NASEO NEWS
Federal Officials Brief NASEO Board
NASEO's Board of Directors met over December 14-15, in Arlington, VA, for
their quarterly board meeting. Following general Board business, the agenda
included representatives from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) who shared program updates and direction
for 2012. Edison Electric Institute, a NASEO Affiliate, provided an overview of
ongoing efforts in the utility sector of interest to the states and key
Congressional committee staff provided attendees with a legislative update.
The second day of the meeting focused on aligning priorities among NASEO, DOE,
EPA, and the foundation community in the areas of energy efficiency and
financing. For more information on this meeting, please contact NASEO staff at
703-299-8800.
Cyber Security and Smart Grid for Energy Assurance
Report
NASEO recently updated its report, “Cyber Security and Smart Grid for Energy
Assurance” to reflect changes in public and private sector cyber security
initiatives. The updated version, released in November 2011, provides
guidance to states looking to improve or incorporate smart grid and cyber
security measures into their energy assurance plans. It suggests a process
that can be used and adapted by state agencies to begin building in-house
capacity to address cyber security threats and risks in the energy sector.
Finally, the report provides a broad list of references and resources of use to
state energy offices.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy
Reliability provided financial support for this project. NASEO is also
grateful to the Electric Power Research Institute, the National Electric Sector
Cybersecurity Organization, the Advanced Security Acceleration Project for the
Smart Grid, and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners for
contributing to this report. The report can be viewed in full by
clicking here.
Benefits
of Data Collection to State Energy Offices – Public Building Benchmarking
On Friday, December 16, NASEO hosted a webinar sharing the experience of
Minnesota’s State Energy Office (SEO) and its work with two Minnesota-based
companies to collect and analyze data that have helped advance Minnesota’s
programs and policy goals. Presenters included Janet Streff, Manager,
Minnesota Department of Commerce, Division of Energy Resources; Mike Myser,
Executive Vice President of Business Development, Energy Platforms; and Alecia
Ward, Director of Government Relations and Business Development, The Weidt
Group.
In her opening comments, Janet Streff touched on Minnesota’s long history in
valuing energy efficiency, and the new direction and impact of two recent pieces
of milestone legislation. In 2001, legislation was passed that required all
public buildings to be benchmarked, as well as to create and implement
sustainable design guidelines for all public buildings that received bond funds.
Funding for this effort was, and is, an annual assessment to all MN utilities. A
decade later, Minnesota’s “B3” Program has benchmarked all the public buildings
in the state and integrated net zero energy standards into the ongoing
sustainable design guidelines. For additional details, please refer to
Alecia Ward’s presentation outlining the B3 Benchmarking Tool and SB2030
systems, which provide states with consistent turn-key tools for establishing
baselines and targets, measures progress towards goals, and are tailored for the
unique needs of state and local governments.
In 2007, the state legislature passed the Next Generation Act, which requires
all the state’s utilities to save 1.5% of their annual retail sales, which has
effectively doubled the amount of energy savings the utilities had previously
done. The diversity of the state’s 184 utilities presented challenges in
standardization and reporting, but working in partnership with Energy Platforms,
the SEO now has a web-based tool to enable easy, consistent, and transparent
reporting of utility energy efficiency program performance, allowing the state
to assess which programs produce the most energy savings and which programs are
most cost-effective. For additional details, please refer to Mike Myser’s
presentation and the webinar recording, which includes a live demonstration of
the Energy Platforms tool.
Energy Platforms and The Weidt Group are both NASEO Affiliate Members.
Learn more about
NASEO’s Affiliates Program.
Western Regional Energy Assurance Exercise
On November 29 - 30, 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of
Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE), in coordination the National
Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), the State of Arizona, and the
City of Phoenix, hosted the last of four regional energy assurance exercises,
which had been conducted nationwide throughout the year. The Western
Regional Energy Assurance Exercise held in Phoenix, AZ, involved Western state
and territory government agencies, localities, industry representatives, and
federal agency partners.
This energy assurance exercise, which attracted over 150 attendees, addressed
such topics as infrastructure interdependencies, cyber security, and labor
relations. A hypothetical energy emergency – that included both natural
and man-made supply and distribution disruptions – was presented by researchers
from Argonne National Laboratories. Participants then worked through
possible responses to these scenarios in breakout groups. This exercise
was intended to develop new, or refine existing, energy assurance and emergency
preparedness plans
Specific to this two day event, some of the more critical lessons learned
included: 1) how extensive interdependencies among infrastructure systems within
the electricity sector are, as well as interdependencies among sectors such as
electricity, liquid fuels, transportation, and food systems; 2) the importance
of communication among public and private entities responsible for emergency
response prior to an emergency so that emergency response plans can be more
easily facilitated during an emergency; and 3) that there are a number of
resources available to state energy offices to help them navigate energy
assurance planning.
For additional information or any questions regarding this event, please
contact Jeff Pillon (jpillon@naseo.org)
or Julia Friedman (jfriedman@naseo.org),
or visit the DOE Energy Assurance website by
clicking here.
NATIONAL NEWS
New LBNL Report - Delivering Efficiency to Middle Income Households
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) recently released a report that
identifies steps that energy efficiency program managers and policy makers can
take to deliver significant savings on home energy bills to middle income U.S.
households. Middle income households – those making about $32,500 to
$72,500 per year – account for a third of total U.S. residential energy use and
figure prominently in meeting energy savings targets that now exist in most
states. The report offers a variety of strategies for making inroads on
this challenging market, including:
- Improving the effectiveness and appeal of outreach efforts
specific to this market;
- Increasing access to financing through credit enhancements,
alternative underwriting, and new financial products;
- Addressing health, safety and building structural issues in
conjunction with efficiency upgrades; and,
- Bringing additional complementary public policies into play.
This report weaves these strategies into a multifaceted approach to
motivating and enabling middle income households to invest in energy efficiency.
The report includes a 10-page Executive Summary and four cases studies. The
report is available
HERE. Register for the first webinar in the Middle Income Webinar
Series on January 24 (11am-12PT)
HERE
Buffett Buys 49% Stake in $1.8 Billion NRG Solar Power Plant
Bloomberg
Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy Holdings agreed to buy a 49 percent stake
in
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG)’s $1.8 billion Agua Caliente solar project, the
billionaire’s second investment in solar this month. The 290-megawatt
power plant is being built in Arizona by
First Solar Inc. (FSLR), which expects to complete the installation of its
panels by 2014, Princeton, New Jersey-based NRG said today in a statement.
Buffett’s foray into solar shows that utility-scale
power plants
offer good returns with little downside risk, said
Paul Clegg,
an analyst at Mizuho Securities USA in New York. Power from the plant, which won
a $967 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Energy Department this year, will be
sold to a PG&E Corp. utility under a 25-year contract at undisclosed prices.
Increasing competition from China’s solar industry has cut panel prices by as
much as 50 percent this year, leading First Solar to shift its focus to building
larger scale power plants from selling panels to rooftop developers. MidAmerican
on Dec. 7 agreed to buy the entire $2 billion Topaz power plant in California
from Tempe, Arizona-based First Solar. MidAmerican is a subsidiary of Omaha,
Nebraska-based
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A).
STATE NEWS
Energy Savings Achieved in Kansas District Buildings
Emporia Gazette
ConEdison Solutions recently reported on how energy upgrades to district
buildings in the Emporia public schools have provided energy savings.
Upgrades included replacing boiler systems, adding more efficient light bulbs
and ballasts, adding low flow toilets and sinks, the installation of a solar
screen at the operation service center, adding bus engine block heater controls
and adding artificial field turf to the Emporia District Stadium. Since
the improvements to the district buildings, ConEdison Solutions reported that
Emporia Public Schools has exceeded the projected savings of $179,918 from
August 2010 to August 2011. The total savings to Emporia Public Schools was over
$190,000. The savings came from a reduction in electric, water and gas
use.
South Dakota Announces $950,000 Available for Blender Pump Installation
South Dakota Governor's Office of Economic Development
Gov. Dennis Daugaard says $950,000 in grants will be made available through
the Governor’s Office of Economic Development to help pay for the installation
of blender pumps and associated infrastructure at retail gas stations in South
Dakota. South Dakota produces about one billion gallons of ethanol a year,
and blender pumps allow motorists to select their desired blends of gasoline and
ethanol. The new fuel dispensers, also known as flex pumps, will help
promote value-added agriculture in South Dakota, Gov. Daugaard said.
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