At an event today in Denver, Colorado, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Under Secretary for Science and Energy, Dr. Franklin Orr, joined Mayor Michael Hancock to announce Denver as the host city for the next U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon competition in the fall of 2017.
Dr. Orr revealed that Denver won the bid to host this biennial event, in which student teams compete to design, build, and operate cost-effective, energy-efficient, and attractive solar-powered houses. The teams from across the country and around the world will be competing for $2 million in prize money.
In the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2017, 16 teams will compete in 10 contests, ranging from architecture and engineering to home appliance performance. The winner of the competition is the team that best blends aesthetics and modern conveniences with maximum energy production and optimal efficiency. Watch highlights of the 2015 event here.
“As one of the top 10 metro areas for solar installations and sunny days, Denver is a great choice to host the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon,” said DOE Under Secretary Orr. “This competition gives students a unique opportunity to take real action on climate change and shape our sustainable future by encouraging the kind of innovation we’ll need to meet our nation’s clean energy goals. I congratulate Denver on becoming our next Solar Decathlon host city, and I wish the participating students the best of luck as they prepare for next year’s competition.”
The competition is planned to be staged near a new development close to Denver International Airport. The area around the 61st and Peña Commuter Rail Station is positioned to become a national model for sustainable, transit-oriented, greenfield development that can enhance the region’s overall economic competitiveness. It will do so by linking employment opportunities with a wide range of housing choices through increased transportation options and building value in existing and new neighborhoods along the East Corridor. continued…
first published week of: 03/14/2016
Tripwire, Inc. announced the results of a study that assessed cyber security challenges faced by organizations in the energy sector. Study respondents included over 150 IT professionals in the energy, utilities, and oil and gas industries.
Tripwire, Inc., a leading global provider of endpoint detection and response, security and compliance solutions, today announced the results of a study conducted for Tripwire by Dimensional Research. The study, which was carried out in November 2015, assessed cyber security challenges faced by organizations in the energy sector. Study respondents included over 150 IT professionals in the energy, utilities, and oil and gas industries.
When asked if their organization had experienced a rise in successful cyber attacks in the last 12 months, seventy-seven percent of the respondents in Tripwire’s study replied, “yes.” In addition, more than two-thirds of the respondents (sixty-eight percent) said the rate of successful cyber attacks had increased by over twenty percent in the last month.
“It’s tempting to believe that this increase in attacks is horizontal across industries, but the data shows that energy organizations are experiencing a disproportionately large increase when compared to other industries,” said Tim Erlin, director of IT security and risk strategy for Tripwire. “At the same time, energy organizations face unique challenges in protecting industrial control systems and SCADA assets.”
Additional findings from the study include: continued…
first published week of: 04/18/2016
Exelon has completed its nearly $7 billion deal to buy Pepco, creating America’s largest U.S. electric utility company.
The deal closed late Wednesday after the company received approval from its final regulator, almost two years after Exelon first made its offer for Pepco.
The combined company becomes the largest electric utility company in the U.S., based on number of customers, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Chicago-based Exelon Corp. owns Baltimore Gas and Electric Co., ComEd in Illinois and PECO in Pennsylvania. Pepco Holdings Inc.’s namesake utility powers homes in Maryland and Washington, D.C., where it is headquartered. Pepco also owns Atlantic City Electric in New Jersey and Delmarva Power, which provides electricity in parts of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
Exelon now has about 10 million customers, the company said. continued…
first published week of: 03/28/2016
Exelon said June 2, 2016, that it will move ahead with plans to shutter the Clinton and Quad Cities nuclear plants, blaming the lack of progress on Illinois energy legislation.
The move comes after the Illinois General Assembly adjourned earlier this week without acting on legislation known as the Next Generation Energy Plan, which Exelon said would help save the nuclear plants. Consumer advocates are concerned the legislation would put consumers on the hook for fixing what ails Exelon's nuclear facilities.
"We have worked for several years to find a sustainable path forward in consultation with federal regulators, market operators, state policymakers, plant community leaders, labor and business leaders as well as environmental groups and other stakeholders," said CEO Chris Crane in a news release. "Unfortunately, legislation was not passed, and now we are forced to retire the plants." continued…
first published week of: 06/06/2016
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) acted today to improve the cyber security of the bulk electric system by directing the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) to develop a new supply chain risk management standard that addresses risks to information systems and related bulk electric system assets.
In today’s rule, FERC directed NERC to develop a forward-looking, objective-based Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Reliability Standard that requires each affected entity to develop and implement a plan that includes security controls for supply chain management for industrial control system hardware, software, and services associated with bulk electric system operations.
The new or modified Reliability Standard should address software integrity and authenticity; vendor remote access; information system planning; and vendor risk management and procurement controls. There is no requirement for any specific controls, nor does FERC require any “one-size-fits-all” requirements. The new or modified Reliability Standard should instead require responsible entities to develop a plan to meet the four objectives while providing flexibility to responsible entities as to how to meet those objectives. NERC is required to submit the new or modified Reliability Standard within one year of the effective date of the final rule.
The final rule will take effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. continued…
first published week of: 07/25/2016
Analysts say climate change is not a significant threat to water utilities in the coming year.
Moody’s Investor Service, a research and ratings agency, said in a recent report: “Weather-related challenges will persist, but are anticipated to be manageable. Moody's does not anticipate climate-related events will materially [affect] financial metrics for the sector.”
Other analysts have been more urgent about the risks posed by climate change, even in the short-term. Simon Pollard, a risk management researcher at Cranfield University's School of Energy, Environment and Agrifood in the U.K., says that uncertainty about the potential effects of climate change “ought not to be the basis for delayed decisions,” according to Bloomberg BNA. “Let's be bolder about what we know instead of being paralyzed about what we don’t know.”
Moody’s predicted that in the coming year the outlook for water utilities will be stable.
"Municipal water and sewer utilities' demonstrated willingness to raise rates will continue to support sound debt service coverage and liquidity while addressing operating and capital needs," said Patrick Liberatore, a Moody's analyst.
Moody’s analysts do not foresee major changes in the condition of U.S. water infrastructure this year. “The 2016 outlook also observes capital plans to address aging infrastructure are likely to remain unchanged since the utilities typically consider these needs over forward-looking periods of five to 10 years,” the report said. continued…
first published week of: 01/11/2016
The smart phone has changed the consumer psyche about energy. If we can control so much in the palm of the hands — at so little cost — why not energy too?
Such thinking underlies the growing appeal of microgrids, nanogrids, rooftop solar, solar gardens, energy aggregations, thinking thermostats and other technologies that can reduce the amount of energy we purchase from utilities.
“People’s expectations have risen about what level of control they ought to be able to have,” says John Farrell, director of democratic energy for the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), a 40-year-old organization that is a veteran of local energy wars.
ILSR wants to see local communities control more of the $360 billion/year spent on electricity in the U.S. But the question is “how do we allow people to participant and have some measure of control in a way that makes the whole system work together?” he says. “I think it is very possible.” continued…
first published week of: 04/04/2016
By January of last year it was starting to become clear that something was wrong with the water in Flint, Mich. After nine months of drawing water from the Flint River, residents were complaining about odors and bad tastes. General Motors had stopped using the river water at its Flint plant over concerns about corrosion. State officials had quietly started shipping bottled water to state workers in the city.
The rest is history -- poisoned water, shocking levels of lead, a spike in Legionnaire's cases and other untold health effects that may not be fully understood for years.
And during it all, Flint residents were paying more for their water than just about anyone else in the country. continued…
first published week of: 02/22/2016
FP&L filed the request with state regulators, contending, at least in part, that it should not be required to submit an analysis while it is still in the licensing and permitting stages for the nuclear project.
LYNNE SLADKY/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Attorneys for consumers, the city of Miami and business and environmental groups are fighting Florida Power & Light's request for a waiver from filing an annual analysis about the feasibility of adding two nuclear reactors in South Florida.
FPL on April 27 filed the request with state regulators, contending, at least in part, that it should not be required to submit an analysis while it is still in the licensing and permitting stages for the nuclear project proposed for the utility’s Turkey Point complex in Miami–Dade County. The request involves seeking a waiver from a rule that has required the utility to file such analyses in the past.
But the state Office of Public Counsel, which represents consumers in utility issues, the city of Miami, the Florida Industrial Power Users Group and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy filed documents this week objecting to FPL’s request. They pointed to money that consumers have spent in the past on project related costs — and to an FPL proposal to collect an additional $22 million in 2017. continued…
first published week of: 05/30/2016
Political debates revolving around solar energy continue to spark and ignite fierce debates across the U.S., highlighting the high degree of flux in state power markets and industry.
Home, property and business owners continue to install solar PV systems at record-setting pace, becoming energy ¨prosumers¨ – producing as well as consuming electricity. Yet even as they become more involved and invest more in the residential and commercial/industrial segments of the solar energy market, utilities continue to pour money into public relations campaigns and political lobbying to oppose local, grass-roots efforts that could result in policy and regulatory reforms that would open the market to competitors.
Solar energy has been growing fast in Nevada, for example, the continental U.S. state that receives more solar radiation than any other. Urged on by the state’s largest investor-owned utility, utility commissioners recently pulled the rug out from under home and property owners that had installed solar PV systems. continued…
first published week of: 02/15/2016