ASERTTI News
Introducing ASERTTI's
New Chair, Frank Murray, NYSERDA
Elected as ASERTTI’s Chair in October 2009, Frank
Murray, President and CEO of NYSERDA, has set out
several priorities and a vision for ASERTTI over the
next year. "I want to begin working immediately to
help ASERTTI evolve to become a more meaningful
voice in Washington, D.C. on technology research and
innovation policy," said Mr. Murray. He added, "I
believe there is a great deal we can do that will
significantly expand the reach and impact of our
organization and the state technology institutions."
Mr. Murray believes that leveraging the breadth
of knowledge and expertise within the ASERTTI
membership with the partnership and connections
within the NASEO network will allow ASERTTI to
become a key player on clean energy and energy
efficiency technology advancement in the public
policy arena. He also sees ASERTTI working more
closely with NASEO and in a manner that is mutually
beneficial to both organizations. Please
click here to read Frank Murray’s biography.
Mark Your Calendars: 2010
Energy Outlook Conference, February 1-4. 2010
ASERTTI and NASEO will host the 2010 Energy
Outlook Conference in Washington, DC from February
1-4 at the Fairmont Hotel. Please
click here to visit the event website for more
information. Online registration will be available
soon.
ECW Webinar: The Silver
Lining in Climate Survey Results – December 16, 2009
The Energy Center of Wisconsin will host a free
webinar, "The Silver Lining in Climate Survey
Results: Refining the Design of Energy Efficiency
Programs and Climate Policy," presented by Ingo
Bensch, Senior Project Manager, Energy Center of
Wisconsin on December 16, 2009 from 1:00 pm-2:30 pm
CT. In this live webinar, Bensch presents the 2009
results from the Midwest Energy Survey—a tracking
instrument that began measuring public attitudes,
awareness and practices on energy efficiency and
climate in 2007. This webinar is designed for
executives, regulators, legislators, energy
efficiency program managers, advocates and
professionals in the energy field, and offers an
independent perspective on the public's attitudes,
practices, and awareness of climate change and
energy efficiency. For more information and to
register for the webinar, please
click here.
Senate Climate Bill Emerges
from Energy and Public Works Committee
The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW)
Committee reported out the Clean Energy Jobs and
American Power Act (CEJAPA, S. 1733) with 11
Democrats in favor and one, Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT),
against. All seven Republicans boycotted the EPW
markup of CEJAPA, arguing that they needed a full
economic analysis of the bill by the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) before they could propose
amendments. As the EPW Committee reported out the
legislation, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
(D-NV) said he would ask the EPA to spend five weeks
reviewing the potential costs of the bill before
bringing it to the full Senate floor. Please
click here for the full story by the
Environmental and Energy Study Institute.
25x'25 Releases University
of Tennessee Study Analyzing Impact Of Climate
Change Legislation on U.S. Agriculture
Net returns for virtually all major crops are
positive under a properly constructed cap-and-trade
program, according to a University of Tennessee
study released by 25x'25. However, the study goes on
to show that if carbon emissions are regulated by
EPA as prescribed under a 2007 Supreme Court ruling,
net farm income is projected to fall below baseline
projections. The Analysis of the Implications of
Climate Change and Energy Legislation to the
Agricultural Sector, the long-awaited and
comprehensive assessment by the University of
Tennessee's Bio-Based Energy Analysis Group, says
that an operationally efficient cap-and-trade
program that allows multiple offsets, including
those for bioenergy crop production, while
restricting the removal of crop residues to
acceptable, environmentally beneficial levels,
offers positive net returns for eight of the nine
major crops analyzed. Please
click here for the press release and a link to
the full report.
DRI Researcher Receives $3.2
Million in National Science Foundation Awards
ASERTTI member, the Desert Research Institute (DRI),
received $3.2 million in National Science Foundation
Awards. Joseph McConnell, Ph.D., Research Professor
in the Division of Hydrologic Sciences and director
of DRI’s Ultra-Trace Chemistry Laboratory, will use
the more than $3.2 million to study ice cores in the
Arctic and Antarctic searching for clues regarding
the Earth’s past and future climate. McConnell
received funding for five projects; all but $500,000
of the National Science Foundation grants is from
the American Recovery and Restoration Act. One of
the projects will provide a better understanding of
how short-lived aerosols, including those generated
by wildfires, affect the Earth’s climate. Another
project, in collaboration with the University of
Utah, will study the accumulation variability of ice
sheet snow in Greenland. Please
click here for more information.
EPRI Unveils Initiative to
Improve Transmission System Efficiency
ASERTTI member, the Electric Power Research
Institute (EPRI), disclosed plans for an
industry-wide "transmission efficiency"
demonstration collaborative that will identify
technologies leading to greater efficiency in the
bulk power system, an increase in system utilization
and a reduction in line and equipment losses. The
initiative’s goal is to improve efficiency and stem
losses of electricity that would otherwise flow to
the end user. T&D losses account for about 300
billion kilo-watt-hours in the United States, and
reducing such losses will allow utilities to
generate less power and thereby lower the industry’s
carbon footprint. The collaborative is outgrowth of
efforts by EPRI, the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC), independent system operators and
leading utilities to identify and implement best
practices in the United States and abroad to make
transmission systems more efficient. For more
information, please
click here.
Osprey’s Dominion First
Vineyard on Long Island to Install a Wind Turbine
ASERTTI member, the Long Island Power Authority
(LIPA), in partnership with Osprey’s Dominion
Vineyard and Eastern Energy Systems (E2sys)
celebrated the ground breaking for the first Wind
Power turbine located at a vineyard on Long Island
at Osprey’s Dominion Vineyard in Peconic, Long
Island. Osprey’s Dominion Vineyard commissioned
Eastern Energy Systems, Inc. to install a 20k wind
turbine at their North Fork winery in the Town of
Southold. This will be LIPA’s first Farm Service
turbine, undertaken through the Backyard Wind
Initiative created this year. The wind turbine is
expected to produce an estimated 42,802 kilowatt
hours (kWh) of electricity per year for an annual
energy savings of $7,918. The projected total cost
of the project is $144,000. A LIPA rebate of $69,401
is anticipated, significantly off-setting the
expense for the system. Osprey Dominion Vineyard may
further reduce the cost of the system via a Federal
tax incentive and by selling the excess electric
energy produced back to LIPA. Please
click here for the full story.
ASERTTI Membership Update
ASERTTI hosted their monthly membership
conference call on Thursday, November 5, 2009. In
an effort to keep members up-to-date with member
activities and strategic planning,
please click here for the latest call summary. |
