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WEI Member News Avista to Lead $38 Million Smart Grid Project in Pullman Avista will lead a smart grid demonstration project that will create the first "smart community" in the Pacific Northwest. Matching funds for the $38 million project are part of a U.S. Department of Energy grant for a larger $178 million regional project which is administered by Battelle. More BC Hydro Proceeds with Next Step of Clean Power Call BC Hydro is continuing to advance the Clean Power Call to acquire clean, renewable and cost-effective electricity. The Clean Power Call will support the BC Energy Plan's goal of achieving electricity self-sufficiency in the province by 2016. In addition, it will support the province's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and encourage economic development. More BCUC Approves Application to Stabilize Rates for a Two-Year Period Terasen Gas (Vancouver Island) Inc. (TGVI) has received approval from the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) for the negotiated settlement agreement for its two-year revenue requirement and rate design application. The approval means rates will remain unchanged for a two-year period, starting January 1, 2010, for residential and commercial customers on Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast and Powell River. More Chelan PUD Working with Ecology to Explore Water Storage Ideas With financial support offered from the Washington State Department of Ecology, Chelan County PUD is going to explore new ways of storing and using water in the Columbia River. Ideas include looking at pumped-storage projects and at the possibility of raising the water level behind Rocky Reach Dam as much as three feet. More Consumer Power’s Charitable Trust Finishes Strong Year of Giving CPI’s Charitable Trust committee held its final meeting of 2009 in November and gave $8,320 in grants. More DOE Selects NW and Seattle City Light for $178M Smart Grid Demo DOE Selects Pacific Northwest Regional Smart Grid Demonstration Project The Department of Energy (DOE) has selected a Pacific Northwest team including NorthWestern Energy to conduct a regional smart grid demonstration project designed to expand upon existing electric infrastructure and test new smart grid technology with up to 60,000 customers in five states. More El Paso Corporation Announces Further Steps to Improve Financial Flexibility El Paso Corporation has announced a series of actions designed to further improve the company's financial flexibility to fund its core businesses. More EWEB 'Run to Stay Warm' Raises $20,000 for the Needy More than 875 people tightened the laces on their running shoes and turned out to participate in the Eugene Water & Electric Board’s third annual Run to Stay Warm on Nov. 21, which raised almost $20,000 for the utility’s Customer Care Program to help income-eligible customers who are having difficulty paying their utility bills. More Glendale Water & Power First In Nation to Launch Country-Wide Energy Conservation Program for Kids: Green Allowance Glendale Water & Power (GWP) will soon debut Green Allowance, a new web-based service that gives kids the tools and motivation to champion energy conservation and help them actually earn a Green Allowance. More Hogle Zoo and Gallivan Center Holiday Lights to Glow Green Thanks to Blue Sky Rocky Mountain Power’s Blue Sky renewable energy program is delivering a bright green gift to Salt Lake City this season, but there’s no wrapping required. Blue Sky is providing renewable energy certificates to offset environmental impacts of the electricity used for holiday lighting displays at Utah’s Hogle Zoo and Salt Lake City’s Gallivan Center with emission-free wind energy. MoreLADWP Receives $60 Million for Smart Grid Project The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) was awarded over $60 million in Smart Grid Demonstration funding--the most of any municipally-owned utility in the country--to “green the grid” by developing, deploying and testing advanced smart grid technologies in partnership with a consortium of top Southern California research institutes including USC, UCLA, and CalTech/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. More NV Energy Receives Top National Awards from COMBINED CYCLE Journal NV Energy received the first-ever Pacesetter Utility Award and the company's Edward W. Clark Generating Station received the 2009 Pacesetter Plant Award from COMBINED CYCLE Journal. More NW Natural Hopes to Keep the Heat On in a Cool Economy Most people across the Northwest have already turned on their furnaces this year. However, with high unemployment and a still-struggling economy, staying warm for many will be a luxury over the 2009-2010 winter season. More Palomar Gas Transmission Files Application for a Certificate to Build Pipeline in Oregon Palomar Gas Transmission LLC, a joint venture of TransCanada Corporation and Northwest Natural Gas Company today filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a certificate to build and operate an interstate natural gas transmission pipeline in Oregon. More Participation in Energy Efficiency Program Pays Off for TORO Company Participation in El Paso Electric’s Texas Load Management Program paid off for the local manufacturing plant of TORO Company last month when Toro Company representatives received a check for $52,800 from El Paso Electric. More Partnership to Conduct CHP Feasibility Study As part of a new collaboration, Idaho Power, the Office of Energy Resources (OER) and Amalgamated Sugar Company, LLC have agreed to jointly conduct a feasibility study on the potential benefits of a natural gas-fired combined heat and power (CHP) facility at Amalgamated’s Nampa plant. The proposed partnership between government and private industry would benefit local residents, businesses and communities across Idaho. More PGE Selected by DOE as Oregon Utility Partner in $178M NW Smart Grid Demo The Department of Energy has selected a Pacific Northwest team including Portland General Electric to conduct a regional smart grid demonstration project designed to expand upon existing electric infrastructure and test new smart grid technology with up to 60,000 customers in five states. More Power Lines Buried Through Cost-Sharing Initiative The City of Spruce Grove and FortisAlberta have partnered to share the cost of burying power lines along a section of Highway 16A. More
PSE Completes $46.4 Million Natural Gas System Upgrade Puget Sound Energy has just completed a $46.4 million natural gas system upgrade to improve reliability and increase capacity in the South King County area, specifically Auburn, Kent, Federal Way and Vashon Island. More SCE’s New Service Center in Wildomar Awarded Platinum Certification by Green Building Council Southern California Edison’s new service center in Wildomar has been awarded LEED platinum certification--the highest designation available to buildings that demonstrate energy efficiency and sustainability. More SMUD to Buy Power from Local Biomass Power Plant The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) Board of Directors has approved a 20-year power purchase agreement with Buena Vista Biomass Power, LLC for the purchase of renewable energy from a 16-megawatt power plant that generates electricity from woody biomass. More Snohomish PUD Partners with Seven Communities for Energy Efficiency Snohomish County PUD will partner on energy-efficiency initiatives with seven local communities, which have received a total of $461,194 in federal stimulus funding under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The cities receiving funding for efficiency projects are: Arlington, Granite Falls, Mill Creek, Marysville, Monroe, Mountlake Terrace and Snohomish. More Spectra Energy Places Northern Bridge Project into Service Texas Eastern Transmission, LP, a subsidiary of Houston-based Spectra Energy Corp, has successfully placed into service its Northern Bridge project, an expansion of its Texas Eastern system that will transport 150 million cubic feet per day (Mmcf/d) of new Rocky Mountain natural gas supplies to Northeast markets. More SRP Selects Iberdrola Renewables for Solar Project SRP has selected Iberdrola Renewables Inc. to build and operate a 20-megawatt solar photovoltaic (PV) power facility that would, for the first time, allow an Arizona utility's customers to save money by buying the green energy directly from SRP's land-mounted solar power plant. Williams' Northwest Pipeline Completes Colorado Hub Connection Pipeline in Colorado Williams announced last month that Northwest Pipeline GP, Williams' majority-owned subsidiary, has received authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to place its 24-inch diameter natural gas transmission pipeline known as the Colorado Hub Connection into service. More
Rest of the West
Pacific Gas and Electric Company Seeks 20-Year License Extension for Diablo Canyon Power Plant Citing a critical need in California for the long-term supply of clean, affordable and reliable electricity, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced that it will seek federal approval for license renewal to extend operation of the Diablo Canyon Power Plant for another 20 years past the current operating licenses. More SDG&E Kicks Off Bay Front Revival with Historic Removal of Transmission Towers San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) joined with local officials and environmental groups to celebrate the revival of South Bay with the historic removal of the 23 lattice steel transmission towers supporting the South Bay Power Plant. More TEP Grants $100,000 to Groups Aiding At-Risk Youth, Families and Seniors Tucson Electric Power (TEP) is presenting $100,000 in grants to 14 nonprofit organizations that improve the health and well-being of at-risk children, teens, families and seniors. More Xcel Energy Files Pricing Pilot for SmartGridCity Xcel Energy filed recently for an electricity pilot pricing program with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to coincide with implementation of SmartGridCity™ in Boulder, Colo. The pilot will include no more than 2,000 customers and is designed to provide customers with better price signals so they can make informed decisions about their energy use. More On the Move
Atmos Energy Corporation Elects Kim Cocklin to Board of Directors, Promotes Kenneth Malter to Vice President, Gas Supply and Services More BC Hydro CEO Bob Elton to Become Special Adviser to Board More Randy Berggren to Retire from Role as EWEB General Manager More Jeff D. Heggedahl Named President and CEO of Advantage IQ More
News Leaked Emails Prompt Calls for Transparency in Climate Research In the wake of leaked emails in which some climate change researchers both tried to block access to their own data and to discourage the publication of dissenting opinions, many are calling for increased transparency in the field. More Deforestation’s Contribution to CO2 Emissions Significantly Overestimated A new study from researchers led by Guido van der Werf of Amsterdam’s VU University concludes that the CO2 emitted by forest destruction is close to 12 percent of total emissions—significantly less than the 20 percent previously estimated. More NASA Data Suggests Antarctic Ice Melt Could Raise Sea Levels Faster Analysis of measurements taken from NASA’s gravity recovery and climate experiment indicate that the East Antarctic ice sheet, the world’s largest ice sheet, is losing 57 billion tons of ice per year. More Managing 33 Percent Renewables System a Challenge for Grid Operator As California increases its renewables target to 33 percent by 2020, the nation is watching closely to see how its grid operator, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) will tackle the very real problem of managing variations in wind and solar output. More Electric Car Infrastructure Still In the Planning Stages With some estimates suggesting there could be 1 million plug-in vehicles on U.S. roads by 2015, utilities, retailers and others are grappling with the question of when, where and how these vehicles will charge up. More Senate Climate Bill Sweetens Deal for Natural Gas Unlike the version that moved through the House, the Senate version of climate change legislation includes a significant provision that is good news for the natural gas industry. More Fitch Says Climate Legislation Will Pinch Refiners, Benefit Others A new Fitch Ratings report says pending greenhouse gas legislation will impact cash flows for domestic refiners by raising costs and reducing future demand, but could prove a boon to other sectors. More Alaska Pipeline Projects Prepare for Initial Open Seasons Both the state-licensed Exxon Mobil-TransCanada project and the competing BP-ConocoPhillips gas pipeline project are developing construction cost estimates in preparation for obtaining shipping commitments from North Slope producers. More Environmental Groups Seek Increased Oversight of Hydraulic Fracturing Hydraulic fracturing, the technique used to extract natural gas from shale beds, is increasingly the focus of lawmakers and environmental groups concerned about its potential impact on water supplies. More Reactor Designs Prompt Concerns of European and U.S. Regulators Two reactor designs that were slated for use in new U.S. nuclear reactors have prompted concerns by regulators, raising the specter of delays and cost overruns. More Alberta Legislation Changing Power Line Siting Sparks Controversy Alberta has proposed controversial legislation, called Bill 50, that gives the government wide powers to approve power line projects with limited public input. More California Approves TV Efficiency Standards Starting in January 2011, new television sets sold in California will have to meet energy efficiency standards established by the California Energy Commission. More CFTC Should Not Regulate Firm Transmission Rights, Says FERC Chairman The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which already oversees energy futures traded in markets like the New York Mercantile Exchange, has proposed to regulate numerous gas and electricity contracts traded on IntercontinentalExchange Inc.—including firm transmission rights. More Stimulus Money Not Creating Green Jobs Boom Despite White House assertions that the $150 million of the economic stimulus bill earmarked for green investments would create 5 million jobs over the next decade, current estimates show that only around 100,000 new green jobs have been created. More First Osmotic Power Plant Built in Norway Osmotic power, which harnesses the pressure across a membrane separating salt water from fresh water, was first conceived by Sidney Loeb, an American, in the 1970s. More
Western Natural Gas Market Review More
Western LNG Update Oregon LNG Gets Good News in Lease Dispute More Port Extends Land Purchase Agreements with Jordan Cove More FERC Continues to Delay Jordan Cove Decision More Bradwood’s Potential Impact on Fish Under Scrutiny More Algeria Halts LNG Shipments to the U.S. More Increased Nigerian LNG May be Destined for U.S. More Gazprom Aims to Capture 5 Percent of U.S. Gas Market More U.S. LNG Exports Unlikely, Despite Excess Supply More Excess LNG Supply Re-Exported to Better Markets More Multigas Carriers Could Supply LNG to “Stranded” End-Users, Maritime Operations More |
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