Energy Policy Update Energy and Environmental News July 13, 2009
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Energy Policy Update Energy and Environmental News July 13, 2009 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ This newsletter is published by the Arizona Department of Commerce Energy Office and is provided free of charge to the public. It contains verbatim excerpts from international and domestic energy and environment-related publications reviewed by the Education and Community Outreach personnel. For inquiries, call (602) 771-1143 or toll free (800) 352-5499. Compiled and edited by Gloria Castro, Special Projects Coordinator. To register to receive this newsletter electronically, email Gloria Castro. For additional program information, access: http://www.azcommerce.com/Energy/Energy+Policy+Update+- +%28Monthly+Publication%29.htm __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Arizona Technology Council hosts the Partnering Conference – to bring Arizona’s technology community together to forge new partnerships – on Thursday, July 16 from 2:00 – 7:00 p.m. at the Scottsdale Hilton Resort and Villas (6333 North Scottsdale Road). The Partnering Conference gives attendees access to an extraordinary concentration of emerging and established companies as well as the tools to create successful partnerships. Companies will present their partnering opportunities, and a high-profile panel of partnering experts will discuss how to expand and innovate through strategic alliances. See what partnering with other companies can do for the growth of your business. Learn more at http://www.aztechcouncil.com/CWT/External/WCPages/WCEvents/EventDetail.aspx?E ventID=602. Donald E. Cardon, Director __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE, ARIZONA-RELATED TITLES ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN GRAY ARIZONA Arizona Solar Power Company Awarded Energy Saving Project [ABC15.com web site, July 8] Tucson, AZ - A Valley solar energy company selected to build cutting edge power plant project. U.S. energy supplier Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), headquartered in San Francisco, California, has commissioned the SOLON Corporation in Tucson to build a photovoltaic power plant in California. The pilot power plant project is part of a five-year program in which PG&E expects to develop 250 megawatts (MW) of solar photovoltaic power in California. ____ Avondale to Build 'Green' Sports Facility [Arizona Republic, July 8] Green-conscious Avondale has decided how its American Sports Center will be designed. The debate was over design and construction costs vs. long-term energy savings. The City Council recently selected the Phoenix office of SmithGroup to provide architectural and engineering design of the 83,000-square-foot, indoor recreational facility. The multipurpose sports center will host amateur sporting events. The council decided to spend an extra $66,500 to have the building design certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System. The project's design will cost an estimated $767,300. LEED certifies buildings as silver, gold or platinum. ____ Contractors Looking to do More Solar Work [Phoenix Business Journal, July 10] Electricians, steel workers and other contractors are looking to grow their business in the solar field as the state sees more interest in residential and commercial installations. To meet increasing demand for small-scale projects, some companies are training existing employees and pulling new talent from contractors, who for the past year have suffered along with the battered housing market. ____ EPA Announces Energy Star Homes Reach Nearly 17 Percent Market Share for 2008 [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, July 2] Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today that nearly 17 percent of all single- family homes built nationally in 2008 earned EPA’s Energy Star label, up from 12 percent in 2007. Both home builders and home buyers are continuing to invest in high performing homes that save consumers money on their utility bills and help protect the environment. ____ Grant to Bring Renewable Energy to Navajo Homes [Associated Press, June 26] Albuquerque, N.M. - A company owned by American Indians has been awarded more than $500,000 to bring electricity from solar power to Navajo Nation homes that now lack electricity. Sacred Power Inc. of Albuquerque was awarded the grant through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The company went into partnership with local chapter houses on the Navajo Nation in New Mexico and Arizona to secure USDA grants for modular hybrid solar photovoltaic stations to provide electricity. The USDA says such stations combine photovoltaic panels plus controls, battery storage and a backup small wind turbine or propane generator to provide reliable electricity to homes. Systems are built at Sacred Power's Albuquerque plant ____ Housing Development Will Have Ground-Mounted Solar System [Phoenix Business Journal, July 10] Two Valley firms are planning what may be the first Arizona residential development to feature a ground-mounted solar system feeding power to all of the homes. Scottsdale engineering firm Triage Corp. and Cochise County Land LLC in Mesa are working on the 1,300-acre Ranch at Tombstone development between Tombstone and Bisbee, in the state’s southeastern reaches. A large solar garden will provide power to the homes and help run the community association’s facilities. ____ State Weighs Solar Proposal Seen as Key Test [Arizona Republic, July 6] A solar-power company's plan to put panels on two Scottsdale school roofs could end up changing the way solar energy is bought and sold in Arizona. If approved by state regulators, the plan could help expand the use of renewable energy by helping schools, governments and other big users get solar panels without the big up-front costs. If the plan is rejected, backers say, it could choke the state's burgeoning solar-power movement. ____ Stimulus Propels Weatherization Classes [Phoenix Business Journal, July 10] Although federal stimulus money is slow to trickle into Arizona, one Phoenix business is seeing activity from the weatherization funds. The Foundation for Senior Living’s Home Improvements program, which helps Valley residents upgrade the safety and functionality of their homes, offers weatherization training to contractors and technicians in Arizona through stimulus money allotted by the Arizona Department of Commerce. ALTERNATIVE ENERGY AND EFFICIENCY Incandescent Bulbs Return to the Cutting Edge [New York Times, July 5] Santa Rosa, CA - When Congress passed a new energy law two years ago, obituaries were written for the incandescent light bulb. The law set tough efficiency standards, due to take effect in 2012, that no traditional incandescent bulb on the market could meet, and a century-old technology that helped create the modern world seemed to be doomed. But as it turns out, the obituaries were premature. Researchers across the country have been racing to breathe new life into Thomas Edison’s light bulb, a pursuit that accelerated with the new legislation. Amid that footrace, one company is already marketing limited quantities of incandescent bulbs that meet the 2012 standard, and researchers are promising a wave of innovative products in the next few years. ____ Uncle Sam to Pond Scum: I Want You! [Associated Press, July 3] Logan, UT - Somewhere among the beakers and the bubbling green-tinged tanks in this Utah State University lab, Jeff Muhs is searching for champion pond scum for Uncle Sam. If he and others like him around the country are successful, algae-based biofuel could one day power one of the world's biggest gas guzzlers: the U.S. military. LEGISLATION AND REGULATION DOE Announces up to $10.5 Million in Solar Energy Education for Local Governments [U.S. Dept. of Energy, EERE web site, July 07] The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced a funding opportunity for up to $10.5 million to increase the ability of local governments to accelerate solar energy adoption and workforce development. Funding for the five-year awards is subject to annual appropriations. Through this new funding opportunity, DOE will provide local governments across the U.S. with useful, timely information on increasing solar energy use. ____ Groups Sue U.S. Over Energy-Transmission [New York Times, July 8] Fourteen conservation groups and a Colorado county sued the federal government yesterday over 6,000 miles of electricity transmission corridors on Western public lands, saying they link to coal-burning power plants and not renewable-energy generators. ____ How Congress