Archived Utility Notes
Published in 2013
Permanent URLEPA’s Coal Purge Claims Latest Victim
A planned 1200 megawatt, $3 billion coal-fired power plant in Corpus Christi, Texas, is one of the latest casualties in the war on affordable, reliable energy. Chase Power, the company behind the Las Brisas power plant, announced last month that it is canceling the project due to red tape and litigation spawned by the Environmental Protection Agency’s regulations on coal plants.
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first published week of: 02/25/2013
Permanent URLEPA’s Future Without Administrator Lisa Jackson
by ken silverstein
President Obama’s team will make some substitutions this New Year. Among the changes will be the departure of his Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, Lisa Jackson.
Under her tenure, the EPA found global warming to be a deleterious threat, making way for the agency she led to take steps to reduce greenhouse gases. But she has also acted to cut power plant pollution streams that flow downwind as well as to reduce mercury emissions.
Ms Jackson, though, is not a lone wolf. She has derived her authority from President Obama. Therefore, whomever replaces Jackson will be just as vigilant. While the actions that she propelled will move forward, the business community has probably seen the administration’s most aggressive positions put forth. The White House will likely be consumed for a period with tax reform, gun control and immigration reform.
“There is much more on the agenda: air pollution, toxic chemicals and children’s health issues, redevelopment and waste-site cleanup issues, and justice for the communities that bear disproportionate risk,” says the now former Administrator Jackson. “So, I will leave the EPA confident the ship is sailing in the right direction.”
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first published week of: 01/07/2013
Permanent URLEPA’s rule on greenhouse gases: Big promises, little impact
by sean cockerham, mcclatchy washington bureau
The Obama administration on Friday set the first-ever limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, but their impact could be minimal because they don’t apply to existing plants and there are few coal-fired power plants being built in the United States.
Just two new coal-fired power plants are expected to open next year, according to data from the Energy Information Administration, and there are none set to open in 2015.
“As you look at current projections this rule won’t in itself get much in the way of reductions,” said Kevin Kennedy, who directs the U.S. Climate Initiative at the World Resources Institute, a think tank that focuses on the environment and economic development.
However, Kennedy said, the rule does send a signal that the Obama administration promises to deal with planet-warming carbon emissions. The real test will come next year when the Environmental Protection Agency puts out its greenhouse gas standards for existing power plants. continued…
first published week of: 10/07/2013
Permanent URLEsri European Wind User Group Finds New Uses for GIS
European wind energy professionals gathered in Dublin, Ireland, recently to discuss innovative ways to meet renewable-energy demands using the Esri ArcGIS platform. Members of the Esri European Wind User Group shared how they apply ArcGIS maps, apps, and tools to offshore and onshore wind-farm development, planning, engineering, construction, operations, and maintenance.
"GIS technology is improving the way we view and manage our planet's resources," said Craig Weber, GIS manager at Mainstream Renewable Power in Toronto, Canada, who is serving as the group's 2013–2014 president. "What's common amongst this group of users is [that] we rely on the ArcGIS platform to support the way we produce and deliver energy from wind—a renewable resource with great potential to meet our energy demands."
Highlights of the meeting included the following:
- EDP of Portugal showed how to use geographic information systems (GIS) for both ongoing land assets and leases management and royalty payment processing to landowners.
- Esri Germany explained how GIS can be used to perform shadow analysis of rotor blades.
- Esri partner Geonis shared a solution to support design and construction activities.
- Esri partner OSISoft discussed how the integration of real-time data and GIS helps with performance and production optimization and reliability.
- Mainstream Renewable Power discussed GIS maturity within the organization and how to promote GIS as a core business function.
To get connected and join the wind energy community, operators and developers are encouraged to join the group on LinkedIn.
first published week of: 08/19/2013
Permanent URLThe United States is aggressively exploiting its shale gas resources, while Europeans are content to keep their environmentalists happy and import natural gas. On the smart grid front, European and American utilities are both speeding deployment of smart grid technologies, according to David Walker, chief executive officer of DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability. This is the second of a two-part series of interviews of DNV executives at a recent Washington conference. continued…
first published week of: 09/02/2013
Permanent URLEurope’s Plan for GPS Limps to Crossroads
by the new york times
With lofty dreams of European unity increasingly grounded by economic woe and the weight of narrow national interests, an array of computer screens in central Italy blinks with faint signs that — far away in space, at least — Europe’s often quarreling nations can still sometimes find common cause, reports Andrew Higgins in Thursday’s New York Times.
Ringed by snow-covered mountains on a plateau east of Rome, the Fucino Space Center stands guard over the European Union’s flagship joint project: a satellite navigation system that is years behind schedule, many times over its original budget and unlikely to start operating for at least another year.
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first published week of: 02/11/2013
Permanent URLFederal Power Marketing Administrations operate across much of the United States
Four federal Power Marketing Administrations (PMAs) operate electric systems and sell the electrical output of federally owned and operated hydroelectric dams in 33 states. The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), the Southeastern Power Administration (SEPA), and the Southwestern Power Administration (SWPA) marketed 42% of the nation's hydroelectricity in 2012, representing 7% of total generation in the United States.
Of the four PMAs, BPA and WAPA are much larger in terms of the volume of electricity marketed than SWPA and SEPA. Although some small geographic overlap occurs, the four PMAs generally have self-contained territories. These territories do not include the northeastern states and much of the Midwest.
A PMA's primary purpose is to market wholesale power, and it usually plays a role in transmission and electric power systems as well. With some exceptions, the PMAs generally do not own electric generating plants. For example, the Grand Coulee hydroelectric plant in Washington state is owned and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. BPA markets the electricity generated by that plant and also acts as the balancing authority for the region, which means it ensures that electricity supply matches electricity demand at all times.
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first published week of: 06/17/2013
Permanent URLForecast Dims for Future Growth in Wind Power
by alyson kenward
Despite a recent report trumpeting a record year for wind power in 2012, the numbers are not as encouraging as they seem.
Because even though total wind power capacity grew by 30 percent last year, with 13,000 megawatts in new wind turbines, the actual portion of our electricity coming from wind energy did not increase proportionally. Also, the forecast for future growth in the next few years is not robust, which means wind power will not keep up with the faster growing use of natural gas.
According to newly released data from the Energy Information Administration, about 140 terrawatt-hours of our electricity — enough to power over 12 million homes — came from wind power last year, up about 17 percent from 2011. But overall, wind power contributed only about 3.5 percent of all the electricity generated in the U.S. last year, up from 2.9 percent of the share in 2011.
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first published week of: 03/18/2013
Permanent URLFossil Fuels and Green Energy Feed Mightily at the Public Trough
by ken silverstein
The fossil fuel industry is pouring lighter fluid all over the renewable energy sector both in the United States and Europe, saying that the subsidies given to those power sources are landing in the laps of consumers. What oil, gas and coal don’t mention, though, is that they, too, have a steady diet of government fat.
One person’s lard is another’s meat. But the public must still sift through PR campaigns to try and understand where the truth lies. What all positions can agree, in theory, is that a diversified energy portfolio serves to protect the national interests. However, the level of public allocation to such endeavors is not unlimited and that leaves each fuel source fighting to get its fair share.
“Despite being propped up by government mandates and billion dollar subsidies for decades, wind power continues to be an expensive and boutique energy source that the American people cannot rely on for power when they need it,” says Tom Pyle, president of the fossil fuel group, Institute for Energy Research. continued…
first published week of: 11/04/2013
Permanent URLFrost & Sullivan's Predictions for the Global Energy and Environment Market
new insight - based on a '2013 Search for Growth' survey - identifies new areas of growth
Frost & Sullivan released its three big predictions for the global energy and environment market. Based on a '2013 Search for Growth' survey which involved 1835 executives in more than 40 countries globally, Frost & Sullivan's insight highlights new areas of growth. Urbanization and smart cities, the changing dynamics of unconventional gas, and opportunities generated from increased environmental awareness and legislation will be the key topics in 2014 and beyond.
"Frost & Sullivan's research team has used the findings to select and prioritize the subjects that are deemed to be poised for the greatest growth," explains Frost & Sullivan Partner John Raspin.
According to the new findings, urbanization and smart cities will drive changing market dynamics for energy and environment market participants. A growing percentage of the global population will be living in cities and urban areas in the coming decades. Higher concentrations of larger populations are fraught with challenges:
- Urban populations will be higher income, and the growing middle class will consume more goods, resources, energy, and water, and create more waste and pollution.
- Increasing waste and pollution will drive awareness and the need for cleaner, more efficient energy and transportation.
- Smart cities that can better use existing resources through improved monitoring, controls, and coordination of services and infrastructure can improve quality of life for residents and attract more businesses
Smart systems have been in place across the transmission & distribution (T&D) space and are now also moving into commercial and residential buildings.
The emergence of shale gas and shale oil in the oil and gas (O&G) space is also increasingly impacting the energy and environment sector. Natural gas has replaced coal as the main fuel source for electricity in the United States. China has abundant, though technically difficult to access, shale beds that, if tapped, could further increase the country's economic clout on the global stage. Europe is looking at shale gas to increase domestic energy sources but also balancing that with environmental concerns.
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first published week of: 12/02/2013
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