NRDC Report Released: Benchmarking Air Emissions of the 100 Largest Electric Power Producers in the U.S., 2013

Recently, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), an international non-profit environmental advocacy and action group which focuses on the protection of wildlife and habitat, issued a report titled, Benchmarking Air Emissions of the 100 Largest Electric Power Producers in the U.S. (2013). According to the press release for the 50-page report available here, the following is discussed,

[t]he 2013 Benchmarking report is the product of a collaborative effort among Entergy, Exelon, Bank of America, Tenaska, PSEG, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Ceres, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), highlighting environmental performance and progress in the nation's electric power sector. The Benchmarking series began in 1997 and uses publicly reported data to compare the emissions performance of the 100 largest power producers in the United States. The current report is based on 2011 generation and emissions data. This year's report also provides state-by-state data showing states with the highest to lowest CO2 emissions.

Data on U.S. power plant generation and air emissions are available to the public through several databases maintained by state and federal agencies. Publicly- and privately-owned electric generating companies are required to report fuel and generation data to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Most power producers are also required to report air pollutant emissions data to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These data are reported and recorded at the boiler, generator, or plant level, and must be combined and presented so that company-level comparisons can be made across the industry.

The Benchmarking report facilitates the comparison of emissions performance by combining generation and fuel consumption data compiled by the EIA with emissions data on sulfur dioxide (SO2), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), carbon dioxide (CO2) and mercury compiled by the EPA; error checking the data; and presenting emissions information for the nation's 100 largest power producers in a graphic format that aids in understanding and evaluating the data. The report is intended for a wide audience, including electric industry executives, environmental advocates, financial analysts, investors, journalists, power plant managers, and public policymakers.

National Academies Interim Report Released: Overcoming Barriers to Electric-Vehicle Deployment

Recently, the National Academies Press (NAP) released a pre-publication interim report produced by the Committee on Overcoming Barriers to Electric-Vehicle Deployment; Board on Energy and Environmental Systems; Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences; Transportation Research Board; and the National Research Council titled, Overcoming Barriers to Electric-Vehicle Deployment (2013). The 82-page report (available free with a one-time registration) discusses how,

[t]he electric vehicle offers many promises—increasing U.S. energy security by reducing petroleum dependence, contributing to climate-change initiatives by decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, stimulating long-term economic growth through the development of new technologies and industries, and improving public health by improving local air quality. There are, however, substantial technical, social, and economic barriers to widespread adoption of electric vehicles, including vehicle cost, small driving range, long charging times, and the need for a charging infrastructure. In addition, people are unfamiliar with electric vehicles, are uncertain about their costs and benefits, and have diverse needs that current electric vehicles might not meet. Although a person might derive some personal benefits from ownership, the costs of achieving the social benefits, such as reduced GHG emissions, are borne largely by the people who purchase the vehicles. Given the recognized barriers to electric-vehicle adoption, Congress asked the Department of Energy (DOE) to commission a study by the National Academies to address market barriers that are slowing the purchase of electric vehicles and hindering the deployment of supporting infrastructure. As a result of the request, the National Research Council (NRC)—a part of the National Academies—appointed the Committee on Overcoming Barriers to Electric-Vehicle Deployment.

This committee documented their findings in two reports—a short interim report focused on near-term options, and a final comprehensive report. Overcoming Barriers to Electric-Vehicle Deployment fulfills the request for the short interim report that addresses specifically the following issues: infrastructure needs for electric vehicles, barriers to deploying the infrastructure, and possible roles of the federal government in overcoming the barriers. This report also includes an initial discussion of the pros and cons of the possible roles. This interim report does not address the committee's full statement of task and does not offer any recommendations because the committee is still in its early stages of data-gathering. The committee will continue to gather and review information and conduct analyses through late spring 2014 and will issue its final report in late summer 2014.

Overcoming Barriers to Electric-Vehicle Deployment focuses on the light-duty vehicle sector in the United States and restricts its discussion of electric vehicles to plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), which include battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). The common feature of these vehicles is that their batteries are charged by being plugged into the electric grid. BEVs differ from PHEVs because they operate solely on electricity stored in a battery (that is, there is no other power source); PHEVs have internal combustion engines that can supplement the electric power train. Although this report considers PEVs generally, the committee recognizes that there are fundamental differences between PHEVs and BEVs.

National Academies Report Released: Building the U.S. Battery Industry for Electric Drive Vehicles: Summary of a Symposium

Recently, the National Academies Press (NAP) released a report produced by Charles W. Wessner, Rapporteur; the Subcommittee on Electric Drive Battery Research and Development Activities; Committee on Competing in the 21st Century: Best Practice in State and Regional Innovation Initiatives; Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy; Policy and Global Affairs; and the National Research Council titled, Building the U.S. Battery Industry for Electric Drive Vehicles: Summary of a Symposium (2012). The 246-page report is available free with a one-time registration. According to the abstract,

[s]ince 1991, the National Research Council, under the auspices of the Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy, has undertaken a program of activities to improve policymakers' understandings of the interconnections of science, technology, and economic policy and their importance for the American economy and its international competitive position. The Board's activities have corresponded with increased policy recognition of the importance of knowledge and technology to economic growth. The goal of the this symposium was to conduct two public symposia to review and analyze the potential contributions of public-private partnerships and identify other relevant issues for the Department of Energy, Office of Vehicle Technologies, Energy Storage Team's activities in the energy storage research and development area. The symposia will also identify lessons from these and other domestic and international experiences to help inform DoE as to whether its activities are complete and appropriately focused. Additional topics that emerge in the course of the planning may also be addressed. Building the U.S. Battery Industry for Electric Drive Vehicles: Summary of a Symposium gathers representatives from leading battery manufacturers, automotive firms, university researchers, academic and industry analysts, congressional staff, and federal agency representatives. An individually-authored summary of each symposium will be issued.

The symposium was held in Michigan in order to provide direct access to the policymakers and industrial participants drawn from the concentration of battery manufacturers and automotive firms in the region. The symposium reviewed the current state, needs, and challenges of the U.S. advanced battery manufacturing industry; challenges and opportunities in battery R&D, commercialization, and deployment; collaborations between the automotive industry and battery industry; workforce issues, and supply chain development. It also focused on the impact of DoE's investments and the role of state and federal programs in support of this growing industry. This task of this report is to summarize the presentations and discussions that took place at this symposium. Needless to say, the battery industry has evolved very substantially since the conference was held, and indeed some of the caveats raised by the speakers with regard to overall demand for batteries and the prospects of multiple producers now seem prescient. At the same time, it is important to understand that it is unrealistic to expect that all recipients of local, state, or federal support in a complex and rapidly evolving industry will necessarily succeed. A number of the firms discussed here have been absorbed by competitors, others have gone out of business, and others continue to progress.

GAO Report Released: Electricity: Significant Changes Are Expected in Coal-Fueled Generation, but Coal is Likely to Remain a Key Fuel Source

Recently, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report, titled Electricity: Significant Changes Are Expected in Coal-Fueled Generation, but Coal is Likely to Remain a Key Fuel Source GAO-13-72 (Oct. 29, 2012). The details of the 54-page report, available here, are discussed below:

Why GAO Did This Study

Coal is a key domestic fuel source and an important contributor to the U.S. economy. Most coal produced in the United States is used to generate electricity. In 2011, 1,387 coal-fueled electricity generating units produced about 42 percent of the nation's electricity. After decades of growth, U.S. coal production and consumption have fallen, primarily due to declines in the use of coal to generate electricity.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), using coal to generate electricity is associated with health and environmental concerns such as emissions of sulfur dioxide, a pollutant linked to respiratory illnesses, and carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas linked to climate change. In response to recent environmental regulations and changing market conditions, such as the recent decrease in the price of natural gas, power companies may retire some units, which could affect the coal fleet's generating capacity--the ability to generate electricity--and the amount of electricity generated from coal. Power companies may also retrofit some units by installing controls to reduce pollutants.

GAO was asked to examine (1) how the fleet of coal-fueled electricity generating units may change in the future in terms of its generating capacity and other aspects and (2) the future use of coal to generate electricity in the United States and key factors that could affect it. GAO conducted a statistical analysis of plans for retiring coal-fueled units, interviewed stakeholders, and reviewed information on industry plans and long-term forecasts by EIA and others. GAO is not making any recommendations in this report.

National Academies Report Released: Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System

Recently, the National Academies Press (NAP) released a report produced by the Committee on Enhancing the Robustness and Resilience of Future Electrical Transmission and Distribution in the United States to Terrorist Attack; Board on Energy and Environmental Systems; Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences; and the National Research Council titled, Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System (2012). The 165-page report available here with a one-time registration, discusses how,

[t]he electric power delivery system that carries electricity from large central generators to customers could be severely damaged by a small number of well-informed attackers. The system is inherently vulnerable because transmission lines may span hundreds of miles, and many key facilities are unguarded. This vulnerability is exacerbated by the fact that the power grid, most of which was originally designed to meet the needs of individual vertically integrated utilities, is being used to move power between regions to support the needs of competitive markets for power generation. Primarily because of ambiguities introduced as a result of recent restricting the of the industry and cost pressures from consumers and regulators, investment to strengthen and upgrade the grid has lagged, with the result that many parts of the bulk high-voltage system are heavily stressed.

Electric systems are not designed to withstand or quickly recover from damage inflicted simultaneously on multiple components. Such an attack could be carried out by knowledgeable attackers with little risk of detection or interdiction. Further well-planned and coordinated attacks by terrorists could leave the electric power system in a large region of the country at least partially disabled for a very long time. Although there are many examples of terrorist and military attacks on power systems elsewhere in the world, at the time of this study international terrorists have shown limited interest in attacking the U.S. power grid. However, that should not be a basis for complacency. Because all parts of the economy, as well as human health and welfare, depend on electricity, the results could be devastating.

Terrorism and the Electric Power Delivery System focuses on measures that could make the power delivery system less vulnerable to attacks, restore power faster after an attack, and make critical services less vulnerable while the delivery of conventional electric power has been disrupted.

Congressional Research Service Report Released: U.S. Renewable Electricity: How Does Wind Generation Impact Competitive Power Markets?

The Congressional Research Service (CRS), the public policy research arm of Congress, just issued the report U.S. Renewable Electricity: How Does Wind Generation Impact Competitive Power Markets? (Nov. 7, 2012). The 27-page report authored by Phillip Brown, 

analyzes the impacts of wind generation on competitive power markets, including financial and economic impacts on electric power generators. Overall, the goal of this report is to provide context for several electricity market concepts that are relevant to understanding the economic effects of wind power generation. Additionally, this report addresses three specific questions about the market interaction of wind power and electric power generators: (1) How might wind power affect wholesale market clearing prices? (2) Does wind power contribute to negative wholesale power price events within competitive electric power markets? and (3) Does wind power impact electric system reliability? This report focuses on data and information available for competitive electricity markets that are managed by a regional transmission operator (RTO) or independent system operator (ISO). Specific information for three RTO/ISO organizations is provided in this report: (1) Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO), PJM, and (3) Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). These three RTOs were selected for the analysis in an effort to limit the scope of this report. Furthermore, these RTOs are commonly cited as markets that are being affected by wind power generation. As a result, there is no discussion of wind power market impacts within cost-of-service, vertically integrated electricity markets that are common in the West and Southeast regions of the United States, nor is there any discussion of how wind power is managed by federally owned transmission system operators such as the Bonneville Power Administration.

Annual Electric Power Industry Report data files

This is an electric utility data file that includes such information as peak load, generation, electric purchases, sales, revenues, customer counts and demand-side management programs, green pricing and net metering programs, and distributed generation capacity. The data source is the survey Form EIA-861, "Annual Electric Power Industry Report." Data for all years are final.

The North Sea Countries' Offshore Grid Initiative Memorandum of Understanding

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed today by 10 North Sea countries. The ten countries have committed to work together to identify and overcome the regulatory, legal, market, planning and technical issues involved in creating a North Sea grid.

Alliance; Wester Resource Advocates, Western Watersheds Project, County of San Miguel, Colorado v. Dept of Interior

This compaint seeks to block the placement of electrical transmission lines over federal lands.

Virtual Energy Forum

This online conference for renewable energy and energy-efficient practices in businesses is coming in late June, and to attend, all you need is a computer.

The Virtual Energy Forum is a two day online-only event focused on how leading companies can adopt better energy management practices to cut costs, while at the same time adopting clean energy alternatives -- presenting alternative energy technologies, policies, and best practices in a live, interactive environment. The event is designed to meet the needs of corporate energy executives in a way that is not possible with physical events, webinars or other means.

Virtual Energy Forum will next take place on June 24th and 25th, 2009 with all new speakers, track presentations, virtual booths and informational resources from the top institutions and individuals in the field.

Presentations will cover the following tracks:
- Keynotes
- Global Energy Projects
- Utility Profiles
- Renewable Energy
- Energy Management
- Smart Buildings

Green Pricing and Net Metering Programs 2007 Edition

This Report by the Energy Information Administration on Green Pricing shows the number of customers in green pricing programs increased by 192,795 to 835,651 in 2007. Green pricing/marketing programs allow electricity customers to voluntarily pay the additional costs for renewable energy through direct payments on their monthly bills. In return, the electricity provider guarantees that it will provide either directly or by contract that amount of renewable-based electricity.

Carbon Control in the U.S. Electricity Sector: Key Implementation Uncertainties

This Report by the Congressional Research Service (7-5700) finds that from the policy research and technical studies that substantially reducing CO2 emissions in the U.S. electricity sector over the next few decades would likely require every
key carbon mitigation measure at the nation’s disposal. However, it is also clear that significant uncertainty exists about the potential of individual measures to achieve their hoped-for carbon impact:
• Energy efficiency—Can the United States overcome socioeconomic barriers to
achieve four times more potential savings than ever before?
• Renewable energy—Will there be enough transmission for wind power? Is there
enough land to grow the needed biomass?
• Nuclear power—Could the United States build new plants fast enough to
matter?
• Advanced coal power—Will banks fund them and regulators approve them?
• Carbon capture and sequestration—Will the technology be commercially
deployable in 10 years, 25 years, or never?
• Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles—How much “low carbon” electricity would be
available to charge their batteries?
• Distributed energy resources—Would carbon costs change distributed energy
economics enough to spur deployment?

Special Report: Electric Industry Concerns on the Reliability Impacts of Climate Change Initiatives

This report by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation analyzes the impact of adding solar and wind energy sources to the existing North American electric grid finding that unless appropriate measures are taken to improve transmission of electricity, rules reducing carbon dioxide emissions by utilities could impair the reliability of the power grid causing brownouts and blackouts.