Energy Policy Update Energy and Environmental News NOVEMBER 28, 2011 This newsletter is published by the Governor’s Office of Energy Policy 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 or to unsubscribe, email Gloria Castro. CONTENTS ARIZONA–RELATED ALTERNATIVE ENERGY AND EFFICIENCY ENERGY/GENERAL INDUSTRIES AND TECHNOLOGIES LEGISLATION AND REGULATION WESTERN POWER STATE INCENTIVES/POLICIES GRANTS For your convenience, Arizona-related titles are highlighted in blue. ARIZONA APS to Build Solar Plant in East Yuma [Yuma Sun, Nov. 22] Arizona Public Service plans to develop a new solar plant in Yuma that will provide 17 megawatts of power, enough for 4,250 homes. APS Vice President of Energy Delivery Daniel Froetzcher said while in Yuma Tuesday that APS is seeking proposals from solar developers and installers to build a solar photovoltaic facility. “We are soliciting bids. Once developed, the developer will turnkey it over to APS.” The plant site will be in east Yuma on property provided by the utility company. It consists of 357 acres, with about 200 acres designated for development of the 17-megawatt facility. Such a facility is appropriate for Yuma, according to APS officials. “Yuma is an important load pocket,” said Andrea Bereznak, APS southwest community relations manager. In monitoring the community's growth, APS foresees a need for additional capacity. Arizona Highway Agency Tests Solar-Powered Lights [Associated Press, Nov. 22] Phoenix - State transportation officials are looking at solar power as a way to allow highway maintenance vehicles to turn off their engines while still keeping their emergency lights running for safety reasons. The Department of Transportation says having vehicles idle while crews are working along highways wastes fuel and emits pollution. But maintenance vehicles leave their emergency lights running to alert motorists that workers are along the highway. The department says it is testing solar powered lights on 37 vehicles to see if they can run properly in different weather conditions. EnviroMission Engages Terracon to Provide Initial Geotechnical Engineering Services for Solar Tower Project [PR Web, Nov. 21] Olathe, KS - Terracon has been engaged by EnviroMission to provide initial geotechnical engineering analysis, geo-seismic analysis and geotechnical consulting services for the Solar Tower power station development in Arizona. Terracon’s reports will inform and support Solar Tower front end engineering and design (FEED). EnviroMission plans to build a major infrastructure power station that will use air heated by the sun to drive turbines to generate enough renewable energy to power 150,000 homes in Arizona and California. The iconic design will have a vast greenhouse with a tall central tower structure that will be almost twice as tall as the Empire State Building. The proposed Solar Tower will offset 1 million metric tons of greenhouse gases per year and will abate the use of up to 1 billion gallons of potable water annually. ALTERNATIVE ENERGY AND EFFICIENCY Cable TV Industry Launches Energy Efficiency Initiative [SustainableBusiness.com News, Nov. 22] Those cable boxes that sit on top of (or under) your TV are about to get a lot more energy efficient. Cable TV operators that provide service to 85% of US customers have pledged to make 90% of all new cable boxes Energy Star 3.0 by the end of 2013. Like computers, cable boxes will go to "sleep" when not in use, greatly reducing energy consumption. U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) challenged the industry to develop more energy efficient devices. Many people aren't aware that the innocent cable box is an energy hog. Two cable boxes consume more electricity than a new refrigerator - the appliance that uses the most energy - roughly 500 kilowatt hours a year. Energy Star-rated cable boxes use less than half the energy of standard ones. The change is part of a U.S. cable industry energy efficiency initiative, launched by its trade association, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association. Concentrating Solar Power Simplified in Spain [EarthTechling.com, Nov. 23] Engineering, procurement and construction firm ABB has launched a new concentrating solar power (CSP) technology that the company says uses considerably less material, land and water than other CSP plants. Plus, it says, plants using the new technology are extremely easy to build and operate. Instead of the curved mirrors of a parabolic trough, ABB-Novatec Solar’s patented “Fresnel-based CSP technology” uses flat glass mirrors to reflect solar energy into a water-filled receiver tube, super-heating the water to 500 degrees Celsius to generate steam. ABB says that the technology uses 70 percent less material, requires 40 percent less land and consumes 80 percent less water per megawatt (MW) of power than parabolic trough designs. By using components such as sheet plates and glass mirrors, which can be easily mass-produced locally, the cost of building and operating the plants is further reduced, the company says. ABB-Novatec’s 1.4-MW Puerto Errado 1 demonstration plant in Murcia, Spain, has been generating power for the Spanish power grid since 2009. The company is also currently building Puerto Errado 2, the first commercial power plant to use the technology. With 28 rows of mirrors, the 30-MW power plant covers an area of 650,000 square meters and will produce about 50 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year—enough to power about 12,000 households. The technology can also be used in a hybrid system to increase the fuel efficiency of conventional power plants, in desalination and district cooling plants, or in any industrial process that requires steam. ABB said its 9-MW array in Liddell, Australia, will be the world’s first use of solar thermal technology to provide supplemental power to a gas power plant. Seattle Dives Deeper Into Energy Efficiency of Its Buildings [SustainableBusiness.com News, Nov. 21] This week, the owners of 8000 buildings will receive letters informing them about Seattle's new building energy efficiency program. Those letters will go to building owners and managers of non-residential buildings larger than 10,000 square feet and multifamily buildings with five or more units. They will be required to benchmark and report on their building energy performance by April 1, 2012. It will affect a wide range of building types - offices, schools, restaurants, retail outlets - which constitute a significant portion of Seattle's building stock. Benchmarking how much energy their building uses - and wastes - will help them identify opportunities to improve energy efficiency and increase savings. This is the second phase of Seattle's Building Energy Benchmarking and Reporting Program, which until now, has applied only to nonresidential buildings over 50,000 sq. ft. The City is working to ensure that all buildings are benchmarked on an annual basis, and that building energy use information is available to potential tenants, buyers and lenders during real estate transactions. That way, building owners, businesses and residents can make more informed, cost-conscious decisions when upgrading, buying or renting property. Solar Powered KB Homes Offer Big Savings Opportunity for Homebuyers [Energy Trend.com, Nov. 23] KB Home (NYSE: KBH), one of the nation’s premier homebuilders, announced that it is significantly expanding its popular solar initiative by making solar power systems a standard feature of homes in nearly all of its communities across Southern California. Including the high-efficiency SunPower® solar power systems – now available at 28 communities – with a new KB home can help KB homeowners reduce their monthly energy bills by as much as 80% and lower their cost of homeownership for years to come. “Consumers who buy a Built to Order™ KB home get the value of a custom home-like experience plus the tremendous energy efficiency of our latest advanced building techniques. And now, having solar included is like having the sun help pay their energy bills,” said Jeffrey Mezger, president and chief executive officer of KB Home. “The response to our solar initiative has been overwhelmingly positive and we are excited to expand our program so that many more homebuyers in Southern California can take advantage of this unique opportunity.” To illustrate the potential benefit of solar power systems and the many other energy-efficient features of its homes, KB Home provides consumers with its Energy Performance Guide® (EPG®), which shows an estimate of monthly energy costs for each home as designed. For example, at KB Home’s Newbury at the Enclave in Eastvale, Calif., a one-story, four bedroom home without a solar power system has an estimated monthly electric and gas bill of $108. With the expansion of KB Home’s solar power initiative, this home will now include a 3.15kWp system as a standard feature and the estimated monthly electric and gas bill will be $27. Compared to a typical resale home, this new KB home is estimated to save a homeowner about $2,000 annually on energy costs. ENERGY/GENERAL A Bright Idea: Energy-Saving Apps [Philadelphia Inquirer, Nov. 21]It's possible that Tanya Morris has become something of a pest. And she delights in it. Wherever she goes, she's likely to whip out her iPad and open her favorite app: the Light Bulb Finder. Give her half a chance and she'll persuade you to roam your house with her so she can log the incandescent bulbs and use the app to find more efficient versions. "I love it!" said Morris, who has ample reason to champion energy efficiency.