According to the Energy Information Administration, buildings already consume a third of energy worldwide, and world energy consumption is predicted to grow 60 percent by 2030.

To increase energy efficiency and reduce environmental impact, many building teams now incorporate renewable energy technologies into new construction and renovation projects.

Renewable energy technologies capture, store and deliver power derived from renewable resources, including sun, wind, water, the earth's core and plant matter. Because they do not depend on finite resources, renewable energies can increase stability in the power grid. Plus, there are state government incentives available to help fund many renewable installations.

At the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.) Green Technologies Conference, Jim Knutson, comprehensive solutions director at Trane, will discuss emerging energy tools and technologies for high-performance buildings, their application and results. Knutson will also cover design stage tools and those specific to building construction, performance, operation and renovation. These will include:

• Energy modeling and analysis
• Solar/photovoltaic, geothermal, co-generation and thermal storage
• Infrared thermography, ultrasonic analysis and vibration transducers

Conference attendees will learn the benefits of these technologies and how they can be used to increase operational efficiency and sustainability while reducing energy consumption.

Details of this presentation:

When: Friday, April 16 at 11 a.m. (Conference is April 15-16)

Where: Mustang 6 room in Gaylord Texas Resort and Convention Center, Grapevine, Texas

Conference Web site: http://www.ieeegreentech.org/

The second annual IEEE Green Technologies Conference will feature a variety of papers, presentations and technical seminars on current and emerging topics related specifically to the development and use of green technologies.

Jim Knutson, director of comprehensive solutions for Trane, leads a Denver, Colo.-based team in serving new construction and retrofit customers in six states: Colorado, Nevada, Montana, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico. Knutson has over 27 years of experience providing energy efficiency and contracting solutions for federal, state and local government, K-12/higher education, commercial and industrial clients.

Knutson is a current board member of the Energy Efficient Business Coalition and a member of the Energy Services Coalition, Association of Energy Engineers and the Cogeneration & On-Site Power Association. He played a key role in drafting energy efficiency legislation in 10 states over the past 15 years. He also assisted in the development of the energy performance contracting M&V protocol used now as the standard in many states. He has a bachelor of arts in Business Administration from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn.

Trane, a business of Ingersoll Rand - the world leader in creating and sustaining safe, comfortable and energy efficient environments - improves the performance of homes and buildings around the world. Trane solutions optimize indoor environments with a broad portfolio of energy efficient heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, building and contracting services, parts support and advanced controls for homes and commercial buildings.  For more information, visit www.Trane.com.

Contrary to some prevailing opinion, reprocessing would not eliminate the need for a deep geologic disposal program to replace Yucca Mountain. It aggravates waste, proliferation, and cost problems. The volume of waste to be disposed of in deep geologic repository is increased about six times on a life-cycle basis in the French approach compared to the once-through no-reprocessing approach of the United States.

A new report by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER), a nonprofit scientific research group, shows that France uses less than 1 percent of the natural uranium resource, contrary to an impression among some policy makers. The report has several recommendations for President Obama's Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future, which was created to address U.S. nuclear waste issues after the administration's cancellation of the Yucca Mountain program.

IEER President Dr. Arjun Makhijani, the author of the report: "In recent years, a 'French fever' has gripped the promoters of nuclear power in the United States. Praise of France's management of spent fuel by reprocessing, including its use of the extracted plutonium as fuel in its nuclear power reactors, is now routinely heard. But it is a fantasy on the scale of the 1950s "too cheap to meter" mythology about nuclear power to imagine that 90 or 95 percent of the "energy value" of U.S. spent fuel can be extracted by reprocessing."

Key IEER report findings include the following:

• On a life-cycle basis, French-style reprocessing and recycle increases the volume of waste that would have to disposed of in a geologic repository. Reprocessing results in high-level radioactive waste and large volumes of Greater than Class C waste, both of which must be managed by deep geologic disposal. Their combined volume on a life-cycle basis is estimated to be about six times more than the no-reprocessing approach that is current U.S. policy, according to Department of Energy estimates. Low-level waste volume and waste transportation shipments are also estimated to increase several-fold.
• France spends about two cents per kilowatt-hour more for electricity generated from reprocessed plutonium compared to that generated from fresh uranium fuel.
• Attempting to combined reprocessing with breeder reactors to convert uranium in U.S. spent fuel in plutonium will create intolerable costs and risks. Reprocessing plus breeder reactors are much more expensive than light water reactors today, which are themselves expensive. Such a system is required to convert most of the uranium in spent fuel into a reactor fuel. Even a single penny in excess generation cost per kilowatt-hour in a breeder reactor-reprocessing system would lead to an added $8 trillion in costs to convert nearly all of the uranium in the 100,000 metric tons of U.S. spent into usable fuel. It would take hundreds of years to accomplish the task and require separation of tens of thousands of bombs equivalent of fissile material each year. The proliferation risks will be far greater than today.
• Adoption of French-style reprocessing program would not eliminate the need for a deep geologic repository. Even complete fissioning of all actinides - an unrealistic proposition - will leave behind large amounts of very long-lived fission and activation products like iodine-129, cesium-135, and chlorine-36 that will pose risks far into the future -- much beyond the 24,100-year half-life of plutonium-239. In fact, France needs a geologic repository and opposition to one has been intense there. The French appear to dislike nuclear waste in their backyards as much as people in the United States.
• Proliferation risks are inherently part of the French (and any other) approach to reprocessing. Even advanced reprocessing technologies will not significantly reduce proliferation risks. For instance a study authored by scientists from DOE laboratories, including Los Alamos and Sandia, concluded that it would take only a few days or a few weeks for proliferant country to make material for nuclear bombs once it had reprocessing plants. It found that new technologies, including electrometallurgical processing, resulted in "only a modest improvement in reducing proliferation risk over existing PUREX technologies and these modest improvements apply primarily for non-state actors." The IEER report concluded that electrometallurgical increases risks in other ways. For instance, it is far less difficult to conceal a plant than the present PUREX technology.

Other key findings include the following:

• Six decades of sodium cooled breeder reactor development has so far resulted in failure. Historical experience indicates no learning curve for the sodium cooled fast breeder reactor, which is the breeder technology that has received the most development. In fact, the two most recent large scale demonstration reactors, Superphénix in France and Monju in Japan, have been failures. Superphénix had a cumulative capacity factor of less than 8 percent before it was shut. Monju has been closed for almost 15 years, following a sodium fire, and has not generated a significant amount of electricity. Sodium cooled breeder reactors are not commercial today despite global expenditures on the order of $100 billion over six decades. They face a host of safety, proliferation and cost hurdles to overcome, some arising from the fact that they use liquid sodium for cooling. They are unlikely to be commercial in the near future. For instance, Japan's estimated date for commercialization of the sodium cooled fast breeder is 2050.
• Storage of liquid high-level wastes creates some risk of catastrophic releases of radioactivity. For instance, the Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority has estimated that a severe accident at the liquid waste storage facility in Sellafield, Britain, could result in cesium-137 contamination between 10 percent and 5,000 percent of that created in Norway by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident, which is the worst commercial accident to date, by far. A catastrophic release of radioactivity from a military high-level waste tank occurred in the Soviet Union in 1957.
• Using more than 1 percent of the uranium resource in a light water reactor system is technically impossible even with reprocessing and re-enrichment. In light water reactor systems, almost all the uranium resource winds up as depleted uranium or in spent fuel. Even with repeated reprocessing and re-enrichment, use of the natural uranium resource cannot be increased to more than 1 percent in such a system. A corollary is that the use of 90 to 95 percent of the uranium resource or of the material in the spent fuel is impossible in a light water reactor system even with reprocessing.

These are physical constraints that go with the system and also apply to France's system.

The IEER report also sets out a number of recommendations for the Blue Ribbon Commission on

America's Nuclear Future appointed by Energy Secretary Steven Chu:

• Spent fuel from existing reactors should be slated for direct geologic disposal without reprocessing of any kind; a suitable path for a scientifically sound program should be set forth.
• In the interim, spent fuel should be stored on site as safely as possible - in low density configurations while in pools and in hardened storage when moved to dry casks.
• Breeder reactors and reprocessing are not commercial after six decades of development of sodium cooled breeder reactors, and enormous expenditures. Given the long time frame for commercialization estimated even by some promoters, the proliferation risks, and efforts already made, it does not appear to be a good investment to spend more R&D money in that direction. Rather energy supply R&D resources should be focused on development and deployment of renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency.
• The Commission should request the French company AREVA and/or the French government to supply it with data on the present use of the natural uranium resource purchased for French nuclear reactors, including, specifically, the increases in fission fraction that have actually been achieved by reprocessing and recycling.
• The Commission should also request official data on Greater than Class C waste equivalent expected to be generated on a life-cycle basis in France, and the total volumes and heat generation of packaged waste expected to be disposed of in a deep geologic repository, including estimates of decommissioning waste.
• The Commission should investigate the public support or lack thereof for repository programs in France and Britain, the countries with the longest history of commercial spent fuel reprocessing.
• The Commission should make the same requests regarding the British reprocessing program.
• Official analyses of the mechanisms, probability, and consequences of large accidental releases of radioactivity to the atmosphere from liquid high-level waste storage in tanks should be requested from the French and British governments.

Western Wind Energy Corp. ("Western Wind" or the "Company") announced today its financial results for the year ended December 31, 2009.

Highlights for the Year:

    -   Raised $6.3 million in new equity.
    -   Received zoning approval for its 120MW Windstar wind energy project.
    -   Engaged a senior lender to provide $200m in financing for Windstar
        subject to final lender approval.
    -   Entered into a turbine reservation order for Windstar with a leading
        turbine supplier.
    -   Received a 24 year extension of the Mesa land lease and the right to
        repower and expand.
    -   Secured an 11MW PPA for a combined wind and solar project in Arizona.
    -   Signed an amendment to the Windstar PPA that updates the terms to
        reflect the current market conditions and completion schedule.
    -   Secured additional prime wind and solar resource land in Tehachapi,
        California.

Subsequent to the year end:

    -   Closed two loan agreements with institutional investors for a total
        of $2.5 million.
    -   Selected a Institutionally recognized EPC - BOP contractor for
        Windstar
    -   Commenced Engineering, design and preliminary construction on
        Windstar

2009 FINANCIAL RESULTS

The Company is pleased to announce a 10% increase in electricity production to 58,859 MWh for the year ended December 31, 2009 compared to 53,579 MWh for the year ended December 31, 2008. However lower natural gas prices led to a decrease in the average Short Run Avoided Cost electricity selling prices which resulted in revenues decreasing 45% to $2,798,496 compared to $5,116,652 for the year ended December 31, 2009. Net loss from continuing operations increased from $4,993,000, or fifteen cents ($0.15) per share, for the year ended December 31, 2008 to a net loss of $5,023,162, or twelve three cents ($0.12) per share. The slight increase in net loss from continuing operations for the period was due to lower revenues and no interest recovery in 2009, which were mostly offset by a $1,400,182 (34%) decrease in general and administration costs and decreases in foreign exchange losses and amortization. Net loss for the year was $5,023,162, or twelve cents ($0.12) per share, compared to a net loss of $2,269,275, or seven cents ($0.07) per share, for the prior year. Net loss last year included income from discontinued operations of $2,724,047 primarily relating to a one-time US$3,000,000 reduction of the loan principal due to the Mesa loan repayment before the agreed upon repayment date of June 24, 2008. The net gain recorded was $2,900,000 after taking into account a Mesa Loan extension fee of $100,000.

Although electricity production for the three months ended December 31, 2009 was similar to the same period in the prior year, the decrease in average Short Run Avoided Cost electricity selling prices resulted in revenues decreasing 53% to $321,952 from $687,666 for the three months ended December 31, 2008. Despite the drop in revenues, net loss for the three months ended December 31, 2009 improved 33% to $1,512,001 or two cents ($0.02) per share compared to a net loss of $2,251,537 or seven cents ($0.07) per share for the comparable period in 2008 due primarily to a reduction in amortization, stock based compensation and travel expenses.

The Company's financial position continued to strengthen as cash increased from $1,817,371 as at December 31, 2008 to $1,882,152 as at December 31, 2009. Shareholders equity improved 11% from $22,442,493 last year to $24,843,162 primarily as a result of $6.3 million of new equity from the issue of shares and warrants.

The information in this news release should be read in conjunction with the Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009, prepared in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles, and the Management Discussion and Analysis for the year ended December 31, 2009. The financial statements and MD&A will be available at the Company's website at www.westernwindenergy.com and at www.sedar.com.

Western Wind is a vertically integrated renewable energy electrical production company that currently owns over 500 wind turbines with 34.5 MW of rated capacity and a further 131MW of expansion power purchase agreements in the States of California and Arizona. Western Wind further owns additional development assets for both Solar and Wind Energy in California, Arizona, Ontario, Canada and a development team in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Western Wind is in the business of owning and acquiring land sites and technology for the production of electricity from wind and solar energy. Management of Western Wind Energy includes individuals involved in the operations and ownership of utility scale wind energy facilities in California since 1981.

As predicted based on a survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) for the nonpartisan and nonprofit Civil Society Institute, the vast majority of Vermont Town Halls deliberating this week the fate of the Vermont Yankee came out in support of closure of the controversial nuclear reactor by 2012.  The final tally of Town Halls in Vermont opposing the relicensing of Vermont Yankee was 14-1.  

The town of Rockingham was alone in passing a pro-Vermont Yankee resolution and, even then, only by a margin of three votes, according to reports.  Towns voting in favor of shutting down Vermont Yankee were:  Thetford, Bristol, Fayston, Brookfield, Montgomery, Woodstock, Moretown, Waitsfield, Danville, Cabot, Huntington, Sharon and Jamaica.  Additionally, Cambridge elected to table the issue.

Pam Solo, founder and president, Civil Society Institute, said:  "Our survey pointed to the likelihood that the Vermont Town Halls would come out along the lines of the earlier Vermont Senate vote to close Vermont Yankee by 2012.  With literally dozens of other reactors plagued with similar tritium leaks, we see a clear message here for a U.S. nuclear power industry:   You can't sell Americans on the notion that you are providing 'clean and safe' power at the same time that you are leaking a radioactive substance into wells and other bodies of water.  Citizens in other states may not be able to intervene as directly in reactor issues as Vermonters can, but the Town Hall votes and our survey findings suggest that Americans are unlikely to remain silent about tritium leaks and other legitimate safety concerns."

The Civil Society Institute's scientific survey of 802 adult Vermont residents was based on Opinion Research Corporation (ORC) polling that took place February 19-22nd immediately before the Vermont Senate vote on Vermont Yankee relicensing.   CSI believes that the findings resonate nationally in that a main driver of deteriorating public support for Vermont Yankee centered on the leaking of radioactive tritium, a problem that also is playing out at 27 or more of the nation's 104 reactors across 31 states.

Key survey findings reported by Opinion Research Corporation included the following:

• About two thirds of Vermont residents (65 percent) say "reports about Vermont Yankee leaking radioactive tritium into testing wells and surrounding water" make them "more likely to support the 2012 closure of the reactor."  That includes 44 percent of Republicans, 80 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of Independents.  
• Of those Vermont residents who heard about the radioactive tritium leak at Vermont Yankee, nearly four in five (79 percent) said they are concerned about it, including more than half (52 percent) who are "very concerned."  Only about one in five (21 percent) of this group said that they were not concerned, with just 6 percent saying they were "not concerned at all."  Even when the 20 percent of state residents who have not heard about the tritium leak are added, the percentage of all state residents who are concerned about the tritium leaks at Vermont Yankee still accounts for 63 percent of the state's adult population.  
• Overall, 71 percent of state residents are "less supportive now of Vermont Yankee, the nuclear reactor, than [they] were six months ago."  That includes 57 percent of Republicans, 82 percent of Democrats and two thirds of Independents.  
• Given a choice, fewer than one in 10 Vermont residents (9 percent) would ask their power company to use nuclear energy to power their homes, compared to 71 percent who selected "wind, solar and other clean-energy technologies."
• The fact that Entergy has been unable to find the source of the tritium leaks makes more than three out of four Vermont residents (76 percent) "less confident in the company's ability to safely manage a nuclear reactor".
• About half of Vermont residents (49 percent) see nuclear power as a "power source of yesterday," compared to compared to 94 percent for solar, 92 percent for wind and 78 percent for hydroelectric as "power sources of tomorrow" that should play a bigger, rather than smaller, role in the U.S. energy supply picture.  
• Nine out of 10 Vermont residents (89 percent) say that Entergy -- not Vermont taxpayers -- "should have to foot the bill for decommissioning Vermont Yankee."  That includes 83 percent of Republicans, 94 percent of Democrats and 90 percent of Independents.
• 68 percent of Vermont residents would support closure of Vermont Yankee in 2012 "assuming that a combination of increased energy efficiency, clean energy, such as hydroelectric, wind and solar and natural gas could be used to offset the electricity from the reactor."  That includes 48 percent of Republicans, 82 percent of Democrats and 63 percent of Independents.  
• 71 percent of Vermont residents would support closure of Vermont Yankee in 2012 "assuming that many new jobs could be created through investments in new clean energy technologies, such as hydroelectric, wind and solar." That includes 47 percent of Republicans, 86 percent of Democrats and 72 percent of Independents.  
• Only 46 percent of state residents trust Entergy to clean up the tritium leaks at Vermont Yankee, compared to 47 percent who do not.
• Two thirds of Vermonters now give Entergy a low rating for "trustworthiness" -- with 37 percent saying "very low" and 29 percent "somewhat low." Only about one in four state residents (26 percent) give Entergy high marks for trustworthiness.
• Nearly three out five state residents (58 percent) give Entergy low marks for "competence" -- with 26 percent saying "very low" and 33 percent "somewhat low." Fewer than one in three (29 percent) give Entergy high marks for competence.
• Four out of five state residents (79 percent) have heard about the tritium leaks at Vermont Yankee.  Only 20 percent have not.

For complete survey findings, go to http://www.CivilSocietyInstitute.org on the Web.

Shell (NYSE: RDSA) and IBM ( IBM) today announced a research collaboration that aims to extend the life of oil and natural gas fields.  Shell sees potential to reduce the time and money required to model its reservoirs.  IBM's long-standing analytics and simulation experience will meet Shell's strong subsurface and reservoir expertise to create a more efficient, more accurate picture of energy recovery.  

The companies will explore advanced techniques for reconciling geophysical and reservoir engineering field data.  As a result of applying improved algorithms, analytics and accelerated simulations, Shell can reduce the educated guesswork and extract natural resources with more certainty and efficiency, thereby optimizing the recovery of oil and gas.

"This collaboration is remarkable," said Gerald Schotman, Executive Vice President of Shell Innovation, Research & Development.  "Two industrial research giants are coming together to solve a very specific, real-world problem and make the most of oil and natural gas reservoirs.  This will not be done through expensive, experimental facilities, but by bringing together a powerful team and powerful computers so we can be smarter than before."

The complex process of reconciling often-differing views of oil and natural gas fields can take several months to complete and involves measurements of production volumes, flow rates and pressures.  For example, geophysicists must examine time-lapse seismic data from subsurface rock formations; reservoir engineers receive well and laboratory data, and geophysicists receive information - sound waves - covering wide spaces between the wells.

Shell and IBM will reformulate and automate the task of reconciling the different data and create an enhanced, yet practical, mathematical optimization solution.  This can improve the cost-effectiveness of the data inversion process and, once available, will become part of Shell's proprietary reservoir modelling tool kits for application in new oil and natural gas developments as well as existing assets.  

"Working with Shell is a prime example of the importance of collaborative research in the effort to build a smarter planet," said John E. Kelly III, Senior Vice President and Director of IBM Research.  "Using predictive analytics to drive new intelligence into oil and natural gas reservoir management has the potential to extend the life of existing oil and gas fields in a responsible way."  

As part of this Joint Development Agreement, IBM and Shell research scientists will work in several laboratories in both the US and the Netherlands.

SOURCE IBM

Attorney General Jerry Brown and Assemblymember Nancy Skinner Introduce AB 2514 to Make the Smart Grid a Reality with California Becoming Leader in Clean, Cost-Effective Energy Storage

Assemblymember Nancy Skinner (D-14), Chair, Committee on Natural Resources, working in partnership with California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr., has introduced AB 2514 (available here) - new legislation that will create a smarter, cleaner electric grid, increase the use of renewable energy, provide Californians with significant savings by avoiding costly new power plants and transmission lines, and reduce air pollution. This transformative legislation will also create thousands of permanent new green-collar jobs.  

AB 2514 will achieve these benefits by closing the gap between the United States and other nations in investments and deployments of energy storage, a booming "green" industry that represents a significant economic development opportunity for California.

By mandating that utilities incorporate energy storage capacity - 2.25% of daytime peak demand for power by 2014 and 5% of peak demand by 2020 - the bill will provide much-needed lower electricity costs to consumers. Greater use of energy storage will provide the State with a cleaner and less costly alternative to the high costs of generating and supplying primarily fossil fuel-based power for only part-time daytime peak demand for power.

"Energy storage is the future -- it's a fast-growing clean technology industry that will save the state money and reduce pollution," said Attorney General Jerry Brown, the bill's sponsor.  "What's even better is that this new technology could create 8,500 new jobs in California during the next decade."

"We applaud Assemblymember Skinner and Attorney General Brown's leadership in introducing this essential legislation.  This bill will put California at the forefront of a growing global market that will spur economic development.   Given major advances in energy storage, the industry is now ready to provide high-technology, affordable, reliable products for California's utilities and consumers," noted Janice Lin, Director of the California Energy Storage Alliance.

Currently, California uses fossil fuel-burning backup power plants, as well as coal-fired power imported from other states, to help meet its relentlessly growing demand for daytime peak power.  This is costly, inefficient and harmful to California's air quality.  Wider scale deployment of clean, cost-effective energy storage will enable California to reduce pollution from greenhouse gases and smog-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx) by reducing the need for fossil fuel-based peaking power plants and imported coal-fired power.  Further, energy storage will increase the value and use of intermittent renewable power such as wind and solar, which often relies on fossil fuel-based backup power.  However, California is lagging behind other states in energy storage deployment.  AB 2514 is available at:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/asm/ab_2501-2550/ab_2514_bill_20100219_introduced.pdf

Cost-effective and commercially ready energy storage is a key part of the newly emerging smart grid that will transform California's electricity grid into a modern, clean, sophisticated network fully integrating renewable and distributed power sources.  Modern energy storage technologies, some in existence for decades and covering a wide range of sizes, power capacity, and discharge durations, include mechanical, chemical and thermal processes for storing energy for use at a later time.  Energy storage has attracted significant investment capital and federal stimulus funding, with recently announced projects representing nearly 1,000 megawatts of new capacity.  This will more than double the current installed capacity of energy storage.

The California Energy Storage Alliance is an association of companies committed to the rapid expansion of energy storage to promote growth of renewable energy and a more reliable and secure electric system. Its members include a diverse group of companies ranging from electro-mechanical, electro-thermal and electro-chemical storage companies to system integrators and renewable energy component manufacturers and developers.  (www.storagealliance.org).

SOURCE CESA (California Energy Storage Alliance)

Innovative Tool provides a simple graphical means to understand carbon emissions in complex international trade movements

A new graphical tool was released today on the internet to help educate practitioners and the public on how they can directly and immediately impact their carbon emissions in international trade.  The complex movement of goods in multiple modes of transportation is modeled in real time on the internet.  The tool provides a simple and intuitive way to understand the volume of carbon generated by a single international shipment and to then change variables that they control to help reduce carbon emission by 1 to 3 metric tons of carbon per shipping container.

"The science of carbon dioxide's impact on our planet is predominantly a certainty.  Billions of tons of CO2 are emitted in to the atmosphere each year, warming our planet.  The future damage will be significant and the need to act is now compelling," noted John Motley, CEO and Founder of LOG-NET, Inc.  "What this tool does is show how to burn less fuel in international trade.  This should be compelling economically and for sustainability reasons.  Businesses will need to manage CO2 in the future and we felt compelled to provide tools that help understand how significantly parties in trade can impact their carbon footprint today," he added.

"Our new tool puts sophisticated CO2 emission calculation logic in the hands of users worldwide, and provides an intuitive, graphical interface to make it easy to use," says Jonathan O'Keeffe, LOG-NET's Chief Technology Officer. O'Keeffe added that there are many factors that impact the amount of CO2 generated by the movement of a container of goods or an air shipment. Factors such as route, mode, time spent in port, and size of the vessel each have significant impacts on the amount of CO2 generated. LOG-NET's tool is designed to let users investigate the impact of changes of these various factors. For example, the emissions generated by a movement of cargo from China shipped through the Port of Seattle to an interior point in the US can be compared to the emissions from the same movement through the Port of Savannah.

Motley said that LOG-NET plans additional product offerings to help companies better understand how to reduce their carbon emissions in international trade. "Our aim is to provide a full suite of tools for detailed, accurate measurement of sustainability metrics across the entire supply chain," Motley said.

Founded in 1991, LOG-NET, Inc. of Red Bank, N.J. provides order management, transportation, supply chain  and logistics information systems globally on a Software as a Service (SaaS) basis. The company provides international trade and logistics portal capability that enables order management, inventory management, transportation management and compliance on a global end to end (E2E) basis.  LOG-NET's tools are used by leaders in internation trade including DHL, Jones Apparel, Hasbro, Agility, CEVA Logistics, Dollar Tree Stores, Transplace and many other. For more information, please visit www.LOG-NET.com.

- Workforce of thousands restoring power as quickly as possible

- Customers asked to prepare for single-digit cold occurring overnight

- Worst winter storm in years poses work, travel hazards for crews

Dominion Virginia Power crews working in extremely difficult conditions have restored electric service to nearly half of the customers whose electricity has been interrupted by the record-breaking winter storm. With more severe weather expected today, the company is prepared to respond to additional outages caused by even more snow, sleet and rain, increasing winds, and cold weather.

Thousands of Dominion Virginia Power employees and contractors have been mobilized and have restored power to about 101,000 of the 207,000 customers affected as of noon today. Most of the outages have been in Northern Virginia and Charlottesville areas, where snowfall in the Dominion Virginia Power service area has been the greatest.

"We are dealing with our most severe winter storm in years, one that not only interrupts electric service to our customers but also poses extreme challenges to the crews working to restore that service," said Paul D. Koonce, chief executive officer of Dominion Virginia Power. Storm restoration information is available online at http://www.dom.com/storm-center/index.jsp.

"We are focused on getting the lights back on for our customers as safely and quickly as possible while maintaining safety as our first priority - safety of our customers and safety of our crews. We urge our customers to begin making plans for how they will stay safe overnight as single-digit temperatures affect much of the state.

"Please stay clear of downed lines and use extreme caution if you must be on the roads where snow and downed trees could be affecting traffic patterns," Koonce said.

Dominion crews will remain on the road this weekend assessing storm damage and traveling to locations across Virginia. The company asks motorists to be extra cautious to ensure safety for themselves and for the utility crews driving on and working near area roadways.  Safe driving also reduces the chances of motorists hitting utility poles, which becomes more likely along icy roads during and after winter storms. Work crew locations are available online at: http://www.dom.com/storm-center/crew-work-locations.jsp

Dominion expects the number of reported outages to peak late this afternoon or evening as the heavy snow and strong winds brought by storm move out of the company's service area. Crews and support staff will work around the clock to restore service. Customers should call toll free 1-888-667-3000 to report outages or downed power lines.

The highest priority for restoration is always given to public safety and emergency situations such as hospitals, emergency 911 call centers, and municipal water pumping stations. A video description of the storm restoration process is available online at http://www.dom.com/storm-center/how-we-restore-power.jsp.

Dominion offers these suggestions to its customers:

During the storm, if your electricity is interrupted:

• Call Dominion at 1-888-667-3000 to report an outage. Do not rely on your neighbors to report your outage.
• When reporting your outage, enter the phone number where you can best be reached in case Dominion needs to contact you.
• Leave one light on so you will know when power is restored.
• If using portable or camp-type stoves or lanterns for cooking and lighting, ensure that the area is adequately ventilated.

After the storm:

• Stay away from fallen wires, and debris.  Treat all fallen wires and any trees or tree limbs in contact with wires as if they are energized.
• Follow safe operating procedures for generators. Never operate one inside your home, in crawl spaces or in an enclosed space, such as a garage.
• Do not hook portable generators directly to the electrical system of your home. Electricity could flow backward onto Dominion's power lines and endanger lives. Either have a qualified electrician perform the work or plug directly into the generator with the proper-sized extension cords.
• Clear snow from around your home's heat pump so that air can circulate properly.
• Check for ice buildup within the exterior heat pump mechanism. Ice buildup can impede the proper functioning of the fan and may require technical service.

SOURCE Dominion Virginia Power

International Coal Group, Inc. (NYSE: ICO) today announced that its ICG Beckley subsidiary received West Virginia's highest honor for environmental excellence in coal mining.

The coveted Greenlands Award was presented to ICG Beckley's Beckley-Pocahontas underground mine complex in Raleigh County, West Virginia, for overall outstanding environmental stewardship in 2009 by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) at the 37th Annual West Virginia Coal Mining Symposium.

At an awards ceremony held today in Charleston, West Virginia, state officials praised the ICG Beckley mining operation for its many community and environmental projects in the Eccles, West Virginia area. Among the practices leading to the recognition, ICG Beckley has constructed and paved new roads and bridges, improved a local memorial cemetery, installed drainage control measures and pump systems to control rain runoff, voluntarily reclaimed an old abandoned coal refuse site, completed noise reduction projects and established a Community Advisory Panel to facilitate communications with local residents and community leaders.

"The Greenlands Award reflects the ongoing commitment by International Coal Group and our ICG Beckley employees to environmental stewardship and to being a good neighbor in the Eccles community," said Ben Hatfield, ICG's President and CEO.  "We are proud that our employees have taken those values to heart and put them into action on the ground."

Additionally, the WVDEP once again honored ICG Eastern's Birch River surface mine in Webster County, West Virginia - this year with an award for its innovative handling and disposal of coal refuse.  "ICG Eastern continues its tradition of award-winning practices in operating with a unique sensitivity to its environment," Hatfield noted.  "Our employees there continue to raise the bar for other ICG subsidiaries and the industry as a whole in environmental compliance and land restoration methods."

ICG is a leading producer of coal in Northern and Central Appalachia and the Illinois Basin.  The Company has 13 active mining complexes, of which 12 are located in Northern and Central Appalachia and one in Central Illinois.  ICG's mining operations and reserves are strategically located to serve utility, metallurgical and industrial customers domestically and internationally.

SOURCE International Coal Group, Inc.

More new wind power capacity was installed in the EU in 2009 than any other electricity-generating technology, new statistics published today by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) reveal. 39% of all new capacity installed in 2009 was wind power, followed by gas (26%) and solar photovoltaics (16%). Europe decommissioned more coal and nuclear capacity than it installed in 2009. Taken together, renewable energy technologies account for 61% of new power generating capacity in 2009.

Investment in new European wind farms in 2009 reached EUR13 billion, including EUR1.5 billion offshore. 10,163 MW of wind power capacity was installed across the European Union - a 23% increase compared to 2008 installations - made up of 9,581 MW onshore (up 21% from last year) and 582 MW offshore (up 56% from last year).

2009 is the second year running that more wind power capacity has been installed than any other electricity-generating technology, and wind's share of newly installed capacity increased from 35% in 2008 to 39% in 2009. It is also the second year running that renewable energies have accounted for the majority of new investments.

"It is a remarkable result in a difficult year" said Christian Kjaer, CEO of EWEA. "The figures, once again, confirm that wind power, together with other renewable energy technologies and a shift from coal to gas, are delivering massive European carbon reductions, while creating much needed economic activity and new jobs for Europe's citizens."

The countries with the biggest share of new capacity installed in 2009 were Spain (24% - 2459 MW), followed by Germany (19% - 1917 MW), Italy (11% - 1114 MW), France (11% - 1088 MW) and the UK (10% - 1077 MW).

Wind power's total capacity in the European Union has now reached 74,767 MW, up from 64,719 MW by the end of 2008 with Germany remaining the EU country with the largest installed capacity, followed by Spain, Italy, France and the UK.

The wind capacity installed by the end of 2009 will in a normal year produce 163 TWh of electricity, meeting 4.8% of total EU power demand[1].

Commenting on prospects for 2010, Kjaer added: "I am quite optimistic about the medium-term outlook for wind power in Europe, but project finance is still tight and it is clear that more orders must be announced in the coming months for the sector to repeat the 10 GW installed this year."

Please click here to download the pdf with the full analysis of the data.

http://www.ewea.org/fileadmin/emag/statistics/2009generalstats

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[1] According to the latest figure from Eurostat, final electricity consumption in the EU-27 was 3,372 TWh in 2007.

SOURCE EWEA - European Wind Energy Association