Electric Light & Power Articles, September 2011

Table of Contents

Columns

Commentary

On the last day of August, a dark cloud formed above President Barack Obama’s stimulus funding and green jobs initiative.

FERC Order 1000

On July 21, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued Order No. 1000 to reform transmission planning and cost allocation.

Will the Electricity Industry Still Need a Carbon Tax?

The debate on carbon policy seems to have gone into hibernation. It is being replaced with a menu of other state and ...

Seizing Microgrid Opportunities

Discussion of national energy policy—to the extent it occurs at all in today’s political climate—focuses on spurring power generation ...

The Role of Information Technology in Energy Efficiency Portfolio Management

Energy efficiency programs continue to expand across the nation with utilities often playing the central role in delivering programs.

Features

As Consumers Cut Spending, Utilities Go Back to Drawing Board

U.S. electricity customers are cutting back as much as 25 percent, but it’s not because they bleed green.

Farrell?s Dominion Leads Troops to Energy Jobs

In a weakened economy with few companies hiring, 1 million U.S. veterans are unemployed.

California's Electric Policy is Not a Model for the United States

“I believe that together not only can we lead California into the future … we can show the nation and the world how to get there …,”

California Lays Welcome Mat for Out-of-state-Renewable Energy, Sort Of

A new California law makes it easier to use out-of-state sources of renewable energy to satisfy California’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS).

Sections

Transmission Investment is Growing

Edison Electric Institute’s (EEI’s) updated report “Transmission Projects: At A Glance, March 2011” projects U.S. electric companies will invest ...

Public Policy Considerations in Transmission Planning

Transmission planning is changing. In response to evolving public expectations for the U.S. electricity system ...

Navajo Generating Station Voluntarily Installs Low-NOX Burners

Since its inception, the owners of the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) have been diligent about protecting the natural environment of scenic northern Arizona.

Mitigating Risk in Utility-scale Photovoltaic Projects

Trillions of dollars have been spent on power generation projects during the past decade, but only about 1 percent of those projects use ...

The Time for Solar is Now

Solar energy has proven to be a viable alternative and sustainable way of meeting U.S. energy requirements.

The Increasing Importance of Smart Grid Inverters

Distributed energy generation, particularly solar photovoltaic (PV), has evolved significantly during the past 10-15 years.

Solar Forecasting? Next Big Thing in Sun-based Power?

People who know about renewable energy probably are aware of wind forecasting, during which workers set up meteorological equipment ...

Top 12 Questions About Energy Storage

Energy storage, in theory at least, is a technology with enormous potential to change the way energy is transported, dispatched and consumed.

Lufkin Industries Improves Profitability Through Sustainability

Creating an energy management strategy that’s right for your business and your bottom line can be complicated for any organization.

Smart Grid Improves Mobile Work Force Efficiencies

Most utility field-workers have limited real-time data communications available in the field.

Case Study: AEP Streamlines Remittance Processing

As utilities and other billers are challenged to balance customer service demands with internal cost and regulatory pressures ...

Muni Improves CS, Operational Efficiencies

A combination utility that supplies water and electric services to northwestern Missouri’s business and energy hub was replacing ...

An Open Infrastructure for Munis, Co-ops

As investor-owned utilities (IOUs) across the nation garner most of the attention concerning the need for a modern energy infrastructure ...

Put Your Corporate Mission to Work

What is your corporate mission? How often do you re-evaluate it? Is that mission still correct? Instead of approaching our mission like a business ...

This Issue

September/October 2011
Volume 89
Issue 5
September 2011