Governor Rendell Announces 40 Innovative Energy Projects to Create 1,400 Jobs

Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell announced $20.5 million in state and federal investments that will create 1,400 jobs in the rapidly expanding clean energy industry. The funding will benefit 40 diverse energy projects that will generate or save the equivalent of more than 10 billion kilowatt hours of electricity over their lifetimes. That’s enough energy to power 1 million average homes in Pennsylvania for one year -- and reduce carbon emissions by nearly 9 million tons, which is the equivalent of removing 1.5 million passenger cars from the roads for one year.

“A few years ago, projects like these existed only in theory. Today, they are a reality,” said Governor Rendell.

Details Here

first published week of:   08/30/2010

Green Jobs Key to Union Future

If the United States doesn’t build a clean energy economy, the Chinese gladly will. That’s treated like gospel in the Obama administration, and among renewable energy trade groups. Take one look at the plummeting cost of solar panels and increased Chinese market share, for instance, and you can see why.  

Details Here

first published week of:   11/01/2010

Gulf awash in 27,000 abandoned wells

More than 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells lurk in the hard rock beneath the Gulf of Mexico, and no one is checking to see if they are leaking, according to an Associated Press investigation. The oldest of these wells were abandoned in the late 1940s, raising the prospect that many deteriorating sealing jobs are already failing. The AP investigation uncovered particular concern with 3,500 of the neglected wells - those characterized in federal government records as “temporarily abandoned.” Regulations for temporarily abandoned wells require oil companies to present plans to reuse or permanently plug such wells within a year, but the AP found that the rule is routinely circumvented, and that more than 1,000 wells have lingered in that unfinished condition for more than a decade. About three-quarters of temporarily abandoned wells have been left in that status for more than a year, and many since the 1950s aade. About three-quarters of temporarily abandoned wells have been left in that status for more than a year, and many since the 1950s and 1960s - even though sealing procedures for temporary abandonment are not as stringent as those for permanent closures.

Details Here

first published week of:   07/12/2010

Hanford Nuclear Reservation won't be clean for thousands of years

Some radioactive contaminants at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation will threaten the Columbia River for thousands of years, a new analysis projects, despite the multibillion-dollar cleanup efforts by the federal government. The U.S. Department of Energy projections come from a new analysis of how best to clean up leaking storage tanks and manage waste at Hanford, a former nuclear weapons production site on 586 square miles next to the Columbia in southeastern Washington. Oregon officials say the results, including contamination projections for the next 10,000 years, indicate the federal government needs to clean up more of the waste that has already leaked and spilled at Hanford instead of capping and leaving it, a less-expensive alternative.

Details Here

first published week of:   02/15/2010

Hawaiian Electric Renews energy management with SAP
Call Center Software, Advanced Analytics and Risk Management Applications from SAP to Help Utility and Its Customers Meet State Clean Energy Goals

As part of its efforts to support the state of Hawaii’s clean energy goals, Hawaiian Electric Company has selected software from SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) to help the company and its customers gain greater transparency and efficiency in energy use. Hawaiian Electric, along with its subsidiaries Maui Electric Company and Hawaii Electric Light Company, is deploying utilities applications from SAP to more efficiently manage customer accounts; service, call-center and billing processes; and meters and energy data for its more than 400,000 customers.

The Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative (HCEI)-an agreement among the State of Hawaii, the Division of Consumer Advocacy and the Hawaiian Electric Company-aims to transform Hawaii into a world model for energy independence and sustainability. As a partner in the HCEI energy agreement, Hawaiian Electric’s challenge is to supply 40 percent of Hawaii's electricity needs with renewable energy sources by 2030.

“Energy conservation is as important as integrating more renewable resources to achieving our clean energy future,3 said Dick Rosenblum, president and CEO, Hawaiian Electric Company. “We are looking to advanced technology from SAP to not only allow our customers to better understand their electricity use and control their bills, but to give us a platform for growth in flexible rates and help customers manage their energy use in the future.”

Details Here

first published week of:   09/20/2010

Health concerns aired over proposed Brockton power plant at public hearing

About 100 Brocktonians and area residents gathered to air their concerns about Brockton’s proposed power plant in front of Massachusetts regulators Tuesday night. At the public hearing, three members of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection heard testimony from dozens of concerned residents about the potential health impacts of emissions from the 350- megawatt power plant proposed for the city’s Oak Hill Way. A state Department of Public Health study found levels of particulate matter near the proposed site at the Gilmore school were already “dangerously high.” Particulate matter has been linked to asthma and was a key focus of Tuesday’s hearing. Developers of the proposed plant say the level of particulate matter added by the power plant would be miniscule compared to emissions from cars, residential wood-burning and other sources of particulates in the air. Veteran power-plant workers and construction workers were among those who spoke in favor of the plant, saying it would bring jobs and economic growth to the city, and saying the health impacts of the plant had been exaggerated. The state environmental agency now plans to review the plant’s application for an air permit. The move would allow Advanced Power of North America to move forward with its plans to build the plant.

Details Here

first published week of:   06/14/2010

Volume 31

-->