Green Power

The Bonneville Environmental Foundation Goes Hollywood!

The Bonneville Environmental Foundation announced today that the National Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, organizer of the annual Academy Awards presentation, purchased BEF Green Tags to offset the carbon footprint of this year's Academy Awards telecast, Governor's Ball, Road to the Oscars Pre-Show, and the Red Carpet Event.

The combined purchase of 178 Green Tags supports the generation of 178,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity from clean, renewable energy projects, enough to power sixteen average U.S. homes for a full year. By supporting this much carbon-free energy, the Academy Awards avoids nearly 250,000 pounds of climate-altering greenhouse gas emissions. "The Academy's commitment to addressing the environmental impacts of the Oscars ceremony reflects the increasing attention to the risks of climate disruption within the arts and entertainment industry," said Tom Starrs, the Bonneville Environmental Foundation's Chief Operating Officer. "We are honored that they chose to support the Foundation and its Green Tag programs for this purpose."

The greening of the Oscars ceremony was coordinated by Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, Senior Scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "There is no longer any serious debate about the human contribution to global warming," Hershkowitz said. "Now it's time to take action. The Academy's purchase of Green Tags for Oscar-related events increases public awareness of the opportunity to reduce the environmental impacts of our energy usage, particularly with respect to carbon dioxide, the leading source of global warming pollution." Source: BEF, 3/2/2007.

Green Utility Plan Grows

Responding to growing concern from Madison area residents about global warming, Madison Gas & Electric will triple the size of its green-power pricing program and reopen the program to new customers. The utility will announce today the plan to expand its renewable-energy pricing program. This allows customers to pay extra on their monthly electric bill as a way to support development of renewable energy sources such as wind turbines and solar panels. More customers will be able to choose to pay extra on their bills each month because the utility has new wind power projects coming on line early next year. That will triple the amount of "green" power available to customers who pay the premium price.

Madison Gas & Electric sold out its pricing program in two months when it was launched in 1999. There are currently 4,300 customers who participate. The utility is trying to tap into greater public attention to and concern about global warming, said Laura Williams, a utility market development manager. When green power programs were unveiled in the late 1990s, customers signed up because they wanted to "do something good for the environment," she said. But the utility's research found "customers talk increasingly about personal responsibility for minimizing their environmental footprint, or carbon footprint," she said. "That's really been climbing."

The decision to expand the green power program comes after a series of meetings with customers. But a key factor for the utility was finding a way to reduce the price. Today, MG&E's green-pricing rate is higher than any other utility in the state. "At each of our community meetings there was somebody in the room who was on a fixed income or was a student, and while they all agreed it was important to do something, they were very concerned about the cost of their energy overall," said Greg Bollom, assistant vice president of energy planning at the utility.

Based on typical household use of 600 kilowatts of electricity a month, the typical customer would see their monthly bill rise by less than $10 to offset the carbon-dioxide emissions of their electricity use, Bollom said.
Details of the proposal won't be known until later this year, when the state Public Service Commission sets new rates for MG&E customers. MG&E said it hopes to sign contracts soon for wind-power projects in Wisconsin and Illinois that will let it triple the size of its green-pricing program and reduce customer cost. In its meetings with customers, the utility has been urged to stop relying as heavily on power plants that burn coal for electricity. Coal is the most greenhouse-gas intensive kind of power generation. MG&E relies on coal for much of its power, and renewable power sources such as wind turbines and solar panels represent just 1.5 percent of its energy mix. That will increase to 3.5 percent by early next year, after the company starts importing wind power from the Top of Iowa wind farm, the company says. MG&E announced last year that it plans to retire its coal-fired power plant in downtown Madison. The utility will continue to rely on coal power through its contract to buy power from the Oak Creek power plants under construction by Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Energy Corp. Bruce Nilles of the Sierra Club's Madison office said expanding the green-pricing program should have been done earlier. The Sierra Club continues to challenge MG&E to rely less upon coal, he said. Source: By THOMAS CONTENT, Journal Sentinel, Inc., 03/05/2007.

PSE Expands Green Power Sales

Puget Sound Energy, which serves more than one million electric customers in Washington State, announced that its green power sales have increased by almost 30 percent because of recently signed purchase agreements with several cities and government entities. The cities of Bellingham and Olympia, the LOTT Alliance, and Whatcom County have all signed agreements to purchase a collective 53 million kWh of green power annually.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Green Power Partnership, Bellingham is now the largest local government in the United States to meet 100 percent of its municipal electricity needs (26 million kWh) with renewable energy. Under PSE's Green Power Program, residential customers can purchase a minimum of 200 kWh of renewable electricity at an extra cost of $4 on their monthly bills, or a premium of 2cents/kWh. The additional cost to businesses and the local government entities varies based on their participation level. Source: Green Power Marketing Monthly Update - February 2007.

Renewable Energy Technologies

SMUD Waives Switch Requirement for Solar Systems

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District no longer requires an AC disconnect switch on inverter-based solar systems when the home or business has a self-contained electric meter. Most customers of the electric utility have this kind of meter. SMUD took this action to help reduce the costs of solar systems and increase the number of systems installed in the electric utility's service area that includes Sacramento County and a small portion of Placer County.

The AC disconnect switch, which can cost as much as $300, is considered a cost barrier to some customers who are considering installing solar panels. The switch is used to isolate the customer's solar or inverter-based generation from the utility's distribution system. The same action can be accomplished by temporarily removing the customer's meter and isolating the customer's home from the system.
 
The new policy also applies to other inverter-based systems like fuel cell and rotating machine technologies. In addition, SMUD will no longer request a separate production meter-base be installed, on the installations described above as virtually all inverters listed on the California Energy Commission's list of eligible inverters include approved onboard metering. Despite this new policy some installations may have configurations that require an AC disconnect to comply with the National Electric Code, and/or local building code.
 
SMUD's AC disconnect requirement for distributed generation will continue to apply to:

• Inverter-based interconnections having a transformer-rated meter (i.e. all meter panels or switchboards employing the use of potential and current transformers).
• Inverter-based generators that are not listed on the California Energy Commission's list of eligible inverters, or certified UL1741 compliant.
• Non-inverter based generators, including rotating or machine-based generators, regardless of whether the service meter configuration is transformer-rated or self-contained.
• Special situations where generators may be impacting SMUD service to its customers.

Source: SMUD News Release, 2/21/07

Johnson Controls adds Renewable Energy business division

Johnson Controls Inc. is expanding its' business and product lines to include the design, installation and servicing of geothermal, solar, biomass, wind and other renewable energy sources. The action is a response to increasing global demand for renewable energy, Johnson Controls said. Johnson Controls' previous work with renewable energy sources includes a geothermal heating plant for the Utah Department of Corrections; a wind turbine for the Erie (Illinois) Community Unit School District and installation of four industrial-grade biomass boilers and fuel delivery systems for the Indiana Department of Corrections. (Source:  biz.journals, Feb. 20. '07) Source: EP-Overviews Daily Report, 2/21/2007.

University of Manchester Researchers Receive $2,900,000 US for Cheap Solar Power Development (R&D)

Chemists, physicists, materials scientists and electrical engineers in Manchester and London are embarking on a $2,900,000 US (L1.5m) project to develop new and potentially cheaper ways of generating solar power. The three and a half year project, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, will investigate a number of new and novel solar cell designs, in an attempt to produce a more efficient system for generating green energy. The research team is aiming to build demonstration hybrid solar cells that have the long-term potential to be mass-produced and to achieve an energy conversion efficiency approaching 10 percent. The cells will be made from both organic polymeric carbon-based materials and small particles of inorganic semiconductors. (Source:  Eureka Alert, Feb. 27, '07). For more information, contact Alex Waddington, University of Manchester, 44-016-130-63983. Source: EP Overviews Daily Report, 3/2/2007.

PV Powered Announces UL Listing of Residential Solar Inverters

PV Powered, Inc., a leader in solar power generation technology, announced at the Power-Gen show that the company's entire line of residential solar inverters has passed the full sequence of testing to the latest version of the UL 1741 standard and has been listed by Underwriters Laboratories Inc. This listing comes well in advance of the mandated effective compliance date of May 7, 2007, after which non-compliant inverters may not bear the Listing mark required for utility grid connection. "The UL 1741 test standard, updated in November of 2005, includes a more rigorous and comprehensive test suite and also includes the more demanding surge protection requirement defined in IEEE 1547," said Gregg Patterson, PV Powered CEO. "It is our understanding that PV Powered is the first inverter manufacturer to complete all of the testing and achieve UL listing to this more stringent standard."

The PV Powered residential inverter family contains five different models ranging in output from 2.5KW to 5.2KW. Today's products represent the result of continuous quality and functional improvement since the first PV Powered inverters were shipped in 2004.

The most recent improvements to the PV Powered product line include several features focusing on reliability, ease of installation, and performance. A partial list of improvements to the product line is listed below:

• Improved AC operating parameters including field adjustable trip limits and automated calibration.
• Certification of a 3-wire AC input which meets the revised UL1741 and allows backward compatibility across the PV Powered product lines.
• Improved anti-islanding for quieter operation and lower harmonic distortion.
• Additional enclosure knockouts adding installation flexibility while maintaining a NEMA 3R rating.
• Improved user interface for easier installation and operation.
• Improvements in the start up, shut down, and MPPT algorithms have also increased the inverters' energy harvest capability.

For more information, contact Bob Patterson, MKTX, Inc., at 503-646-6589. Source: Bob Patterson, MKTX, Inc., 3/6/2007.

Experts: Offshore Wind Can Bring Jobs, Industry

Ralph Nichols, a Savannah River National Laboratory engineer, can envision a time when ocean breezes power the production of hydrogen that, in turn, is stored and used to generate electricity for South Carolina homes and businesses, particularly in remote areas where access to other power sources is scarce. The result: A clean-burning fuel source that is entirely homegrown. "All the pieces exist," Nichols said.

What's been lacking is coordination--between researchers and energy companies, industry leaders and governmental agencies. That coordination, though, took a big step forward this past week, when experts from around the country and around the world met in Charleston for the first time, during the two-day Southeast Regional Offshore Wind Power Symposium.

Their vision?  Jobs. Millions of dollars poured into the Georgia and Carolinian economies. Energy security. Clean-burning fuels. All founded on the previously untapped winds off the Southeastern shore.

Their conclusion?  Offshore wind-power production is possible in the United States, the Carolinas and Georgia are particularly well-suited for the task, and it's time to get started. Europe generates electricity from offshore winds, but no offshore wind projects exist yet in the United States. Two, though, are in the works off the shores of Long Island and Massachusetts. "We're a little behind them in terms of engineering and planning because we haven't been thinking about it that much," Nichols said.

The conventional wisdom has been that the Southeast largely lacks the environment necessary for large-scale, wind-power production. But experts say offshore winds have the strength and sustainability to make wind power feasible and, potentially, economical. The Georgia-Carolinas region has great possibility, in particular, because of its wide continental shelf --important because, to date, technology has limited all off-shore wind farms to areas where the water is less than 50 feet deep. How much energy is produced depends on a number of factors, including the size of the project.

The Long Island park, for example, is expected to consist of 40 turbines capable of generating about 140 megawatts, enough to power 44,000 homes, according to WindWorks Long Island, a partnership that is supporting the project. There are impediments to development of offshore projects, and drawbacks.
Among those: start-up costs that run into the millions, the potential disruption of marine-based industries while the project is being constructed, concerns over whether wind-generated power will be more expensive than other sources and the aesthetics of having wind turbines dotting the horizon. For the Long Island project, some turbines will be as close as 3.6 miles offshore. In the Southeast, on a clear day, turbines probably can be seen along the horizon 5 to 6 miles out, Freedman said. Experts say, though, that there benefits, too --notably, the potential for establishing a homegrown energy source, which South Carolina lacks, and the economic development and jobs that would result.

South Carolina imports almost all of its fuel sources. "That's dollars that we have to send outside the state," said Laura Varn, Santee Cooper's vice president for corporate communications.

SCE&G spokesman Robert Yanity said the company is interested in learning more about wind power. But it's investing in nuclear to meet the added demand expected by 2015, Yanity said. "Right now, (wind's) just not viable for the large-scale power plants that we need at this time," he said.

The process of establishing a project is extensive -- from identifying the scope of the project to creating wind maps and monitoring actual wind production for about a year to determine the best site, then going through an intensive permitting process that includes environmental impact studies, and finally constructing the wind park itself. Nichols predicts that the country's first offshore wind projects will be running by 2010 or 2011. A South Carolina project, though, probably won't be operational until at least 2015, he said. Not that people here intend to stand idly by.

A draft of a federal report outlining regulations for offshore wind projects is expected in early 2008, and a group of those who attended the symposium hope to be ready with their own recommendations by the time the draft is released, Nichols said. Industry leaders also will be working together to integrate the various technology components necessary to create an "economically feasible" system, he said. And there's talk of making the symposium an annual event. Source: Kirsten Singleton, 3/4/2007.

National Renewable Energy Lab and PrimeStar Solar sign $870,000 US R&D agreement (R&D)

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory and PrimeStar Solar have signed an $870,000 US cooperative R & D agreement to transition NREL's leading cadmium telluride (CdTe) photovoltaic technology to commercial module production. NREL's Xuanzhi Wu and his colleagues have used this technology to produce CdTE photovoltaic cell efficiency of 16.5 percent. This agreement also provides PrimeStar Solar with ready access to NREL's world-class photovoltaic scientists and state-of-the-art equipment. PrimeStar Solar has leased a 16,000 square foot facility near NREL in Golden, Colorado to develop a pilot plant. Initial CdTe processing equipment will be delivered in March from PrimeStar's assembly facility in Michigan. For more information, contact Xuanzhi Wu, NREL, 303-384-6552, or Brian Murphy, CEO, Prime Star Solar, 3030845-0145. Source: EP Overviews Daily Report, 3/6/2007.

Splitting Water Molecules the Next "Green" Power Source?

A limitless renewable energy source that can wean humans off fossil fuels has existed for billions of years, according to the latest report from a "green" scientist. The trick to using it is figuring out how to make our power sources more like plants--and a recent discovery may bring scientists closer to the goal.  Plants use photosynthesis to capture energy directly from the sun, a feat that humans have been striving to achieve for years via solar cells.

An hour of sunlight falling on Earth equals all the energy that humans use on average in a year. But to date solar cells have been inefficient energy converters--the most efficient plastic solar cells on today's market convert only 6 percent of sunlight into usable energy. "Really, there is only one solution -- to use the enormous amount of sunlight available to us," said James Barber, a biochemist at Imperial College London.

Another option is to mimic the chemical reactions in photosynthesis, Barber said, specifically a step known as water splitting. Water splitting is a complex chemical reaction that takes place in leaves, algae, phytoplankton, and other green organisms. The plants use the sun's energy to break down water into its components: oxygen and hydrogen. The oxygen produced is released into the atmosphere. The hydrogen is used to convert carbon dioxide taken from the air into the carbon-based organic molecules that form plants' tissues.

Writing in the April 15, 2007, issue of the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Barber notes that recent research has identified the structure of water splitting's key enzyme, photosystem II.  Understanding this structure may help scientists replicate the enzyme artificially.  "This is a very difficult chemical problem and nature solved it," said Gary Brudvig, a biophysical chemist at Yale University who has also been researching photosystem II. "We've first been trying to figure out how nature does the chemistry and--once we've obtained a reasonable idea of how the natural system works--we [will try] to replicate that in artificial systems."  Hydrogen produced by artificial water splitting could be used as a stand-alone fuel (related news: "Is Hydrogen the Gasoline of the Future?" [September 9, 2003]).

Alternatively, scientists could further mimic plants and combine the hydrogen with carbon compounds to produce fuels. Many of today's carbon-based fuels are currently derived from photosynthesis that took place millions of years ago. That energy is stored in the form of oil, gas, and coal. But, Brudvig said, a more efficient energy solution depends on duplicating natural systems rather than relying on dwindling supplies of fossil fuels. "The first phase of using solar energy, I think, is probably to recruit natural photosynthetic systems [such as corn and other crops] that can make usable fuels" such as ethanol, he said. "But these aren't very efficient and they may never be, because living organisms use energy to live--they use energy for processes not directly related to fuel production." 

In other words, the amount of energy and other resources needed to grow crops for biofuels might be the same or greater than the energy derived for human use. (Related news: "Ethanol Production Could Be Eco-Disaster, Brazil's Critics Say" [February 8, 2007].)   "I think to get really high efficiency, we'll have to have artificial systems come on at a later point," Brudvig said. Imperial College's Barber agreed, noting that plant "biology solved its energy problem a very long time ago by using sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. "If the leaf can do it, we can do it."   Source:  Brian Handwerk, for National Geographic News, 03/05/2007.

Solar One is a "Go" for Launch

Nevada Solar One is expected to start generating power next month, marking a milestone for Sierra Pacific Resources. Two of its subsidiaries, Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company, will have fulfilled one-quarter of their state mandated renewable energy portfolio, a company official says.

Nevada Power renewable energy executive Tom Fair says the solar project is expected to start propelling the Southern Nevada grid by April. The energy it produces will account for 5 percent of the total power that Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific Power will sell in the next year, he said. Legislation enacted in 2003 and updated in 2005 requires the two companies to sell a percentage of electricity from renewable sources. The standard increases annually through 2015, when 20 percent of the energy they sell must come from renewable sources.

The third-largest solar plant in the world, the 64-megawatt Nevada Solar One will sell its power to Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific under a 20-year contract. The plant will produce enough energy to supply 48,000 homes. Built by North Carolina-based Solargenix Energy, Nevada Solar One is one of six renewable projects that are expected to come online by 2009, according to a Nevada Power fact sheet. Partnering with Spain's Acciona SA, Solargenix broke ground on the solar-thermal power plant in Boulder City in early 2006.

The company has an option to expand the project beyond the acreage it currently is leasing from Boulder City in the Eldorado Valley, although he declined to elaborate. Other Acciona officials were not available for comment, according to a public relations firm representing the company. According to an agreement with Boulder City, Acciona has a 40-year lease on the 350-acre site. The company also signed an option to lease another 650 acres in the future. The first property will cost the company $550,000 per year once it begins operation and it currently pays an additional $40,000 per year for the expansion option. Boulder City Community Development Director Brock Armantrout confirmed the lease option, but said Acciona "has not exercised its right to expand yet." He says the company has indicated, however, that it would expand at some point.

Fair did not know whether Nevada Power or its sister company would buy additional power from Acciona if indeed it expanded, but its solar-buying days are not over. He says Nevada Power plans to purchase renewable-energy credits from a photovoltaic project, being considered at Nellis Air Force Base, which could be completed by year's end.

Fair won't disclose the rate Nevada Power and Sierra Pacific will pay Acciona for the power it produces, citing confidentiality agreements. It is not, he adds, intended to compete with fuel sources like coal and natural gas. "I can tell you the power is more expensive than other sources," he said. "We're hoping in the future it can compete economically."

 Nevada Solar One will make up such a small amount of the companies' total power generated that it likely won't impact customers' bills, Fair speculated. Currently, there are 24 renewable-power-generation facilities in Sierra Pacific Resources' supply portfolio, the company says. Of those, five currently are under construction.

According to Nevada Public Utilities Commission spokeswoman Kristy Wahl, it is anyone's guess whether the solar plant will cause an increase in customers' bills since it is more expensive to produce. It costs an average of $160 per megawatt to produce solar energy and natural gas costs less than half that, she says. Wahl thinks the price volatility of natural gas, which fuels two-thirds of the state's power generation, is more culpable. "There's been a lot of reasons rates have gone up," she opined.

Power companies won't know until next year if what they charged customers covered what it cost them to purchase energy, Wahl explains. They file for annual adjustments with the PUC to recoup shortfalls or reimburse overcharges during an extended period. Nevada Power expects to spend about $2 billion through 2015 to purchase and invest in new renewable energy, in order for projects to comply with the portfolio standard, the company says. So far, it has reached its portfolio goals, in part, by buying credits from Sierra Pacific Power, according to Fair. Source: BY BEN STEPHENS, 03/06/2007.

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Outreach, Education, Reports & Studies

National Wind Coordinating Committee Midwest Transmission Workshop VI

The meeting summary from the NWCC's Midwest Transmission Workshop VI has been finalized and is now available online.  Source: Katie Kalinowski, Resolve, 2/15/2007.

Renewable Energy Markets, Policies and Programs Pre-Conference Workshop

Now in its 27th year, the Utility Energy Forum is sponsoring a pre-conference workshop entitled: Renewable Energy Markets, Policies and Programs on May 2, 2007 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Granlibakken Conference Center in Tahoe City, Calif.  The agenda will include speakers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory,Evolution Markets, California Energy Commission, Chevron Energy Solutions, and  Redding Electric Utility. Topics will include an overview of the Utility Green Pricing Market; What are Renewable Project Developers Looking For; The Evolving RECs Market; An Update on the Western Renewable Energy Generation Information System; A Corporate View of Renewable Energy; and How One Utility is Tackling California's RPS. Be sure and join us for this exciting event. Source: Western: 2/15/2007.

Improving the Value of Wind Energy Generation Through Back-Up Generation and Energy Storage

This study was funded through the California Energy Commission PIER program.

The report describes the environment within which a wind generator must operate. A key issue is the type of contract. In this study we consider the "Intermittent Resource" and the "Firm Capacity" contracts. Since the contract determines the way that the generator is compensated, it also determines the way that the generator is structured and operated in order to maximize return to the generator. Each of the subsequent analyses examines the optimal configuration, operation, and financial return given a specific form of contract.

The "Intermittent Resources" contract was designed recently to accommodate intermittent resources such as wind. After the discussion of the types of contracts, the report evaluates the financial performance of a wind generator under this contract. This provides a benchmark for evaluating each of the other approaches to improving the wind generation. After evaluating the Intermittent Resources contract, the report evaluates the use of back-up generation and storage to improve wind generation performance under a Firm Capacity contract. In each case we first explore the optimal operation and configuration of the system to maximize the return to the owner of the wind generator. We then assess the financial performance of several configurations, including the optimal configuration.

The sections on back-up generation and storage pay particular attention to the financial viability of those approaches. A number of optimistic assumptions are made to determine if there are some plausible configurations that are financially viable in the sense of having an acceptable financial return. In addition, the financial performance of the approaches are compared to the financial performance of the intermittent contact. If the proposed configurations cannot meet the financial performance of the Intermittent Resources contract, they are unlikely to be adopted. Source: CEC, 2/15/2007.

EMA Webinar: Next Steps in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

The Environmental Markets Association conducted a webinar on February 15, 2007, entitled: Next Steps in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Presentations from that webinar are available online. Source: Environmental Markets Association, 2/15/2007.

National Wind Coordinating Committee Factsheets

The National Wind Coordinating Committee has produced new fact sheets on conditional firm and re-dispatch transmission products.

The fact sheets were developed in conjunction with the first joint webinar NWCC and Western Governors Association held on February 2nd. The webinar presentation, by Natalie McIntire of Renewable Northwest Project and Don Furman of PPM Energy, is also available to download. Source:  NWCC, 2/21/2007.

Refocus January/February 2007 Issue

See the latest issue of Refocus -- keeping you up-to-date with all the latest developments in the renewables industry. If you'd like a free subscription to Refocus, please sign up online. Source: Tom Cox, Refocus, Marketing Manager, 2/21/2007.

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News from Washington

Senate Approves Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs

The Interior Department has a new assistant secretary for Indian Affairs after the Senate voted 87-1 yesterday to approve the nomination of Carl Artman. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) was the only member to vote against Artman. Artman currently serves as Interior's associate solicitor for Indian Affairs and was chief counsel of the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin, of which he is a member. The assistant secretary position was vacant for two years, far too long for critics such as Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairman Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.). "It has been more than two full years that this position has been vacant, and our responsibility to address the bona fide crises in education, housing and health care in Indian Country have been too long ignored," Dorgan said in a statement yesterday.

The previous officeholder, Dave Anderson, resigned in January 2005. Anderson, the founder of the Famous Dave's of America barbecue chain, was hindered in the post due to his previous business involvement in the gaming industry. This led Andersen to recuse himself from decisions on tribal gambling issues and the question of federal recognition for tribes. In addition to federal recognition and gaming matters, Artman will be in charge of economic development, law enforcement, trust management and education programs with Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Source: E&E Publishing, 3/6/2007.

Ex-Senate Leaders Join Bipartisan Effort

Four former Senate majority leaders are heading a new group aimed at putting aside partisan politics and offering solutions to the nation's biggest issues. The Bipartisan Policy Center, to be announced at a news conference Tuesday, will be directed by former Sens. Howard Baker, R-Tenn.; George Mitchell, D-Maine; Bob Dole, R-Kan.; and Tom Daschle, D-S.D. "We've all been leaders and you know how difficult it is," said Dole, who served as both majority and minority leader between 1985 and 1996. "We're all partisan in a way," Dole said in an interview Monday, adding they also hope to show that "compromise is not a bad word."

Mitchell, who led the Senate from 1989 to 1995, added, "If the four of us can reach consensus in some areas it might have a beneficial effect." 

Congress, evenly divided and sharply partisan, in recent years has turned to outside commissions for advice on politically sensitive topics. Two of those nonpartisan groups, the Sept. 11 Commission and the Iraq Study Group, have had considerable influence on policy. The former senators believe the new group "can help create common sense solutions to key national challenges and can help foster a return to more civil political debate," Baker, the Senate leader from 1981 to 1985, said in a statement. The center has a staff of 20 and a budget of $7 million for 2007, funded by several philanthropic groups. At first, it plans to concentrate on projects dealing with agriculture, energy and national security policy.

Daschle and Dole currently head a study into 21st century agriculture and the opportunities for farmers in energy production, conservation and greenhouse gas mitigation. Dole said he hoped to have that report finished in the next 30 days. The former senators also will advise a commission on energy policy and a national security initiative led by NATO's former supreme allied commander, retired Gen. James L. Jones. Mitchell said he was interested in health care issues and hoped to contribute to the debate over port security. Dole said he would like to work on penal system reform and disability issues involving veterans. Source: By JIM ABRAMS, ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER, 03/05/2007.

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State Activities, Marketing & Market Research

Governor Brian Schweitzer in Butte, Mont., to Talk About Hot Rocks

Governor Brian Schweitzer is interested in how geothermal energy could create jobs in both the construction and operation of a new power plant in Butte. The governor visited the Basin Creek powerplant, which has been in operation for six months. He praised its clean environmental record, noting that electricity from this low-polluting plant can be sold under California's stringent anti-pollution guidelines. But the governor thinks Butte could produce even cleaner electricity. Schweitzer says it's too early in the process to know if such a plant could be built in Butte, but he says its worth looking into. The mining city is also the first stop on Governor Schweitzer's campaign trail to seek his re-election in 2008. Source:  Reported by Furhana Afrid in Butte, 02/12/02007.

Idaho Utilities Commission Approves Wind Farm

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has approved a sales and wind agreement between Idaho Power Company and Idaho Winds. Under the sales agreement, Idaho Winds will build the Alkali Wind Farm, a wind generation project located six miles northwest of Glenns Ferry, Idaho. The Alkali Wind Farm includes 12 turbines that will be operating by Dec. 31. The maximum output of the project will be 18 megawatts. Source: EIN Renewable Energy Today, 3/1/2007.

Oregon House of Representatives Passes Bill on Alternative Fuels

Oregon's House of Representatives passed a bill March 1 requiring the use of ethanol and/or biodiesel blends in its state's fuel supply. House Bill 2210 would also require the state's Department of Agriculture to adopt standards for ethanol blended with gasoline sold in Oregon. Source: EIN Renewable Energy Today, 3/5/2007.

State of Nevada's Public Utilities Commission Approves Nevada Geothermal Power's Power Purchase

Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. has announced that the Nevada Public Utilities Commission approved on February 8, 2007, the 20-year Power Purchase Agreement with Nevada Power Company, a subsidiary of Sierra Pacific Resources. Under the contract, the 'Faulkner 1 Power Plant' at Blue Mountain will supply between 18.75 MW and 31.25 MW (net) of electrical power; expected to come on line in 2009. The contract is for the purchase of electrical power and Renewable Energy Credits by Nevada Power Company to meet the requirement of the Nevada's Renewable Portfolio Standard (20 percent of renewable energy to supply their customers by 2015).

NGP has engaged Global Power Solutions LLC to conduct a power cycle selection study for the Blue Mountain project. It will involve analysis of the costs, performance, and schedules of both binary and dual flash power generation cycles. GPS has been involved in all phases of geothermal power plant development and ownership, including: licensing and permitting, resource considerations, engineering and design, construction and construction management, together with startup, testing, operations, and maintenance. GPS has current and continued experience in three of the largest developments in the world and nearly all of the active developments in the United States.

Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. is a renewable energy company developing geothermal projects in the United States to provide electrical energy that is clean, efficient and sustainable. NGP is committed to the geothermal industry and currently owns a 100 percent leasehold interest in four properties: Blue Mountain, Pumpernickel, Black Warrior, all of which are ideally situated in Nevada and Crump Geyser in Oregon. An initial 31.5 MW (net) power plant is planned to begin generating power at the Blue Mountain site subject to further resource drilling and feasibility studies. Source: Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. via Energy Central, 3/6/2007.

States, Utilities Building Wave for Renewable Energy

They may not have been tidal waves, but there certainly were ripples last week on the energy-development front. There was the announcement that Texas utility TXU was being sold and that plans for 11 new coal-fired power plants had been cut to three. Western governors announced an agreement to reduce emissions to 1990 levels, including mercury and carbon dioxide. Al Gore won an Oscar for his global warming documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth."  And in Kansas, Westar Energy Inc., announced it was seeking bids for construction of a renewable energy plant capable of producing 500 megawatts of power for its more than 669,000 customers. Individually, they are incremental steps toward addressing reliance on fossil fuels and cutting emissions. Collectively, they show evidence that the nation may finally be taking global warming and related issues seriously.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has challenged Kansas to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels, setting a goal of having 10 percent of all power generated in the state by renewable sources by 2010. "We don't want to end up 15 years from now with 75 percent of our energy coming from coal," Sebelius said. "We've got a great chance to change that." 

If Westar's plans come to fruition, Kansas will have met Sebelius' goal. Westar officials said they decided to reconsider a 2004 decision to put plans for renewable energy on hold. After receiving 17 proposals for plants, mainly wind farms, the company decided that it was too expensive at the time. Instead, the company sought to build a gas-fired plant near Emporia and sought proposals for a coal plant somewhere else.

Part of the reason Westar and others are looking at renewable is money. Increased construction costs and high demand for materials have pushed the cost of building coal-fired power plants and other environmental upgrades as much as 25 percent higher than previously estimated.

In addition, new regulatory charges for emitting some chemicals, such as mercury, have made the cost of building wind power more attractive in the past few years. But looming on the horizon are plans by Sunflower Electric Power Corp. to build three new coal-fired generators at its Holcomb site in southwest Kansas. With the construction of new transmission lines, the power would be sold to a Colorado company to provide power to the Front Range communities. However, the plans and application for permits from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment have sparked a debate over Sunflower's plans. Critics from across the country, including several New England states, say the increased emissions of mercury and carbon dioxide far outweigh the benefits. KDHE held a series of public hearings on the issue and is yet to make a decision on the permits needed to operate the new generators.

Sebelius said she has met with officials of all utilities operating in Kansas and they are committed to seeking renewable energy sources in the coming years. But it's going to take changes in the market and regulations. "We can reduce our overall energy consumption by 30 percent," she said. "That's a huge reduction." 

Westar's investment in renewable energy will make it a significant portion of its portfolio. Spokeswoman Gina Penzig said the utility has two turbines at the Jeffrey Energy Center northwest of Topeka, but that's little more than enough to power a break room with reliable power. And even building 500 megawatts of wind generation will have its limitation. Penzig said analysis of 2006 showed that Westar's peak demand periods didn't coincide with the best days of the year for producing wind power. "The highest demand and output from wind farms were about opposite," she said.

But despite films like Gore's, which raise serious concerns about the future of the Earth's climate and the effects caused by humans, there are skeptics. Legislators have been reluctant to clear the decks for unlimited generation from wind and other renewable sources. They have openly said the state needs to think about new nuclear generating stations, perhaps expanding the Wolf Creek plant near Burlington. The reluctance to support new wind power hinges on property rights, transmission lines to move the power to customers and how the store the power to run turbines when the wind isn't blowing. "That's pie in the sky and you know it," said Rep. Don Myers, R-Derby, during a recent hearing on wind power. Source: By John Milburn - Associated Press Writer, 03/05/2007.

For more information on marketing and research go to: http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/

Grants, RFPs & Other Funding News

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Requests Renewable Energy Power Proposals

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power is seeking proposals for approximately 2,200 gigawatt hours per year of energy and dependable capacity from eligible renewable resources to meet its Renewable Portfolio Standard goal. LADWP's RPS goal is to increase its supply of electricity from eligible renewable resources to 20 percent by December 31, 2010, as measured by the amount of electric energy sales to its retail customers. This RPS level of 20 percent must be sustainable over the long term. The proposal (#136-07) due date is April 10, 2007. (Source:  Press Release, Feb, 06 '07). Contact:  Carol Tucker, LADWP, at 213-367-1815. Source: EP-Overviews Daily Report, 2/21/2007.

APS Seeks Additional Renewable Energy

Arizona Public Service is requesting proposals for near- and long-term new sources of renewable energy that can be delivered to the company's electrical system. The Request For Proposal includes solar, wind, hybrid wind and solar, biomass/biogas, landfill gas, hydropower, fuel cells that use renewable fuels and geothermal. Parties interested in the RFP are encouraged to attend the bidder's conference, which is scheduled for March 14, 2007, at APS' headquarters in Phoenix. The request is part of APS' commitment to a sustainable future, which includes a vital economy, strong community and healthy environment. The energy procured from this request will help the utility fulfill its renewable standard set by the Arizona Corporation Commission. APS' goal, market permitting, is to exceed the Commission's requirement.

In 2006 APS increased the amount of renewable energy that it uses to serve Arizona's burgeoning population by almost 1,800 percent. The sharp increase was buoyed by 90 megawatts of wind capacity brought online in December. In addition to the wind power, APS added 10 MW of geothermal capacity and increased its solar generation output to 10 million kilowatt-hours --a record for both the company and the state of Arizona. APS, Arizona's largest and longest-serving electric utility, serves more than 1 million customers in 11 of the state's 15 counties. Source: Arizona Public Service via Energy Central, 3/6/2007.

For more information on funding solicitations go to: http://www.repartners.org/grants.htm