February 2010 Archives

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

---------------------------------

[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

 The U.S. Demand Response Coordinating Committee (DRCC) today announced that a National Town Meeting on Demand Response and Smart Grid will be held in Washington, DC, on June 23-24.

The DRCC announced that, among other areas, the National Town Meeting would be focused on implementing the National Action Plan on Demand Response and Smart Grid required by Congress in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA). FERC is presently developing the Plan and the Act calls for FERC and DOE to work together to implement it.  Another focus area, according to the DRCC, will be a review of progress on the DOE smart grid grant programs.

The National Town Meeting is a non-profit event known for featuring a large number of roundtable sessions where all of the latest business and policy developments are discussed and debated.  No other event brings together all parts of the DR & Smart Grid community--utilities, policymakers, technology companies, ISOs and stakeholders--and puts them all in the same room if not at the same table to talk about customer acceptance, cybersecurity, interoperability and other important issues.

At the National Town Meeting held in Washington last year, over 400 members of the demand response and smart grid community came together to hear from such keynote speakers as Congressman Jay Inslee (D-WA) of the House Energy and Commerce Committee; Jon Wellinghoff, Chairman of FERC; Garry Brown, Chairman of the NYS Public Service Commission; top leaders from DOE and EPA; and Executives from smart grid companies like Google and Microsoft as well as utilities like Ameren, PG&E, National Grid and Southern California Edison. Close to 50 different utilities and state commissions were represented by at least one attendee and some had multiple participants.

The 2010 National Town Meeting--the 7th to be held--will also be focused on information sharing and dissemination, and it will feature multiple tracks of presentations on case studies, program deployments, and technology demonstrations.

Dan Delurey, Executive Director of the DRCC, said, "The 2010 National Town Meeting on Demand Response and Smart Grid promises to continue to be the national forum for bringing together the DR & Smart Grid community so they can share experiences and learn from each other.  In addition to all of the key issues to discuss, this year will be particularly important as FERC will have just completed its National Action Plan on Demand Response and sent it to Congress.  The National Town Meeting will be the first opportunity to talk about how to put the Plan into action.  We hope all members of the community will attend and help in that effort."

Registration for the 2010 National Town Meeting on Demand Response and Smart Grid opens on March 15, 2010. More information on the upcoming as well as on past National Town Meetings can be found here: www.smartgridtownmeeting.com.

The DRCC is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the development and exchange of information and expertise about demand response and smart grid. Its members include Ameren, American Electric Power, Arizona Public Service, DTE Energy, ISO New England, Landis+Gyr, Midwest ISO, National Grid, NYSERDA, Pacific Gas & Electric, PJM Interconnection, Progress Energy, Salt River Project, San Diego Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, Southern Company, Tennessee Valley Authority, Viridity Energy and Wal-Mart. More information on the DRCC can be found at www.demandresponsecommittee.org.

The DRCC is the sponsor of the 2010 National Town Meeting on Demand Response and Smart Grid, to be held in Washington, DC, on June 23-24.  For more information, go to www.smartgridtownmeeting.com.

SOURCE Demand Response Coordinating Committee