News Roundup
News Roundup for August 3
HAVE GAVEL, WILL TRAVEL
FERC Chairman Wellinghoff
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Jon Wellinghoff regularly wields the gavel at that panel’s meetings, and he recently did similar honors up north—on Wall Street. The FERC chief visited the New York Stock Exchange on July 26 to host a roundtable with executives of NYSE-listed companies and discuss the state of the electric transmission grid and the commission’s new rule aimed at reforming transmission planning processes. While there, Wellinghoff joined the ranks of dignitaries who have been invited to ring the NYSE’s closing bell.
NOT HYPE … HYPER
The Electric Power Research Institute’s testing of “hyper-efficient” heat pump water heaters has produced preliminary results indicating they use 15 percent to 40 percent less energy than a typical resistance element water heater. The testing was conducted from January through March, and its results are valid even in colder climates, such as the Pacific Northwest, EPRI indicated. Higher efficiencies also are expected from summer testing. If fully deployed, the heat pumps and other hyper-efficient technologies could reduce electric demand between 10 percent and 20 percent, the institute specified.
SMART GRID TECH BOOST
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colo., has joined Verizon in an agreement to develop ways to reduce energy use in the information and communications technology industry. The parties will share technical expertise in several areas, including energy efficiency and energy management at Verizon’s buildings and facilities, and advancement of smart grid technologies and best practices. The application of digital intelligence in the operation of offices and data centers offers a significant opportunity to save money, energy and reduce environmental impact, the Energy Dept. laboratory said.
SHALE GAS IMPLICATIONS
There’s a geopolitical dimension to rising U.S. shale gas production, according to a report from Rice University’s Baker Institute. The prospective quadrupling of production by 2040, to more than 40 billion cubic feet per day, could affect Russia’s ability to wield an “energy weapon” over Europe, the study said. Venezuelan and Iranian petro-power could also be affected, it added. On the domestic front, the study said, timely development of shale gas resources would limit U.S. need to import liquefied natural gas for at least two to three decades.
―Based on news and wire reports
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