If you’re looking for a new cleantech startup idea, the San Diego Regional Energy Innovation Network (SD-REIN) recently released a report that identifies cleantech market opportunities in the Southern California region. The report, entitled “Regional Energy Technology Priorities and Needs,” was presented at an SD-REIN meeting on March 9, 2017. It will be used to … Continue Reading
On Saturday, June 13, Governor Dayton signed the 2015 Jobs and Energy Bill into Law. Our prior coverage of this bill can be found here and here. The following amendments were made after the Governor’s veto: New definitions for “propane,” “propane storage facility,” and “synthetic gas.” New net metering provision that applies to cooperative electric … Continue Reading
We wanted to invite our readers to listen in on a one-on-one conversation between our colleague Jon Wellinghoff and Marty Rosenberg, EnergyBiz editor-in-chief, July 15, noon-1 p.m. Eastern. You can register here. Jon, the immediate past chair of FERC, helped initiate a national debate about grid security when he raised concerns in a Wall Street … Continue Reading
Intermittent resources create unique challenges for 21st Century Utilities, RTO’s and System Operators. The now infamous "Duck Chart" highlights a key element of the problem — central station thermal plants cannot ramp efficiently, leading to "worst of all" scenarios where the benefits of renewables are not fully utilized and central station plants operate inefficiently for … Continue Reading
I recently co-chaired an American Bar Association/American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) webinar on SmartGrid and Microgrid technologies. For my inaugural blog post on Renewable + Law, I wanted to share the brief remarks that I made at this July 17, 2013, webinar regarding the importance of both technologies to our evolving 21st Century energy … Continue Reading
The Citizens Utility Board (CUB), in partnership with the Univeristy of Oregon School of Law, will be presenting its 2nd Annual Policy conference on Energy Efficiency: The Next Generation on Friday, October 26, 2012, at the University of Oregon’s White Stag Block (70 NW Couch Street). The all-day conference will focus on energy efficiency in the … Continue Reading
The Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER) Energy Storage Coaliation (ESC) will be holding an important energy storage conference at the Portland Convention Center on October 8, 2012. ESC has worked with the Oregon and Washington public utility commissions to bring together a diverse mix of developers, utilities and regulators to share their perspectives on opportunities and barriers … Continue Reading
Stoel Rives is pleased to sponsor this Enterprise Forum Northwest energy seminar. Moderated by our own Bill Holmes, the seminar’s panel of industry experts will address the where, how, why and at what scale questions regarding large-scale energy storage today. Topics covered in the event will include: The most promising energy storage strategies How the … Continue Reading
In October 2011, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued Order No. 755, which requires regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs) to pay for frequency regulation services based on the actual amount of service provided in response to actual or expected frequency deviations or interchange power imbalances. The order directs RTOs … Continue Reading
Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber announced today that he has named Margi Hoffman to serve as his Energy Policy Advisor. She will join the Governor’s office on April 2. Ms. Hoffman has served as Senior Vice President and Director of Oregon Operations with Strategies360, a strategic consulting firm, and has also worked closely with Renewable Northwest Project (RNP) … Continue Reading
I’ll be moderating Energy Storage for the Grid: Watchful Waiting or the Perfect Storm? at the MIT Enterprise Forum Northwest’s May 8, 2012 program at Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) , 2700 24th Ave East. The event, which includes a networking reception, will be held from 5:00 to 8:30 pm. The evening’s panelists will be: Terry Oliver, Chief … Continue Reading
The CUB Policy Center, in partnership with the University of Oregon School of Law, will be holding its inaugural policy conference: Smart Grid: Today’s Regulation and Tomorrow’s Technology, on Friday, October 21, 2011, at the University of Oregon White Stag Block (70 NW Couch St., Portland, OR 97209). The luncheon keynote speaker will be former FERC Commissioner … Continue Reading
The Electric Power Research Institute (“EPRI”) recently released the smart grid white paper: “Needed: A Grid Operating System to Facilitate Grid Transformation.” The white paper dissects the first two distinct phases in grid operating systems and then calls for the creation of the 3rd. In order to support the “tectonic changes” already happening in the … Continue Reading
Puget Sound Energy (PSE) has filed with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) a Request for Proposals for All Generation Sources (the all-source RFP) and a Request for Proposals for Electric and Demand Side Resources (energy-efficiency RFP). PSE filed the draft all source RFP on August 1, 2011 and plans to issue a separate … Continue Reading
California’s AB 2514 directs the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) to determine appropriate targets, if any, for load-serving entities to procure viable and cost-effective energy storage systems. If the CPUC decides that targets are appropriate, it is supposed to set dates for achieving those targets. As a follow up to an AB 2514 workshop held … Continue Reading
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (“PG&E”) released its Smart Grid Deployment Plan which represents a disciplined and integrated approach to using new monitoring and control technology to provide safe, reliable, responsive and environmentally sustainable service to its customers in Northern and Central California. The 290-page Plan includes future projects that will take advantage of a … Continue Reading
This summer, the Center for Public Service at the Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University will be offering a series of short, 2-3 day classes under an umbrella called the "Summer Series on the New Energy Economy." These are non-credit courses, specifically designed for energy industry leaders, a wide range of professionals, and … Continue Reading
On Tuesday, June 28, 2011, the CPUC will hold an “Electric Energy Storage Workshop” as part of its R10-12-007 proceeding for AB 2514, which defines the process by which the CPUC will consider electric energy storage standards for California’s investor owned utilities. The workshop will be held at in the Golden Gate Room at CPUC’s … Continue Reading
This week I attended the 21st Annual Meeting of the Energy Storage Association in San Jose, California. The meeting broke its attendance record by attracting over 420 attendees, including representatives from electric energy storage (“EES”) technology companies, utilities, venture capital funds, consultancies and government agencies. Key note speakers included Dr. Imre Gyuk of the U.S. Department of … Continue Reading
Join Stoel Rives Partners Mark Hanson and Greg Jenner in Minneapolis, for Renewable Energy in the Midwest States: New Policy, Business and Legal Developments. Here they will meet with leading renewable energy professionals, innovators and regulators to address opportunities and challenges for developers and entrepreneurs in the Midwest renewable market and the developing Smart Grid … Continue Reading
As we’ve previously discussed, California’s AB 2514 requires the CPUC and municipal utilities in California to open proceedings by March 1, 2012 to determine appropriate targets, if any, for the procurement of viable and cost-effective energy storage systems by load-serving entities. Over a year before that deadline, the CPUC opened Rulemaking 10-12-007 in December of last … Continue Reading
Having first reported to our readers in February that LexisNexis had nominated the Stoel Rives Renewable + Law Blog for its Top 50 Environmental Law & Climate Change Blogs for 2011 award, we are pleased to announce we made the list of winners! In publishing its Top 50 list, LexisNexis declared that our Renewable + … Continue Reading
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Technology Transition Corporation recently issued a request for information (RFI) to prepare for multiple demonstrations and the market introduction of 1MW / 2MWh lithium ion battery energy storage systems (ESS) for electric utility grid management solutions. EPRI and TTC have assembled a utility team for this project, and they encourage manufacturers … Continue Reading
