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WEI Member News Avista Receives Approval to Decrease Rates for All Natural Gas Customers BC Bioenergy Network Establishes MOU with Terasen Gas Chelan PUD Preliminary Budget Shows Difficult Year Expected Again EWEB to Award Up to $50,000 in Greenpower Grants The Eugene Water & Electric Board is looking to award two Greenpower grants of up to $25,000 each to organizations proposing high-impact projects or programs that drive advancements in renewable energy for the utility’s customers. More Giving Okotoks a Greener Light Southbank Boulevard is now home to a greener kind of light. FortisAlberta is testing more energy efficient street lighting as part of an environmental pilot program. More Innovative Partnership to Develop Community-Based Biomass Power in Montana NorthWestern Energy and the Montana Community Development Corporation (MCDC) are partnering with eight Montana sawmills and public and private landowners to help develop community-based biomass power in Montana. The partnership will create a coordinated business plan to enable the production of wood-fueled power in the state. More NW Natural Filing for Lowest Rates in Five Years Approved Portland General Electric Wins National Solar Business Achievement Award Questar E&P Acquires New Haynesville Shale Acreage, Provides Update On Key Plays Questar Corporation subsidiary Questar Exploration and Production Company (Questar E&P) provided an update on the company’s leasing and acquisition activity in the Haynesville Shale play, recent well results and initial drilling plans for 2010 in its core operating areas. Questar E&P also provided 2009 and 2010 natural gas and oilequivalent production guidance and capital expenditure forecasts. Renault-Nissan Alliance Signs Zero-Emission Partnership in Vancouver The Renault-Nissan Alliance, the Province of British Columbia, the City of Vancouver and BC Hydro have announced a partnership that will see British Columbia become the initial launch point for Nissan's Canadian zero-emission transportation program. More Rocky Mountain Power Foundation Awards $87,950 to Salt Lake City Organizations The Rocky Mountain Power Foundation, part of the PacifiCorp Foundation, has awarded more than $87,950 to 21 Salt Lake City organizations focused on providing services to the community. The grants raise the total to more than $747,375 awarded by the foundation to organizations in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho since January 2009. More Seattle City Light Launches Home Energy Reports Project In October, Seattle City Light started providing 20,000 randomly selected homeowners with bi-monthly home energy reports as part of a pilot program to help them reduce their energy consumption and save money. MoreSecond Rooftop in Southern California Edison’s Massive Solar Panel Installation Program Now Generating Power in Chino The roof of a 458,000-square-foot industrial building in Chino, Calif. is now providing as much as one million watts of solar power to Southern California’s Inland Empire. This is the second installation in Southern California Edison’s (SCE’s) plan to place advanced solar panels on hundreds of otherwise unused commercial rooftops across Southern California. More Smart Grid Grant Application Selected by DOE IDACORP, Inc. subsidiary Idaho Power Company’s Advanced Metering and Customer Systems projects were selected out of 400 received proposals for a potential award of $47 million in funding by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). More SMUD and Regional Partners Win $127.5 Million In Federal Grant Money Customers of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) will realize the benefits of a “smart grid,” thanks to the award of a federal grant totaling more than $127.5 million. More Snohomish PUD Nets $15.8 Million for Smart Grid Snohomish County Public Utility District (PUD) will receive $15.8 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to embark on a major smart grid technology upgrade, which will create a stronger, more efficient and reliable electrical system. SRP Awarded DOE Stimulus Funds for Two Projects SRP was among the 100 utilities, private companies, manufacturers, cities and other partners selected by the Department of Energy as recipients of awards under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's Smart Grid Investment Grant initiative, the largest single energy grid modernization investment in U.S. history. More Team Nevada Attends Nation’s Largest Solar Trade Event Team Nevada, a strategic partnership formed by the Nevada Commission on Economic Development (NCED) and NV Energy, traveled to Southern California to share Nevada’s renewable energy story with the leading executives in the solar industry. More TransCanada Testifies at U.S. Senate Committee Discussing Lowering Carbon Emissions TransCanada Corporation outlined its views on the role of natural gas in mitigating climate change when TransCanada Executive Vice-President of Pipeline Strategy and Development Dennis McConaghy testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. More
Rest of the West
PG&E Signs Suite of Power Agreements for Clean, Reliable Energy Pacific Gas and Electric Company has announced a suite of new power agreements, totaling more than 2,000 megawatts, that are expected to provide many years of clean, reliable electricity for the 15 million people it serves in northern and central California. More SDG&E to Test Innovative Water-Suspended Solar Power Technology San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) announced it has joined with Pyron Solar of San Diego to test an advanced concentrated solar-power system that floats in a shallow pool of water and is expected to generate electricity at higher efficiencies and lower costs than conventional flat-panel photovoltaic systems. More Xcel Energy Files Compliance Plan to Address Renewable Energy Xcel Energy has filed its plan for meeting Colorado’s Renewable Energy Standard (RES) of producing 20 percent of energy from renewable resources by 2020. Currently, the RES requires that 5 percent of retail energy sales must come from renewable resources.
On the Move
S. David Freeman Joins LADWP as Interim General Manager More El Paso Corporation Announces Realignment of Executive Committee More News Pew Poll Shows Less Belief in Strength of Evidence for Global Warming Overall, the poll of 1500 adults, released in October by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, said the percentage of people who believe there is strong scientific evidence for global warming has declined from 77 percent (in 2006, when the question was first asked) to 57 percent. More Senate Climate Bill Softens Potential Blow to Coal Coal-state senators have worked to add coal-friendly provisions to the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act, from delayed emissions standards to money for the development of CO2 capture and storage. The Senate bill calls for emissions reductions of 20 percent by 2020. More Nuclear-Friendly Language Could be Key to GOP, Centrist Democrats’ Support for Climate Bill Despite the fact that no nuclear plants have been built in decades, nuclear power provides one-fifth of the nation’s power—and the lion’s share of its greenhouse-gas-free generating capacity. The industry has been trying to highlight that point as the battle for climate legislation continues. More Early, Aggressive CO2 Reductions More Economical in the Long Run A recent study by Economics for Equity and the Environment estimates that the world can keep global CO2 concentrations to 350 parts per million at a cost of between 1 and 3 percent of GDP—but that conservation efforts that roll out too slowly will result in higher costs as climate change effects accelerate. More EPA Analysis Says Senate Climate Bill Will Cost Families $100 Annually Using much of the same analysis as it used in evaluating the potential costs of the House climate bill earlier this year, the EPA has released figures projecting that the Senate climate bill would result in added energy costs of between $80 and $111 per household. More Business-As-Usual Not As Cheap As It Looks, Concludes NRC Report A study from the National Research Council says the nation’s current energy mix entails “hidden costs” associated with health and transportation, to the tune of $120 billion annually. More U.K. Progress Report Highlights Potential Pitfall of Cap-and-Trade The economic recession, which has reduced power demand (and with it, greenhouse emissions), has also depressed the price for carbon-dioxide permits, causing the British government to question whether a cap-and-trade system can be relied upon to drive investment in low-carbon technologies. More Low Gas Prices Bad for Independent Power Producers’ Coal-Fired Plants The effects of a market saturated with natural gas will be particularly painful for independent power producers whose portfolios rely on coal-fired plants. More Peak Oil Conference Discusses Shale Gas’s Prospects Speaking at an Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas conference in October, a Texas-based geological consultant warned that U.S. shale gas reserves are likely overestimated. More Power Plant Mercury Emissions to be Regulated by EPA In response to a federal appeals court order and a lawsuit brought by the American Nurses Association and environmental groups, the EPA will begin regulating the emissions of mercury from coal-fired power plants by November 2011. More NERC Reliability Assessment Points to Urgency of Renewables Integration, Transmission With its 2009 Long-Term Reliability Assessment, the North American Reliability Corporation (NERC) identified two major issues facing the U.S. as its power mix changes over the next decade. More Proposed Transmission ‘Superstation’ Could Link Major U.S. Grids A transmission project to be sited at Clovis, N.M. could accelerate renewables development by linking the nation’s three biggest electricity grids, making it possible for energy from remote sites to be delivered to a wider number of markets. More ‘Smart’ Meters Offer Various Methods to Influence Consumer Behavior As increasing numbers of smart meters are deployed around the country, questions linger about whether consumers will really start using them to improve efficiency—and if not, about how they can be driven to do so. More High Value Co-Products Could Make Biofuels Economically Viable A researcher at Kansas State University is researching adhesives and other polymers that could be produced from the byproducts of biofuels, saying that in addition to being more environmentally friendly, they could help bolster the biofuels economy. More
Western Natural Gas Market Review More
Western LNG Update Gazprom Begins U.S. Trading, Aiming for Rapid Expansion More Shale Gas’s International Market Impact Still Uncertain More New Provision in Coast Guard Reauthorization Bill Could Impact LNG Project Approval Process More Alaska Pipeline Gas Would Have to Compete in Tough Market More Gas Supplies Running Low for Residents of Oil-Rich Alaska More LNG Shipments May Increase With Colder Weather More Jordan Cove Negotiates Land-Purchase Extension, Still Awaits FERC Hearing More Romantic Involvement of Players in Oregon LNG Lease May not Invalidate Arrangement More |
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