U.S. Department of Energy

California Center for Sustainable Energy Selected to Lead U.S. DOE Regional Clean Energy Partnership

Submitted by aburr on Fri, 2013-11-01 12:41

The California Center for Sustainable Energy (CCSE) received $2.2 million over four years from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to provide support and technical assistance throughout California, Nevada and Hawaii to drive wider development of cogeneration energy technologies as solutions to the nation’s energy issues. DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy selected San Diego-based CCSE to direct the Pacific regional combined heat and power technical assistance partnership (CHP-TAP), one of seven regional partnerships.

Santa Clara Library Unveils Public EV Charging Stations

Submitted by aburr on Sat, 2013-06-01 13:36

The Santa Clara City Library installed two new EV charging stations, supplied by ECOtality and Silicon Valley Power (SVP). Blink EV charging stations at the library will provide electricity at both Level 3 (480-volt DC fast charging) and Level 2 (208/240-volt AC charging) power levels, and will accept either credit cards or a ChargePass pre-paid card. The library EV charger project was primarily funded via a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant to ECOtality of San Francisco and it’s the nationwide EV Project.

People (June 2013)

New Opportunities: FirstEnergy named James V. Fakult, formerly president, Maryland operations, as president, Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L). He succeeds Don Lynch, who retired. James A. Sears, director of operations services at Mon power, was promoted to president of Maryland operations, succeeding Fakult. In related organizational moves, Anthony Hurley, director of operations services at Toledo Edison, was promoted to v.p.

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People (March 2013)

NSTAR appoints new president; Southern Company names new financial management team; BPA gets new administrator; plus management changes at AEP, Duke, ITC, ConEdison, GDF Suez, ERCOT, MISO, NARUC, and others.

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Vendor Neutral

(May 2012) Entergy Louisiana starts construction on gas-fired power project; Virginia Commonwealth University and Dominion partner on a test site for efficient energy technologies; Burlington Electric Department selects Siemens for meter data management platform; IKEA commissions four Blink electric vehicle charging stations; Edison Mission Energy, TIAA-CREF and Cook Inlet Region Inc. form partnership, and others.

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Energy Storage Solutions

Barriers and breakthroughs to a smarter grid.

Technology is quickly making energy storage more economical and effective than ever before. But companies that wish to invest in storage capacity face a journey through a frustrating regulatory no-man’s land. Opening the gateway for storage to deliver smart grid benefits will require a more streamlined and coherent approach to regulating storage as utility infrastructure.

Byline: 

Bradford P. Roberts

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Vendor Neutral

(February 2012) Siemens acquires eMeter; Long Island Power Authority selects PSEG to manage T&D system; Mountain Parks Electric awards SCADA/DMS contract to Open Systems International; Kiewit and Sargent and Lundy award contract to Hitachi; plus announcements and contracts involving SAIC, Shell, Landis+Gyr, and others.

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Transmission's True Value

Adding up the benefits of infrastructure investments.

Allocating the costs of new transmission investments requires accurately assessing the value of those new lines, and identifying the primary beneficiaries. But formulaic approaches rely too much on the most easily quantified cost savings, and reject benefits that are dispersed across service areas—or that might change over the course of time. Brattle Group analysts J.P. Pfeifenberger and D. Hou explain that comprehensive valuation produces a more accurate picture.

Byline: 

J.P. Pfeifenberger and D. Hou

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Vendor Neutral

(January 2012) Hawaiian Electric selects Renewable Energy Group to supply biodiesel for combustion turbine; GE signs long-term services agreement with Comision Federal de la Electricidad; Nissan North America selects Coulomb Technologies to provide EV charging infrastructure locations; Siemens agrees to acquire eMeter; plus announcements and contracts involving AES Corp., Maui Electric, KCP&L, and others.

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Gridlock in 2030?

Policy priorities for managing T&D evolution.

A pair of myths is driving many investments today—i.e., America’s T&D system is falling apart, but the smart grid will save the day. A new MIT study reveals a more nuanced truth about reliability, efficiency, and plans for new technologies. The most effective policies and investments will focus on solving real problems and delivering tangible benefits.

Byline: 

Timothy D. Heidel, John G. Kassakian, and Richard Schmalensee

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