NASEO News
FEDERAL UPDATE
Patricia
Hoffman Nominated as DOE Assistant
Secretary for Electricity Delivery and
Energy Reliability
President Barack Obama recently
announced his intent to nominate
Patricia A. Hoffman as Assistant
Secretary for Electricity Delivery and
Energy Reliability, Department of
Energy. Ms. Hoffman was named Principal
Deputy Assistant Secretary for the
Office of Electricity Delivery and
Energy Reliability at the United States
Department of Energy in November 2007.
The focus of her responsibility is to
provide leadership on a national level
to modernize the electric grid, enhance
the security and reliability of the
energy infrastructure and facilitate
recovery from disruptions to the energy
supply both domestically and
internationally. Ms. Hoffman has 14
years of experience at the Energy
Department developing and managing
technology research programs critical to
the electric sector for the Office of
Electricity Delivery and Energy
Reliability as well as the Office of
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
During her tenure, she managed efforts
that resulted in the longest
demonstration of ceramic components
operating in an industrial gas turbine.
Additionally, under her leadership, the
Department demonstrated the first
recuperated, industrial gas turbine for
distributed generation applications. Ms.
Hoffman holds a Bachelor of Science and
a Master of Science in Ceramic Science
and Engineering from the Pennsylvania
State University. Please
click here for the full story.
DOE Launches New
Website to Bring Energy Technology
Information to the Public
The U.S. Department of Energy
announced the launch of Open Energy
Information (www.openEI.org)
- a new open-source web platform that
will make DOE resources and open energy
data widely available to the public. The
data and tools housed on the free,
editable and evolving wiki-platform will
be used by government officials, the
private sector, project developers, the
international community, and others to
help deploy clean energy technologies
across the country and around the world.
The website was launched as part of a
broader effort at DOE, the White House
Office of Science and Technology Policy,
and across the Obama Administration to
promote the openness, transparency, and
accessibility of the federal
government. Please
click here to read the full story.
DOE Announces
Climate REDI Program at Copenhagen
Climate Conference
On behalf of President Obama, Energy
Secretary Steven Chu announced the
launch of a new initiative to promote
clean energy technologies in developing
countries while speaking at the
Copenhagen climate conference. The
launch of a new Renewables and
Efficiency Deployment Initiative
(Climate REDI) program will accelerate
deployment of renewable energy and
energy efficiency technologies in
developing countries – reducing
greenhouse gas emissions, fighting
energy poverty and improving public
health for the most vulnerable,
particularly women and children. Please
click here for the full story and
more information on the Climate REDI
program.
NASEO NEWS
Jeff Pillon to
Support NASEO's State Energy Assurance
Initiative
NASEO is pleased to announce that
Jeff Pillon, who recently retired from
the State of Michigan, will serve as
NASEO's Director of Energy Assurance. In
this capacity he will be supporting
states efforts under the federal energy
assurance grant to update state energy
emergency response plans and longer term
initiatives to reduce the risk and
vulnerabilities to critical energy
infrastructure. This will include
coordinating and assisting with
workshops, training, conference calls,
webcasts and directly assisting states.
He will also continue his role
representing NASEO as a member of the
Energy Sector Government Coordinating
Council under the National
Infrastructure Protection Plan. Mr.
Pillon brings to this new role his
experience in dealing with energy
emergencies at the state level for the
last 36 years, his efforts as the chair
of the NASEO Energy Data and Security
Committee for the last 10 years, and as
a principle author of the State Energy
Assurance Guidelines.
State Energy
Assurance Guidelines, Version 3.1 Now
Available
The State Energy Assurance Guidelines
Version 3.1 is now available on the
NASEO website. Please
click here to link directly to the
latest version. The Guidelines are
designed to assist states in updating
their energy emergency response plans
and to build the resiliency and protect
critical energy infrastructure. The
Guidelines are designed to help states
undertake the work as provided for in
the federal state energy assurance
grants and for training staff new to
energy assurance. Version 3.1 has a
number of updates and additions
including an expanded discussion of
cyber security issues. We encourage
you to download and review these
Guidelines. You will find that they
contain information that provides an
overview of energy assurance issues plus
appendices that go into greater depth on
select issues.
EVENTS AND WEBINARS
Register Now for
the NASEO/ASERTTI State Energy Policy
and Technology Outlook Conference
The 2010 NASEO/ASERTTI State Energy
Policy and Technology Outlook Conference
will be held February 1 – 5, 2010 at the
Fairmont Hotel in Washington, DC. This
year's State Energy Policy, Program, and
Technology Outlook 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.
To better prepare and inform
conference attendees, NASEO and ASERTTI
have planned a full week of informative
events, with the core conference agenda
being complimented by pre-meeting ARRA
and committee sessions starting at noon
on February 1, 2010, followed by an
important post conference ARRA-related
building codes workshop which concludes
on February 5, 2010 at 3:00 pm.
Session Highlights
The 2010 NASEO/ASERTTI State Energy
Policy and Technology Outlook Conference
will serve as an essential opportunity
for State Energy Office (SEO) directors,
staff, and interested stakeholders to
hear the latest on ARRA and the
implementation and reporting issues that
SEOs are currently facing.
- ARRA State Energy Program and
Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Block Grant Implementation
- Road to Recovery – A Look at
States' ARRA Funded Clean Energy
Jobs Creation
- DOE ARRA Implementation –
Overall Progress and Expectations
- Vehicle Electrification – Cars,
Infrastructure Investments, and
Consumer Demand
- Net Zero Energy Commercial
Buildings Consortium Update
Invited Speakers include:
- Vice President Joe Biden
- Energy Secretary Steven Chu
- EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson
- Interior Secretary Ken Salazar
- Congressman Steve Israel
- White House Office of Energy and
Climate Change Policy Director Carol
Browner
- Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Energy Efficiency Kathleen Hogan
- Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Renewable Energy Jacques
Beaudry-Losique
Please
click here to visit the event
website for preliminary agenda,
information on available sponsorship and
exhibitor opportunities and to register
online.
STATE AND LOCAL NEWS
Maryland Governor
O'Malley Announces Program to Spur
Large-Scale Renewable Energy Projects
Governor Martin O'Malley, in
partnership with the University System
of Maryland, announced the results of
the Generating Clean Horizons initiative
to spur large-scale, commercial
renewable energy projects that will
provide electricity to Maryland. The
Governor announced the issuance of
awards in response to an innovative
competition for the supply of clean
energy to the State, offering long-term
power purchase agreements to a suite of
clean energy developers that can place a
portfolio of renewable power on the grid
before 2014, create green jobs, and
promote a more sustainable energy
future. The University System of
Maryland's Board of Regents and the
Department of General Services recently
approved the award of four renewable
energy projects which will produce over
20 percent of the institutions and state
agencies annual electric needs. The
contracts will also further the State's
commitment to reducing its carbon
footprint 25 percent by 2020. Please
click here for the full story.
Idaho Office of
Energy Resources Awards $1.5 Million for
Renewable Energy Enterprise Zones
The Office of Energy Resources (OER)
has announced the award of grants to
counties and cities for development of
Renewable Energy Enterprise Zones (REEZ).
Although $1.5 million was earmarked from
the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act for the competitive grant program,
OER received more than $5.5 million in
requests. A total of 26 grant requests
were received and 12 awards were
offered. Projects including landfill gas
recovery, wind, solar, CHP and biomass
were funded. Please
click here for the full story. |
