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WEI Member News Avista Receives New 50-Year Operating License for Spokane River Hydroelectric Project Avista reached an important milestone in June with the issuance of a new 50-year operating license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the five hydroelectric developments that make up its Spokane River Project, (FERC Project No. 2545). More BC Hydro Completes New Aberfeldie Generating Station BC Hydro has completed the $95-million redevelopment of the Aberfeldie Generating Station, located on the Bull River, 22 miles east of Cranbrook. The dam and generating station is now completely operational and generating electricity during the 2009 freshet. More California Regulators Approve Southern California Edison Proposal to Create Nation’s Largest Solar Panel Installation Program A plan proposed by Southern California Edison (SCE) for the largest U.S. installation of advanced solar panels on otherwise unused large commercial rooftops across Southern California was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission. More Chelan PUD Board Approves Upgrade for Second Unit at Rock Island Dam After a successful year of testing the first turbine-generator unit to be modernized in the original powerhouse at Rock Island Dam, Chelan County PUD commissioners have agreed to move forward with a second unit. More El Paso Electric Collaborates on Solar Power Plant El Paso Electric has signed a power purchase agreement for the full capacity of a 92-megawatt (MW) concentration solar power plant to be built in southern New Mexico’s Doña Ana County. More El Paso Pipeline Partners Announces Pricing of Public Offering of Common Units El Paso Pipeline Partners, L.P. announced in June that it had priced a public offering of 11,000,000 common units representing limited partner interests at $17.50 per common unit. More ENMAX Hits a High Note as One of Best 50 Corporate Citizens in Canada In an announcement made by Canadian business magazine, Corporate Knights, ENMAX Corporation has been named as the sixth best Corporate Citizen in Canada. More Eugene Students Launch “Light It Forward” Campaign to Save Energy A pair of third-grade classes at Camas Ridge Community School in Eugene has launched a “Light It Forward” campaign, kicking off an innovative, student-inspired effort to put energy-efficient light bulbs into thousands of homes across the country. More Historic Albany Commits to Future with Blue Sky Renewable Energy Known for its historic downtown, Albany’s link back to 19th century Oregon is unmistakable. Now, the city has staked its claim on the 21st century by supporting renewable sources through Pacific Power’s Blue Sky program. More Innovative Integrated Energy Solutions Validated by Parliamentary Committee Terasen is pleased that a recent report from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Natural Resources confirms the work the company is carrying out to plan, build, own and operate integrated community energy projects in B.C. More LADWP Offers Incentives for Residential Use of Drought Tolerant Plants In addition to enacting mandatory water conservation among all its customers on June 1, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has announced a new program to encourage customers to replace traditional grass lawns with drought tolerant plants. More Local Nonprofit Takes First in NV Natural Paperless Campaign Microsoft Hohm Online Tool Will Provide Comparisons, Personalized Recommendations NorthWestern Energy Responds to FERC Orders on Transmission Projects NorthWestern Corporation, d/b/a NorthWestern Energy, plans to conduct “Open Seasons” as planned for two major transmission projects following the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s recent action on the company’s petitions. More NV Energy, American Capital Energy Agree on Solar Power Purchase Agreement NV Energy, Inc. and American Capital Energy have entered into a long-term power purchase agreement for the sale of energy produced from a 20-MW DC solar photovoltaic power plant that will be constructed near Searchlight, Nevada, 55 miles south of Las Vegas. PGE Employees Lose Nearly 5,000 Pounds Raising $10,000 for Local Nonprofits PSE’s Long-Range Strategy Focuses on Efficiency, Wind, Natural Gas Expanded energy conservation and renewable-power development, augmented by more natural gas-fired power generation, continue to anchor Puget Sound Energy’s strategy for meeting customers’ growing energy needs, according to the company’s newly updated long-range resource plan. More SMUD Gets “Smart” On New Metering Technology At its June 18 meeting, the SMUD Board of Directors voted to approve a contract with Landis+Gyr to supply approximately 620,000 two-way advanced meters, meter management software and installation training. A contract with Silver Spring Networks to provide wireless network equipment to connect the meters to the SMUD distribution and billing systems was also approved. More Snohomish PUD “Conservation Sensation” Campaign Nets Two National Awards Snohomish County Public Utility District has received two national communications awards for its Be a Conservation Sensation campaign, launched in 2008. More SRP Submits Application for Power Line Permit SRP has submitted an application for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility (CEC) with the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) for the Abel-Moody Transmission Line Project. More TransCanada and ExxonMobil to Work Together on Alaska Pipeline Project TransCanada and ExxonMobil have reached an agreement to work together on an Alaska gas pipeline. More Union Gas Lowers Rates for Third Consecutive Quarter Union Gas, a Spectra Energy company based in Ontario, has announced another significant decrease in the rates its customers will pay for natural gas beginning July 1. Residential customers who buy gas from the utility can expect a further 15-20 percent decrease in their annual natural gas bill. More Williams Adds to Marcellus Shale Presence in Acreage Agreement With Rex Energy Williams announced that it has signed a participation and exploration agreement to develop natural gas wells in the Marcellus Shale with Rex Energy Corporation. More Rest of the West
PG&E’s Climatesmart™ Program Makes Landmark Purchase of Dairy Farm Emission Reductions On behalf of its more than 30,000 ClimateSmart™ customers, Pacific Gas and Electric Company has announced a contract with California Bioenergy for its first greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions from a dairy farm. More The Gas Company Earns Top Honors in Gas Storage Facility Maintenance Southern California Gas Co. (The Gas Company) has been awarded the “Outstanding Lease Maintenance Award” for two of its natural gas storage facilities located in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys. More Wind Farm on Tribal Land Could Deliver 160 MW of Renewable Power Xcel Energy Foundation Provides $330,000 in Educational, Environmental Grants The Xcel Energy Foundation recently awarded 38 grants totaling $331,500 to a variety of educational and environmental groups throughout Colorado. More
On the Move
Williams Pipeline Partners Elects Steven Zelkowitz Independent Director More Advantage IQ CEO Stu Stiles to Leave; COO Jeff Hart to Lead Transition More Questar Appoints Samuel Brothwell, Martin Craven to VP Positions More NorthWestern Energy Announces Organization Changes More
News California's 33 Percent Renewables Target Unlikely to be Achieved California isn’t likely to meet its “highly ambitious” renewables target of 33 percent by 2020, according to an analysis by the state’s Public Utilities Commission. More White House Report Identifies Climate Changes Now Underway Although a Congressionally-mandated report by the Obama administration warns that major climate changes such as rising sea levels, sweltering temperatures, deeper droughts, and heavier downpours are already underway, it also said aggressive action to limit greenhouse gases could avert some of the worst disasters. More Climate Change Could Be Reducing Wind Speeds A recent study—the first of its kind—shows wind speeds falling across the U.S., raising questions about the long-term viability of wind power if the planet continues to warm. More NW Governors Want Studies of Backup Options for Intermittent Renewables Governors from the states of Washington, Idaho, Montana and Oregon have sent a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Energy advocating funding for research into integrating intermittent renewable energy into the region’s grid. More Energy Northwest Proposes Study of Modular Nuclear Energy Northwest, formerly known as the Washington Public Power Supply System or WPPSS, recently requested contributions from its 25 members for a preliminary study of small, modular nuclear reactors. More Moody’s to Scrutinize Nuclear Developers’ Balance Sheets In a report, credit-ratings firm Moody’s Investors Service said some companies seeking to build new reactors had failed to strengthen their balance sheets in anticipation of large, potentially risky projects. EPA Approves California GHG Vehicle Emissions Rule Reversing a year-and-a-half old Bush administration policy, in June the EPA granted California a waiver to implement its proposed rules for the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks. More Connecticut to Expand Efficiency Market to Households In 2007, Connecticut launched an “efficiency market,” in which commercial and industrial electricity customers were offered incentives for making permanent reductions in consumption. Now it hopes to expand the program to include residential customers. More Full Participation Demand Response Programs Could Cut Peak Use by 20 Percent A June report prepared for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission found that peak U.S. demand could, under universally adopted demand response programs, be reduced by 20 percent compared to a scenario in which no demand response was assumed. Green Energy Investments Ensure Long-Term Growth A new study from researchers at UC Berkeley has concluded that California’s aggressive pursuit of clean energy will result in swifter and more sustainable economic growth, while continuing to rely on conventional energy sources would be economically precarious. More New Coal Survey Questions Size of U.S. Reserves While coal advocates have in recent years been referring to the U.S. as “the Saudi Arabia of coal,” recent analysis from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) indicates that some coal reserves may not be practical to extract. More CO2 Capture from Existing Coal Plants Essential for GHG Reductions A new study says the U.S. will not meet greenhouse gas reduction targets without a viable means of capturing carbon from existing coal-fired power plants. More Solar Energy Zones Proposed to Streamline Project Permitting Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar recently announced measures designed to help with permitting bottlenecks for proposed solar projects on federal lands. More New Chips Improve Solar Panel Performance, Efficiency Semiconductor companies have recently started manufacturing power-management chips that can substantially improve the efficiency of new or previously installed solar panels. More
Western Natural Gas Market Review More Western LNG Update Drop in Global Demand May Threaten Future Gas Supply More Global LNG Demand Could be Recovering More Abundant LNG, Shale Gas Slow Demand for Arctic Gas More Interest in Alaskan LNG Increases; ExxonMobil Joins Project Oil-Linked LNG Pricing More Appealing to Investors, Say Suppliers More NorthernStar Natural Gas Raises Cash for LNG Terminal More Kulongoski Criticizes FERC Review of Jordan Cove LNG Terminal More Oregon LNG signs MOU with Oregon Regarding CO2 Mitigation, Plant Retirement More |
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