ASERTTI MEMBER NEWS
New Speakers
Confirmed for the ASERTTI-NASEO State Energy Policy and Technology Outlook
Conference
Register today
for the 2012 ASERTTI/NASEO State Energy Policy and Technology Outlook Conference
on February 7-10, 2012, at the
Fairmont Washington, D.C. The
conference agenda is
now available online. Distinguished speakers include:
- The Honorable Paul Tonko, Member, U.S. House of
Representatives
- The Honorable Rob Portman, Member, U.S. Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee (Invited)
- Patricia Hoffman, Assistant Secretary, Office of Electricity
Delivery and Energy Reliability, U.S. Department of Energy
- Marcilynn Burke, Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and
Minerals Management, Bureau of Land Management (Invited)
- Kathleen Hogan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy
Efficiency, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy,
U.S. Department of Energy
- Steve Chalk, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Renewable
Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S.
Department of Energy
- Vice Admiral Dennis McGinn, President and Chief Executive
Officer, American Council on Renewable Energy
- John Felmy, Chief Economist, American Petroleum Institute
- Christophe Tulou, Director, District of Columbia Department
of the Environment
This year's Conference will explore how states are encouraging economic
development and technology innovation through private investment to modernize
the nation's energy systems and infrastructure in public facilities, power
systems, and the transportation sector.
ASERTTI Buildings Committee Abstract Accepted for ACEEE Conference
The ASERTTI Buildings Committee was recently informed that its abstract
submission, Smart Grid Research: Building Infrastructure for the Future, was
accepted for presentation during the poster session at the
2012 ACEEE Summer Study on
Energy Efficiency in Buildings. The abstract focuses on
energy-efficient building technologies and proposes an initiative to catalog
state-level policy and regulatory barriers to smart grid implementation,
identify core research and technology breakthroughs needed to propel the market,
and document existing, successful deployment incentive models. ASERTTI members
that would like to contribute to the development of the poster or corresponding
paper for the August ACEEE conference, please contact ASERTTI Program Director
Sarah Ruen Blanchard at sruen@asertti.org
or 303-425-6800 ext. 463.
California OKs Energy Efficiency Rules for Battery-Charged Devices
On January 12, the California Energy Commission approved a
first-in-the-nation energy efficiency standard that will reduce the amount of
energy wasted by battery chargers used with cell phones, laptop computers, power
tools, and other devices. The proposed standards can save nearly 2,200 gigawatt
hours (GWh) each year, enough energy to power nearly 350,000 homes.
Because nearly two-thirds of the 8,000 GWh of electricity consumed in California
by battery charger systems (or battery chargers) is wasted by inefficiency, the
Energy Commission proposed appliance efficiency standards requiring battery
chargers to consume less energy while providing the same performance. Consumer
chargers used in cell phones, personal care devices, and power tools will be
required to comply with the new standards by February 1, 2013. Industrial
charger compliance (e.g. forklifts) is required by January 1, 2014. Compliance
for small commercial chargers (such as walkie-talkies and portable barcode
scanners) is required by January 1, 2017.
USDA Awards Desert Research Institute $99,935 to Conduct Energy Audits
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development has awarded
$99,935 to the Nevada System of Higher Education Desert Research Institute (DRI)
to conduct energy audits for small rural businesses and agricultural producers
in northwestern Nevada and northeastern California. The energy audits will
provide businesses, ranchers and farmers a way to identify their baseline energy
use, enabling them to develop a plan to reduce energy costs. The program
will focus on rural dairies in northwestern Nevada and northeastern California
within approximately 125 miles of Reno, Nevada. There are plans to expand the
program to rural small businesses such as restaurants and motels in the same
geographical area.
LIPA
Partners with Northport VA Medical Center to Save Facility over $300,000
Annually through Major Efficiency Upgrades
The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) has partnered with the Northport VA
Medical Center (VA) to complete a major retrofit project upgrading the facility
with energy efficient lighting equipment. The project is expected to save the
medical center approximately $330,000 annually in electricity costs. The
$1.1 million project replaced or retrofitted more than 8,000 inefficient
fixtures and installed over 15,000 energy efficient high-performance lamps and
ballasts. Through these improvements, it is estimated that the Northport VA
Medical will save up to 2.1 million kilowatt hours (kWh) per year and reduce its
peak electric demand by an estimated 454 kilowatts (kW). Through its
participation in LIPA’s Commercial Efficiency Program the hospital was able to
offset the cost of the project with a $199,672 LIPA rebate.
NYSERDA Funds $1 Million to Develop Clean Energy Power Systems For NYC and Long
Island Manufacturers
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is
investing $1 million in four New York City and Long Island companies that are
developing environmentally-friendly technologies to generate electricity while
reducing fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions. The projects were
part of a $7 million statewide incentive program announced earlier this year
that has provided funding awards to 17 companies. Projects included fuel
cells, solar panels, wind turbines, carbon-dioxide removal, energy storage,
waste-heat-to-electric facilities, biogas and hydropower. In order to qualify
for this competitive funding, applicants were required to show how the new
products improved upon existing technologies. Funding will also pay for
demonstration projects and promotion of the results, further increasing the
market for these products.
NATIONAL NEWS
DOI Approves Two Renewable Projects
Capping three years of efforts to develop renewable energy resources on
public lands both onshore and offshore, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar
announced approval of two utility-scale renewable energy projects—one wind and
one solar—that, when built, will generate nearly 500 megawatts of power, or
enough to power 150,000 homes, and create 700 jobs during peak construction.
Secretary Salazar also announced the first major step in developing an offshore
wind transmission line on the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf. For a fact
sheet on the U.S. Department of Interior’s (DOI’s) onshore renewable energy
program, click
HERE. For a fact sheet on Interior’s offshore renewable energy
program, click
HERE.
EPA Issues First National Standards for Mercury Pollution from Power Plants
New rules released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will
require power plants that generate electricity with coal or oil to greatly
reduce emissions of 84 different toxins including mercury, arsenic, nickel,
selenium, and cyanide. The rules implement clean air mandates enacted by
Congress over 20 years ago and comply with a court order for federal action.
EPA estimates that the new standards will prevent as many as 11,000 premature
deaths and 4,700 heart attacks per year and help America’s children grow up
healthier – preventing 130,000 cases of childhood asthma symptoms and about
6,300 fewer cases of acute bronchitis among children each year. Within as
little as four years, all coal- and oil-fired power plants must meet or exceed
the emission rates of the cleanest 12 percent of such plants. Currently, about
40 percent of the nation’s plants have no emissions controls in place.
An analysis by the Associated Press concluded that between 32 and 68 coal-fired
power plants may close as a result of the new rules.
DOE Reports Show Major Potential for Wave and Tidal Energy Production Near U.S.
Coasts
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released two nationwide resource
assessments showing that waves and tidal currents off the nation's coasts could
contribute significantly to the United States' total annual electricity
production, further diversifying the nation's energy portfolio, and providing
clean, renewable energy to coastal cities and communities. These new wave and
tidal resource assessments, combined with ongoing analyses of the technologies
and other resource assessments, show that water power, including conventional
hydropower, wave, tidal, and other water power resources, can potentially
provide 15% of our nation's electricity by 2030. The two reports—Mapping
and Assessment of the United States Ocean Wave Energy Resource and
Assessment of
Energy Production Potential from Tidal Streams in the United States—
represent the most rigorous analysis undertaken to date to accurately define the
magnitude and location of America's ocean energy resources. The information
detailed in these resource assessments can help to further develop the country's
significant ocean energy resources, create new industries and new jobs in
America, and secure U.S. leadership in an emerging global market.
DOE Announces New Online Tools to Help Deploy Distributed Wind Energy Systems
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the launch of two new online
tools that can assist state and local policymakers, consumers, and stakeholders
in evaluating siting and policy issues to help accelerate the deployment of
distributed wind energy systems – such as wind turbines installed at a homes and
businesses. DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy funded the
development of the "Distributed Wind Site
Analysis Tool" and "Distributed
Wind Policy Comparison Tool" through American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
grants. The tools are designed to help more people across the country install
wind turbines to produce clean, renewable energy.
EVENTS
SAVE THE DATE: ASERTTI Industrial Committee Webinar Briefing by EERE/AMO's
Dr. Christodoulou
Monday, January 23 at 1:00PM (ET). For call-in details, contact ASERTTI
Program Director Sarah Ruen Blanchard at
sruen@asertti.org or 303-425-6800 ext. 463.
2012
NASEO/ASERTTI State Energy Policy and Technology Outlook Conference
February 7 – 10, 2012 - Fairmont Hotel, Washington, D.C.
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