10/30 – Sandy Creates One Of Largest Power Outages In PA History

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Leslie Rylke

Wednesday, October 30th 2012

From StateImpact Pennsylvania:

More than 1.3 million Pennsylvania energy customers lost power this week due toSuperStorm Sandy’s heavy winds.

That makes the storm one of the largest mass power outages in Pennsylvania history.

StateImpact Pennsylvania sat down with Public Utility Commission Chair Rob Powelson at PEMA headquarters Tuesday afternoon, to talk about what energy companies are doing to get the lights back on. Listen to the interview here:

Listen: Sandy Knocks Out Pennsylvania PowerPUC Chair Rob Powelson talks to StateImpact Pennsylvania Download

Looking for information about your power provider? We’ve linked to each utility’s outage map here.

10/17 – 7.2 MW, 46 Acre Solar Farm Approved in Chester County

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Leslie Rylke

Wednesday, October 17th

Congratulations are in store for Solar Working Group member Keare’s Electrical Contracting, who this week received final approval for the Coatesville Solar Initiative project.

“The proposed 7.2-megawatt solar farm on 46 acres was unanimously approved Thursday night, ending an 18-month process that resulted in numerous developer concessions.

The proposed farm was approved with more than 30 conditions, and individuals on every side of the issue praised the process.

“I think it’s a great day for Caln Township, Coatesville and the whole region,” developer Harry “Bob” Keares said Thursday following the decision. “We have gone through a lot of learning processes in order to learn the concerns of the residents. But as a resident of Chester County, I couldn’t be happier for the county right now.”

Throughout the process, the developers changed the proposed plan to accommodate concerns from both the township as well as neighboring residents. The buffers on the property were widened, the stormater management system was increased and the developers will provide public water for neighboring residents.”

10/3 – Mild winter, Solar energy Save Phoenixville Area School 30%

Posted on October 3, 2012 by Leslie Rylke

Wednesday October 3rd, 2012

From the Daily Local:

The Phoenixville Area School Board was informed the school district saved more than 30 percent on energy costs since the installation of solar energy panels at the high school and administration buildings.

“What makes energy conservation exciting is we really did save some dollars last year,” Superintendent Alan Fegley said.

Stan Johnson, the district’s executive director of operations, gave a presentation at Sept. 20’s board meeting on what savings the school district received in 2011-12 over the previous academic year.

“Bottom line, the district’s energy savings over the last year,was 30.2 percent less in the ’11-12 year as compared to the ’10-11 year,” Johnson said. “It went from a bill of $952,(367) down to a bill of $665,(181).”

Johnson tempered some of the results by acknowledging that the mild winter may have contributed in driving down energy costs.

According to him, electricity costs were down 25 percent, natural gas was decreased by 34.5 percent, and fuel oil was down by almost half, at 49.8 percent.

Mostly because of the winter, the number of “degree days” was far lower this year. Degree days are measures of how much the district’s air conditioning or heating units need to work to keep the buildings at a comfortable temperature,

The Phoenixville Area School District had 5,026 degree days this year as opposed to 6,089 last year, Johnson said.

However, even if the bills were “weather-corrected” to a typical year, Johnson said the energy bills would likely still have been 18 percent less than the 2010-11 school year.

9/24 – In 2012, US Develops 10,000 MW of Wind, New Solar Exceeds New Coal

Posted on September 25, 2012 by Leslie Rylke

Tuesday, September 25th 2012

The alway’s informative John Hanger’s Facts of the Day recently featured some key findings from a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission report covering the first eight. months of 2012.

Among the findings:

Up against expiration of the Wind Energy Production Tax Credit, the United States is on pace to develop more than 10,000 MW of windcapacity.
New Solar capacity may exceed new coal-fired power plants as solar continues to decline in cost.

9/6 – On Eve of NFL Season, Eagles Named Leader in Sustainability

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Leslie Rylke

Thursday, September 6th 2012

From the Philadelphia Enquirer:

The National Resource Defense Council, an environmental organisation, in collaroration with the Green Sports Alliance, earlier today released a report quantifying all the greening practices of professional sports teams.

As might be expected, the Eagles figure prominently.

The NRDC analysis — done on staff time, with no funding from any teams or leagues — called the franchise a “national leader” in the sports greening movement and said a system currently under construction that includes solar panels and wind turbines will be “the most extensive onsite renewable system of any U.S. sports stadium.” It also will generate 100 pecent of the energy the team needs.

Read the full article here…

8/29 – SEI Hosts Strategic Planning Session

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Leslie Rylke

Wednesday, August 29th 2012

Last week the Smart Energy Initiative hosted a summer strategic session to parse out details of the regional and national energy markets over the next two to three years. This exercise will help SEI as we coordinate programming, training, and business development services for our members.

Many thanks to our special guests for providing their insight:

Also in attendance from our Executive Committee were:

8/21 – Pennsylvania’s Efficiency Mandates Under Act 129 Will Continue

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Leslie Rylke

Tuesday, August 21st 2012

Pennsylvania’s Act 129, mandating generation and peak load reductions from the state’s major utilities, has just completed phase one and undergone a thorough examination by the Public Utility Commission. After evaluating the benefits and rate-payers costs of phase one, the PUC has suggested that the program continue largely unaltered.

For those of us in the southeast, PECO easily met it’s phase one goals and (barring any unforeseen events) will be required to reduce generation an additional 2.9% compared to (2008) levels by June 2016.

Act 129 has saved Pennsylvania rate-payers almost $300 million since the program began in 2009.

What does all this mean for consumers?

Residents and businesses will continue to pay for energy reduction programs factored into their electric bills for the next four years. They’ll also be able to take advantage of things like rebates for energy efficient lighting and appliances and, the commission hopes, get help with more capital-intensive retrofits that reduce energy demand.

The utilities have to file their phase two plans for commission approval by Nov. 1. The PUC will decide on them by Feb. 28.

Read more in the Pittsburg Business Times

8/17 – Efficiency, Renewables, Gas Decoupling Emissions and GDP Growth

Posted on August 17, 2012 by Leslie Rylke

Friday August 16th, 2012

A recent EIA reports exciting news that energy efficiency, renewable energy and natural gas have been steadily decoupling emissions and economic growth in America. Previously, it was argued that emissions were a necessary by product of a strong economy.

From the ever-informative John Hanger’s Facts of the Day:

“The once tight link between carbon emissions and economic growth in the USA is breaking. Consider that since 1990 US GDP has grown 66%, but energy related carbon emissions have increased just 9%. www.eia.gov/environment/emissions/carbon/. While the link has been weakening year after year, as the carbon intensity of the US economy lessens, it completely broke in 2011.

Last year, US GDP increased 1.8% but carbon emissions fell 2.4%, according to the official 2011 EIA data. The carbon intensity, a measure of how much carbon is required to produce each dollar of GDP, declined 4.2%.
More natural gas, renewable energy, and energy efficiency are breaking the link between GDP growth and carbon pollution. What would completely shatter the link would be economic carbon capture and storage technology. Developing such technology should be a top priority for research and development in the USA and around the world.”

Click to read more.

8/13 – New Jersey Continues Strong Support of Solar PV

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Leslie Rylke

Monday, August 13th 2012

Fresh off the announcement of a significant increase in the solar PV “carve-out” requirement of New Jersey’s renewable portfolio standard, the Garden State’s largest utility announced plans to continue aggressive development of solar.

From the Philadelphia Enquirer:

“Public Service Electric & Gas Co., which two years ago generated headlines with its ambitious program to install solar panels atop utility poles, on Tuesday proposed to install 136 megawatts more of photovoltaic systems over the next five years and to provide loans to residential and commercial customers to develop an additional 97 megawatts. The loans could be repaid by the debtors with the credits they would earn from generating solar.

PSE&G’s announcement comes a week after Christie signed legislation to stabilize the market for solar power in the next few years by requiring generators to buy more renewable-power credits, a way for customers to subsidize the higher cost of solar. The current price for the credits has plunged because so many projects were developed to take advantage of federal tax credits, now expiring.

The expanded Solar 4 All program, which requires approval by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, calls for $690 million to install 90 megawatts on landfills, brownfields. and other underutilized land; 20 MWs for solar systems on warehouse roofs; 25 MWs for systems on large parking lots; and 1 MW for projects that demonstrate emerging technologies.”

8/8 – US Governors ask Detroit: “Make Us a Natural Gas Passenger Car”

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Leslie Rylke

Wednesday, August 8th 2012

Could Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale natural take a bite out of imported oil? Only if automakers create practical, exciting vehicles for public consumption. NPR covered the conundrum recently:

From NPR:

“More than 20 state governors are taking an unusual step to boost the natural gas vehicle industry. Independent of the federal government, they’re asking Detroit carmakers to build them a new kind of car: a midsize sedan that runs on compressed natural gas instead of gasoline.

The governors are hoping to boost demand for natural gas cars with their collective buying power. Combined, the states say they could ultimately buy thousands of CNG vehicles to replace their current vehicle fleets — if those cars were available.

Only a few kinds of vehicles currently run on compressed natural gas in the U.S., and only one, the CNG Honda Civic, is a passenger car. Detroit currently offers no natural gas-fueled passenger cars.”