy Read more about: wind power
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2. Questions raised over PSEG-LI commitment to renewables
A group of environmental and citizen advocates are expressing concerns over indications that PSEG Long Island (PSEG-LI) and the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) could delay a clean energy purchasing commitment on which a decision to build more renewable energy for Long Island was to be made by the end of 2014. It now appears the decision could be as much as 18 months out. LIPA released the 280 MW request for new renewable energy proposals or renewable RFP on October 18, 2013, following a renewable energy mandate in Governor Cuomo's 2013 LIPA reorganization legislation. Proposals were due no later than March 31, 2014. The biggest concerns appear to be over offshore wind, which the Sierra Club urges New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to make a "reality" this year. Environmental and citizen's groups are concerned that delays in renewable energy investments -- for example building New York's first offshore wind farm -- will mean more fossil-fuel peaker plants to meet energy shortfalls. At the same time Governor Cuomo is being urged to deliver on the promise of utility scale renewable energy projects, he has announced $250 million to fund large-scale clean energy generation projects such as wind farms, fuel cells, biomass facilities, renewable biogas, and the upgrading of small- to medium-sized hydropower projects. The contracts for these projects will be awarded for a term of up to 20 years, more closely aligning New York with neighboring states offering similar terms. Funding will be provided by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) through the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), which is New York's primary policy to promote the development of new renewable energy resources. NYSERDA's previous eight RPS Main Tier solicitations for large-scale renewable projects have resulted in approximately 1900 MW of installed capacity at 65 projects that generate more than 4.6 million megawatt-hours of renewable energy annually. A recent Public Service Commission Order instructed NYSERDA to issue at least one more RPS solicitation in 2015, and double the length of current contract terms to 20 years. For more:
- see the RFP
- visit this website Related Article:
LIPA issues historical RFPs Read more about: PSEG Long Island, Long Island Power Authority
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3. New offshore wind project fishing to be first in U.S.
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Wind Program will provide the Fishermen's Energy Atlantic City Wind Farm with up to $47 million in federal grants over the next four years for an offshore wind energy demonstration pilot project.  | | New Jersey wind area. Credit: U.S. Department of the Interior | The demonstration pilot project at Fishermen's Energy Atlantic City Wind Farm is one of three DOE-funded sites in the U.S. (the other two sites are located off the coasts of Virginia Beach, Virginia and Coos Bay, Oregon). The overall project goal is to deploy demonstration-scale offshore wind projects in U.S. waters by 2017. "Projects like Fishermen's Atlantic City Windfarm and the other projects sponsored by the Department of Energy are a first step in the direction of a building a robust sustainable energy infrastructure," said Chris Wissemann, Fishermen's Energy CEO. "The support provided by Congress, specifically the NJ delegation, and the Department of Energy is critical to bringing offshore wind to the United States." The 25 MW Fishermen's Energy wind farm three miles off the coast of Atlantic City could become the first offshore wind project in the United States. That is, if developers can get past their legal woes with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities -- which has reject the project twice based on potential costs to customers. If the BPU would change its stance, Fisherman's Energy says it could begin construction of the wind farm immediately. Further increasing New Jersey's potential for offshore wind, the Department of the Interior is making 344,000 offshore acres available for leasing to wind energy projects off the coast of New Jersey. Based on an analysis prepared for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) by the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the New Jersey Wind Energy Area -- as currently delineated and if fully developed -- may be able to support up to 3400 MW of commercial wind generation or enough to power about 1.2 million homes. The BOEM, who identified the New Jersey Wind Energy Area in consultation with federal, state, tribal and local government partners of its New Jersey Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force, proposes to auction the Wind Energy Area as two leases: the South Lease Area (160,480 acres) and the North Lease Area (183,353 acres). The Wind Energy Area begins about seven nautical miles off the coast from Atlantic City. The DOI has been working to establish a sustainable offshore wind program through its "Smart from the Start" wind energy initiative for the Atlantic Coast. So far, BOEM has awarded five commercial wind energy leases off the Atlantic coast: two non-competitive leases (Cape Wind in Nantucket Sound off Massachusetts and an area off Delaware) and three competitive leases (two offshore Massachusetts-Rhode Island and another offshore Virginia). Competitive lease sales have generated about $5.4 million in high bids for about 277,550 acres in federal waters. For more:
- see the New Jersey Proposed Sale Notice Related Article:
80K acres offshore MD available for wind development Read more about: Fisherman's Energy, U.S. Department of Energy
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4. Making Milwaukee a global energy hub
The Mid-West Energy Research Consortium (M-WERC) has unveiled plans for the new Energy Innovation Center (EIC), a facility that will accelerate the development of innovative technology in the energy, power and control industry -- and potentially make Milwaukee a global hub for the energy industry.  | | Downtown Milwaukee. Credit: Wikimedia Commons | The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) has awarded M-WERC more than $850,000 in grants for the center, which will bring together industry and academic scientists, engineers and business leaders to conduct joint research, jump-start innovative technologies, transition prototype products to the commercial stage, and nurture startup companies. The project also received a $50,000 grant from the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority. The center will house M-WERC's EPiC Incubator, which enables startups to successfully incubate, demonstrate and commercialize clean energy technology. "With the Energy Innovation Center, M-WERC will establish a fully integrated ecosystem for companies, individuals, and a variety of economic development and academic organizations that will catalyze energy, power and control technology and industry development," said Alan S. Perlstein, executive director and CEO of M-WERC. "This organization was founded to support and build on our region's energy, power and control industry cluster, and the center will focus on supporting and growing companies to fill industry gaps." M-WERC envisions the center as a resource for both entrepreneurs -- independent individuals with ideas they want to transform into successful businesses -- and "intrapreneurs" -- individuals employed by companies who have an idea that they want to turn into a profitable product or service offering, according to Perlstein. Construction on the $9.6 million center is expected to begin in September 2014, with completion by mid-2016. Milwaukee is also home to the Global Water Center, which is also part of WEDC's overall strategy of making key investments in the most competitive and highest priority industries in Wisconsin. For more:
- visit this website Read more about: Energy Innovation Center
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5. Smart Ideas saving billions of kWh
The Chicago area is a desirable location for data centers, given its central location and convergence of fiber optic networks combined with Illinois' low-cost competitive energy market, but data centers require a great deal of electricity to both power and cool digital equipment. Through its Smart Ideas for Your Business program, ComEd is working with CenturyLink Technology Solutions on a multi-year energy efficiency project that will help the company reduce the energy use of its Chicago CH2 data center by 7.4 million kilowatt hours (kWh) annually. The multi-year project will upgrade and overhaul the majority of CH2's mechanical equipment serving the 125,000-square-foot data center. This project will help the company continue its global green data center commitment by reducing the power usage effectiveness (PUE) of CH2. The program will provide CenturyLink with financial incentives that it will use to upgrade data center CRAC units with variable frequency drives, improve cooling tower performance, and optimize data center operating temperatures and airflow management. Created in 2008, the Smart Ideas for Your Business energy efficiency program is estimated to have saved area businesses more than $320 million in electricity costs and reduced their energy usage by more than 4.2 billion kWh -- the equivalent to powering 465,000 homes for one year. The program also offers solutions for energy efficiency lighting and retrofits, as well as new construction and renovation projects, which are provided in coordination with Nicor Gas to encourage design teams and building owners to surpass standard practices and exceed energy code requirements. For more:
- visit this website Related Article:
Early Retrofit Chicago results 'envy of every town in America' Read more about: Energy Efficiency
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Also Noted | This week's sponsor is Equifax. |  | Webinar: National Consumer Telecom and Utilities Exchange (NCTUE)
Wednesday, August 24th | 2pm ET / 11am PT This must-attend Equifax webinar - led by the NCTUE board members Buddy Flake (SCANA), Leon Broughton (Citizens Energy Group) and Bob Romeo (AT&T) - dives deep into the mechanics of an industry specific data resource from the (NCTUE) that offers practical, relevant credit insight on more than 170 million consumers. Register today! |
> HP in 'serious' settlement talks over Autonomy legal bust-up. Post (The Register)
> Google kills off word-processor app Quickoffice. Post (CNET News)
> CoreOS announces managed Linux, world's first "OS-as-a-Service". Post (CRN)
> Oracle targets mobile developers with updated tool set. Post (Computerworld)
> Apple releases OS X Mavericks 10.9.4 with fixes for Wi-Fi, wake from sleep. Post (AppleInsider)
> Dropbox cited as command centre for Taiwanese Trojan. Post (CloudPro) And Finally… Facebook tinkers with users' emotions in News Feed experiment, stirring outcry. URL. (The New York Times) News From Across the Energy Industry:
> Lux: Natural gas better than biomass for district energy Post
> Social media providing fracking ''facts'' Post
> Leading solar states have more than just sunlight Post
> National Grid wraps $6.5M in energy efficiency projects Post
> Xcel needs funds for natural gas upgrades Post
> Compliance deadline bearing down on OGE Post
> CA utility speeding up natural gas repairs Post
> Capitalizing on the digital transformation: Providing mobile value for customers and utilities - Now Available On-Demand This webinar will address how utilities can provide mobile value to their customers while increasing customer engagement and trust in the utility brand. Register to watch now! > IT and Marketing: Extreme Collaboration - Tuesday, August 26th / 2pm ET / 11am PT Media outlets love to focus on the tension between IT and marketing. But if it's a war, both sides lose. Instead, CIOs have to partner with CMOs to help deliver on aggressive business goals in an ever-changing landscape. Register Today! > National Consumer Telecom and Utilities Exchange (NCTUE) - Wednesday, September 24th | 2pm ET / 11am PT This must-attend Equifax webinar - led by the NCTUE board members Buddy Flake (SCANA), Leon Broughton (Citizens Energy Group) and Bob Romeo (AT&T) - dives deep into the mechanics of an industry specific data resource from the (NCTUE) that offers practical, relevant credit insight on more than 170 million consumers. Plus you'll hear exclusive use cases based from real utility organizations that have leveraged this data to solve common business issues, update and realign their business processes and reap substantial financial benefits. Reserve your spot 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. | |
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