ASERTTI News
Register Today for the
ASERTTI / NASEO State Energy Policy and Technology
Outlook Conference, February 1-4, 2010
The 2010 State Energy Policy and Technology
Outlook Conference will be held February 1-4, 2010
at the Fairmont Hotel in Washington, DC. The event
will be hosted by ASERTTI and National Association
of State Energy Officials (NASEO).
The 2010 ASERTTI / NASEO State Energy Policy and
Technology Outlook Conference will be held at the
Fairmont Hotel in Washington, DC. This year's
Conference comes as the States and the nation are in
the midst of an historic energy efficiency and
renewable energy transformation. New policies and
investments are moving rapidly and at an
unprecedented scale with additional programs being
contemplated by Congress and the Administration in
the coming weeks.
Session Highlights
- Road to Recovery – A Look at States' ARRA
Funded Clean Energy Jobs Creation
- Vehicle Electrification – Cars,
Infrastructure Investments, and Consumer Demand
- Net Zero Energy Commercial Buildings
Consortium Update
- National Laboratory Roundtable –
Transferring Emerging Technologies
- Transformative Renewable Energy Technology
- Scaling up Renewable Energy Investment
Speakers
- Congressman Steve Israel
- Congressman Paul Tonko
- DOE Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy
Efficiency Kathleen Hogan
- DOE Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable
Energy Jacques Beaudry-Losique
- DOE General Counsel Scott Blake Harris
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Director Dan E. Arvizu
- Interior Department Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Ned
Farquhar
- Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy
(ARPA-E) Director Arun Majumdar
Please
click here to visit the event website for more
information including an updated agenda and online
registration.
DOE Announces Closing of $465
Million Loan to Tesla Motors
Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced the
Department of Energy has closed its $465 million
loan with Tesla Motors, Inc. for construction of a
manufacturing facility in southern California on the
Model S electric sedan and a power-train
manufacturing facility in Palo Alto, California.
The Palo Alto facility will assemble electric
vehicle battery packs, electric motors, and related
electric vehicle control equipment, both for Tesla's
own electric vehicles and for sale to other
automobile manufacturers. The agreement was
negotiated and signed by the Department's Loan
Programs Office, which supports the development of
innovative, advanced vehicle technologies to create
thousands of clean energy jobs while helping reduce
the nation's dependence on foreign oil. Tesla's
planned Model S will consume no gasoline and will
not produce any tailpipe emissions. It is being
designed to offer a variety of range options
depending on the battery pack used, from 160 to 300
miles on a single charge. Volume production of the
Model S is planned to begin in 2012 with a target
production capacity of 20,000 vehicles per year by
the end of 2013. According to Tesla, the Model S
project and power-train manufacturing facility are
expected to create over 1,600 jobs. Please
click here for the full story.
DOE Releases Eastern Wind
Integration and Transmission Study
The U.S. Department of Energy's National
Renewable Energy Laboratory released a major study
of the technical, operational, and economic issues
facing the integration of large amounts of wind
energy into the power system. The Eastern Wind
Integration and Transmission Study (EWITS), the
largest study of its kind conducted in the United
States to date, evaluates the future operational and
integration impacts of up to 30% wind energy
penetration into the power system in the study year
2024. The study encompasses the majority of the
utilities in the Eastern Interconnection. The study
also includes a high-level analysis of transmission
needed to deliver the wind energy to load centers
and a cursory analysis of carbon pricing impacts.
The study consists of three main parts: a wind
resource assessment and wind plant siting study, a
transmission study, and a wind integration study.
Please
click here for the story as well as a link to
the Wind and Hydropower Technologies Program's
Renewable Systems Interconnection page where you
will find a link to the study.
California Adopts
Nation's First Statewide Green Building Standard
The California Building Standards Commission
unanimously adopted the first-in-the-nation
mandatory Green Building Standards Code, called
CALGreen, on January 12. The program, which takes
effect on January 1, 2011, will require all new
buildings in the state to be more energy efficient
and environmentally responsible. California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger said the action lays the
foundation for the move to greener buildings
constructed with environmentally advanced building
practices that reduce energy use, decrease waste,
and conserve resources. The California Air
Resources Board estimates that the mandatory
provisions will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by
the equivalent of 3 million metric tons of carbon
dioxide in 2020. Please
click here for the full story.
California Energy
Commission Competitive Grant Solicitation - Solar
The California Energy Commission is seeking
proposals from private entities, including
non-profit organizations and private universities,
to help reduce the environmental impacts of solar
energy projects in California, particularly with
respect to biological impacts in the California
desert. This competitive grant solicitation is
sponsored by the California Energy Commission's
Public Interest Energy Research (PIER)
Energy-Related Environmental Program to investigate
one or more of the following:
- Innovative mitigation strategies other than
land acquisition that would effectively offset
the negative impacts of California solar energy
development on special-status species and
sensitive plant communities; and/or rigorous
validation of and/or improvements to frequently
recommended mitigation measures (for example,
habitat restoration, fencing).
- New or enhanced habitat suitability models
that help to: predict the distribution of
special-status plants and animals and sensitive
plant communities within the Mojave and Colorado
Desert regions; evaluate the impact of solar
energy technologies, plant designs, and/or solar
project site selection on special-status plants
and animals and sensitive plant communities; and
provide planning tools to assist in the siting,
design, permitting, and mitigation of solar
energy projects.
- An improved impact assessment on species
abundance and viability of relocating desert
tortoise and/or other special-status plants and
animals away from solar energy sites using
currently established protocols; and/or develop
improved protocols for relocation.
- Numerical thresholds for viability of listed
species populations (i.e., minimum viable
population size) in regions within the Mojave
and Colorado Desert regions targeted for utility
scale solar energy development.
- New or improved framework for conducting
cumulative impacts analysis of solar energy
development on sensitive biological resources.
For more information on this grant solicitation
and how to apply, visit
http://www.energy.ca.gov/contracts/pier.html#PON-09-007.
Stage 1 proposals are due March 3, 2010, and a
pre-proposal workshop will be held on January 28,
2010.
Compressed Air
Challenge - Fundamentals of Compressed Air Systems
WE (web-edition)
The Compressed Air Challenge (CAC) is pleased to
announce the launch of Fundamentals of Compressed
Air Systems WE (web-edition) on February 22, 2010.
This web-based version of the popular Fundamentals
of Compressed Air Systems training uses an
interactive format that enables the instructor to
diagram examples, give pop quizzes and answer
students' questions in real time. The course will
launch on February 22, 2010 with subsequent classes
on March 1, March 8 and March 15. The classes will
begin at 11 AM eastern and will last approximately 2
hours each. Please
click here for additional information and to
register online. |
