Breaking News

Clean Energy Ambassadors (CEA) Lunchtime Webinar Series continues with a FREE Webinar Tuesday, Feb. 21, at noon CST.

Smart phones have amazing capabilities, and their owners love to find new ways to use their favorite technology. Utilities, too, are discovering the value of “apps,” or applications. Smart phones give power providers a new path to engage customers and raise their energy consciousness.  February’s CEA Lunchtime Webinar looks at applications utilities and third-party developers are offering to help customers manage their energy use.

CEA Webinars are held from 12-1 p.m. Central time (11 a.m.-12 p.m. MST) on the third Tuesday of each month. Visit Clean Energy Ambassadors , to register for this free webinar and to see the full line-up of CEA services and events. If you have any questions please contact Stevie Moe at 406-969-1040.

Join Western, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs, DOE’s Tribal Energy Program for a free webinar, Overview of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Program, Jan. 25, 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM MST.

 This event is part of an ongoing series of webinars to promote tribal energy sufficiency and foster economic development and employment on tribal lands through renewable energy and energy-efficiency technologies. The webinars will:

• Discuss methods for tribes to evaluate and develop their renewable energy resources,
• Help them build the knowledge and skills essential for sustainable energy projects,
• Outline a process of strategic energy planning for tribes interested in improving their energy security, sovereignty and local economy,
• Provide renewable energy and energy-efficiency information for tribal decision makers, and
• Offer ways for tribes and utilities to partner in renewable energy and energy-efficiency development.

The webinar series began in August 2011 and will continue through September 2012.  Future topics include:

Feb. 29 – Unwinding Transmission Policies
Learn what transmission policy is, how it is established and who enforces it. Discussions will cover today’s policy issues, such as Order 1000 (Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation), and their potential impact on transmission resources. Register now.

March 28 – Understanding the Interconnection and Transmission Service Queues
Western Area Power Administration has more than 16,000 megawatts of proposed renewable resources in its collective Large Generator Interconnection Queues, representing more than 79 requests. Learn about the procedure for interconnection, how to request transmission service and what tribes can do to gain access to the transmission system. Register now.

May 30 – Today’s Energy Supply – Yesterday’s Grid
Join an informative discussion on how utilities’ generation portfolios are changing—often faster than the grid infrastructure that supports it. Learn how grid operators are integrating new generation and demand (load) response technologies into a system that was not designed for these tasks. Presentations will include transmission studies from the Western Grid Group and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Register now.

July 25 – Grid Reliability – Impacts to Tribal Renewable Projects
In 2008, NERC Reliability Standards Compliance became mandatory, with fines for non-compliance. This has raised the importance of compliance programs throughout the electric industry. This webinar provides an overview of the purpose and organization of a compliance program, and how tribal renewable projects can be impacted by reliability requirements. Register now.

Sept. 26 – DOE Office of Indian Energy’s START Program Status Updates
Get your update on the DOE Office of Indian Energy’s Strategic Technical Assistance Response Team (START) and the range of projects that were selected in 2012. START and Alaska START aim to advance clean energy generation in Indian Country by providing Native American tribes and Alaska Native governments with strategic technical assistance. Register now.

Presentations from past webinars are available from the Public Renewables Partnership and will be updated with each webinar.

The EPA Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that supports commercial and institutional energy users’ procurement of green power by offering expert advice, technical support, tools and resources.

The new Center for Agricultural Energy  (CAE) at Colorado State University is offering a winter workshop series for power providers and their food producer customers.

 Each workshop will focus on the potential benefits of agricultural energy audits and will be supplemented by information on energy topics such as biofuels, small hydropower and anaerobic digestion, to name a few. The series begin Jan. 31, with a workshop in Wellington, Colo., on how agricultural energy audits relate to energy efficiency and anaerobic digestion.

The events are taking place around Colorado, with local agricultural organizations co-hosting. Most workshops are free and lunch will be provided for those who pre-register. Visit CAE to see the agenda  and register.

Water utilities take note: Reducing reliance on imported water not only has environmental benefits, it also stimulates economic and job growth.

Economic and Job Impacts of Investments in Water Use Efficiency  , a study by the Economic Roundtable  , analyzes $1.2 billion of public investments in various aspects of water efficiency in Los Angeles County. The economic effects of projects in storm water retention, water conservation, recycled water, ecosystem restoration, irrigation systems repair and groundwater management produced well-paid jobs and business growth in 38 industries and 34 occupations, the report found.

The report encompasses topics like “green” training for conventional jobs, the importance of public outreach and the multiplier effect—the way water conservation projects reach into many, seemingly unrelated industries.

Researchers from the nonprofit public policy research group studied five different categories of water use efficiency: water conservation, gray water, recycled water, groundwater management and remediation projects. While the study focused on California, many of the projects could be carried out elsewhere in the West.

Green Technology Magazine   interviewed Patrick Burns, Economic Roundtable senior researcher who co-authored the report, discussing the findings and changing directions the research took.

How to talk to customers, if you have to   is a story in Intelligent Utility on Jan. 15 that suggests utilities are not using the resources available to them to prepare their customers for smart grid adoption.

Part of the problem, author Phil Carson acknowledges, is that “smart grid” means different things to different utilities, and often something else entirely to consumers. This has made it easy for opponents to co-opt the term and claim the technology is controversial without having to explain themselves.

But utilities should not use this lack of clarity as an excuse not to engage customers and regulators about what the smart grid means in their specific circumstances.  In addition to a past story mentioned in the article and a reference to the Association for Demand Response and Smart Grid , readers will find links to more related reading listed to the right of the story. These resources offer utilities the building blocks they need to communicate the value propositions smart grid represents to different types of consumers—whatever the technology and stage of deployment.  

Perhaps the most important point in the story is that if utilities don’t talk to consumers, others will take control of the story. The smart grid promises to fundamentally change the way power providers do business. Utilities that don’t clearly explain all the implications to their customers, Carson warns, could be writing their own epitaphs.

From Public Power Daily  , American Public Power Association, Jan. 11, 2012

Energy behavior programs aimed at reducing building energy use through change in employees’ attitudes and behaviors, such as those instituted at the House of Representatives, can help build an energy-efficient office culture, according to a Jan. 10 report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). Energy savings from the five energy behavior projects studied ranged from 4 percent (from a stand-alone behavior program) to nearly 75 percent (from a comprehensive project in which a behavior program is a component), said the study, Greening Work Styles: Analysis of Energy Behavior Programs in the Workplace .

These programs also create benefits that extend beyond the workplace, as participants often become more energy conscious at home and in their communities, ACEEE said.

One program, the “Green the Capitol” initiative, promoted a comprehensive package aimed at reducing energy use, waste and the carbon footprint of the House of Representatives by switching electricity fuel from coal to natural gas, relighting the Capitol dome with compact fluorescent light bulbs, and promoting a series of behavior programs at offices such as turning off computers and other office equipment when not in use, carpooling, commuting by bicycle, and recycling, the report said. Eighteen months after its launch, the Green the Capitol program had reduced the House’s carbon footprint by 74 percent, ACEEE said.

Feb. 7-8, 2012
Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel
Denver, Colo.

The Department of Energy’s Office of  Indian Energy Policy and Programs and the Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability are sponsoring the second Tribal Leader Forum, Exploring the Business Link Opportunity: Transmission & Clean Energy Development in the West.  This  two-day forum is designed for tribal leaders to  meet with other tribal leaders, energy industry executives and Federal officials to promote education and information sharing about transmission and clean energy development in Indian Country.

The basics of transmission will be featured on the first day to provide context to transmission regulation, development, interconnection and service and financing issues to be discussed throughout the event.  Attendees will also learn the latest on Federal and regional transmission developments and planning activities in the West and explore recent trends in financing clean energy projects. The event will also provide tribal leaders and executives with the opportunity to directly discuss best practices in tribal project partnerships and investments. 

The agenda covers such topics as transmission project updates, project financing, new technologies and tribal case studies. The speakers represent tribes, industry groups, private developers, utilities and state and Federal agencies. Western Administrator Tim Meeks will lead a discussion on Federal projects to expand transmission in the West.

Transmission and Clean Energy Development is the second in a series of events the Office of Indian Energy is planning. The Southwest Solar Forum, held in Palm Springs, Calif., in December 2011, was well-attended by major utilities as well as tribal representatives.

There is no cost to attend the forum, but registration is required.  Attendance is limited to 130 people.  To register, send your name, contact information and e-mail address to the Office of Indian Energy by Feb. 1, 2012.  As soon as your registration is confirmed, you will receive a confirmation notice.

There is still time to contribute your views to a national survey on the effectiveness of smart grid communications being conducted by Distributed Energy Financial Group, LLC . Each respondent will receive the analysis report.

The survey assesses the electric sector from diverse perspectives. So far, every U.S. state and several Canadian provinces are represented, with respondents from vertically integrated utilities to competitive suppliers to public interest organizations to consultants.

You will answer questions about smart grid activities in different stages of development. Some utilities are taking a “slow build” approach, while others are “flying under the radar”; some are relying on “active engagement” of consumers. You will be asked about different approaches regarding consumer education and engagement, lessons learned, and how utilities can save time, reduce costs, engage consumers, and achieve their goals.

DEFG LLC always shares its summary report with everyone who takes the survey. Last year, nearly 600 people responded to a survey on prepaid energy, and this topic — smart grid communications — is similarly timely and vital.

Take the survey today, and while you are at it, drop Energy Services a line and share your thoughts and experiences on smart grid communications.

• Feb. 15 – Applications for DOE Tribal Energy Program summer 2012 internships
• Mar. 1 – DOE Smart Grid Data Access Funding Opportunity – $8 million
• Mar. 16 – BIA Grant to Assess, Evaluate and Promote Development of TribalEnergy and Mineral Resources
• Mar. 31 – USDA 2012 Hazardous Fuels Woody Biomass Utilization Grant

Each year, people drape their homes in festive lights to brighten up the long nights. Each year, decorative lighting has become more efficient and affordable, and so, each year, Energy Services updates its popular Holiday Lighting fact sheet.

But some of you may still not be convinced that Christmas trees and the like use that much energy. Then, behold the Ghost of Christmas Tree Present.  Pretty fearsome, isn’t it? If that sight turned you into an Energy Scrooge, eager to help customers mend their ways, you might want to sign up for Infrared Thermography: Hands-on Training for Utility Systems and Customer Service Applications  in Billings, Mont., Jan. 9.

Merry Christmas to all from Western’s Energy Services!