Energy & Water

• 1st Quarter rig count up 40%
• Employment up by 9,000
• Doubling of drilling permits to 3,250
• More than 50%  increase in average crude prices

Fuel Fix | Oil and gas numbers boom; ‘A new cycle of expansion,’ expert says

Capacity markets: Ensure grid reliability by paying participants to commit generation for delivery years into the future.

PRO: 

• guaranteed revenue for energy generation
• encourage aspirational capacity
  • aspirational capacity refers to meeting state mandated renewable goals

CON:

• capacity mandates by the state give a competitive advantage to renewables who access incentives
• “ capacity markets remain vulnerable to price depression as a result of out-of-market subsidies”

Energy-only markets: Pay generators only when they provide power on a day-to-day basis. 

PRO:

• more efficient
• customers don’t pay for energy generation that won’t be called on for power
• protect competition
• promise of high prices during energy scarcity, incentivizes generators to build new plants and keep them ready to operate.
  • ​scarcity pricing has not been triggered when renewable capacity has filled the gap

CON:

• increasingly unstable in low cost energy production
• discourage generators from building new power plants without the guaranteed revenue of a capacity market
• relies on electric demand growth

Utility Dive | The great capacity market debate: Which model can best handle the energy transition?

What are the details of the Arizona-nrothern Mexico transmission tie?

•  300 MW direct current interconnection
• operational in 2019
• three-mile, 138-kV transmission line starting in Nogales

Utility Dive | Arizona-Mexico transmission tie could be complete by 2019

State:  Oklahoma

Wind tax credit repeal legislation: Oklahoma HB 2298 (2017)

The nuts and bolts of the wind credit repeal bill:

• Credits would end July 1 2017
• Supported by wind energy industry which is staking out the claim that it is the firs tindustry to work to end their own tax credits

Utility Dive | Oklahoma poised to roll back wind incentives — with the industry’s support

State: Maryland

The Tax credit details:

• 30% tax credit for the deployment of energy storage technologies
• the tax credit runs from 2018 through 2022
• capped at $5,000 for residential storage
• capped at $75,000 for commercial projects
• commercial projects also have an overall cap on credits awarded of $750,000 per year
• applies to these types of energy storage:
  • battery
  • mechanical storage
  • thermal storage

Maryland Senate Bill 758 (2017)

Utility Dive | Maryland passes 30% energy storage tax credit for residential, C&I installations

State: Florida

Legislative Fix: 

• Increase a reservoir capacity
• Stop overflows of toxic “guacamole water” into the state’s rivers and streams

The Eminent Domain issue:

•  Eminent domain authority amendments failed
• SB 10 prohibits the use of eminent domain

FLORIDA SB 10 (2017)

Florida Politics | Senate approves plan to fix Lake Okeechobee, end algae invasions

• Improved Technology.
  • ​$9 million to improve its information technology in its $44.9 million  supplmental requst
  • Houston Chronicle | Energy agency’s technology is in a time warp
• Quake Science.
  • ​$3.4 million from Texas lawmakers to continue operating a network of seismographs installed over the past two years
  • Ft. Worth Star Telegram | Lawmakers, scientists seek millions to study Texas earthquake data

What do these two funding requests have in common? Technology & Science for 2016.

Texas House Bill 2395 By Collier requires:

• schools must conduct  water testing 
• remediation of water sources testing positive for lead
• requires results must be posted online

California Assembly Bill 746 requires: 

• requires testing of school water sources
• schools would be required to inform parents and staff of water test results
• requies to shut off any water source that exceed EPA lead levels 

• New York
  • for its  Reforming the Energy Vision that incentivizes deployment of DERs and demand management as an alternative to traditional infrastructure
• California
  • for its integration of  DERs since 1998
• Minnesota
  • for its  grid reforms in vertically integrated markets
• Massachusetts
  • for its grid modernization that  focuses on making the system more efficient and resilient through a number of separate dockets, rather than one overarching utility reform proceeding 
• Rhode Island
  • for its  Power Sector Transformation

Utility Dive | The top 5 states for utility grid modernization and business model reform

• ” concerns over how the grid operator uses “reliability unit commitment” dispatching to maintain reliability”
• Public Utility Commission of Texas regulator Ken Anderson said at the meeting, “I view RUCs as a market failure or a failure by the operators, one or the other,”
• The new reliability desk was first reported this week by Platts after the ERCOT board meeting.

Utility Dive | Texas regulators voice concern over wind’s impact on ERCOT market, reliability

• Mexico is importing huge amounts of piped U.S. natural gas
  • 4.1 Bcf/d and mostly from Texas
• pipeline capacity to export to Mexico will expand by nearly 50% to 11 Bcf/d by summer
• 20 gas pipelines that enter Mexico from the U.S.
• Mexico’s demand for US fuels is growing nby 3-5% per year
• Mexico is also the main source of U.S. LNG,

Forbes  |  Mexico Is Also Importing U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas

Georgia Legislature passed House Bill 413 which crafted an eminent domain compromise for privately owned pipelines that:

• requires a 2 step permit process
  • Permit #1 is environmental and for the length of the entire pipeline
  • Permit #2 is from the Georgia DOT that grants a public need permit to authorize eminent domain
• the permits can be appealed by citizens when the permits are granted

Savannah Morning News | Georgia lawmakers pass compromise pipeline bill

State: Ohio

background: 9 years ago Ohio dopted renewable energy standards

The rational for removing the renewable energy standards: 

• Wind & solar comapnies don’t need the assistance. wind and solar power no longer need the assistance of a state law forcing power companies to support and sell green energy
• Utilities should decide their efficiency programs themselves. It dilutes the requirement that traditional electric utilities reduce peak demand by developing energy efficiency programs for their customers

What does the future of the bill look like in Ohio?

• Gov. Kaisich is expected to veto
• Opposition includes:
  • Ohio Conservative Energy Forum
  • WIRE-Net, a Cleveland-based manufacturing-focused economic development organization

What arguments are made against HB 114’s repeal of renewable standards?

• stops innovation
• curbs economic development
• harms Ohio’s ability to compete with Texas

Ohio House Bill 114 (2017)

Cleveland.com | Ohio House kills state renewable energy standards

• Going digital will be te largest transformation since Thomas Edison
• “Digitalization could squeeze an additional $387 billion from existing electricity assets by managing them better.”
• “digital tools and data analysis to the world’s electric grids could create $3.3 trillion in net economic value over the next 10 years by increasing efficiency and reliability”

As for a message in Texas: “failing to encourage innovation, Texas risks falling behind states that invest in tools that boost efficiency, increase reliability and generate clean energy.”

Houston Chronicle| Texas needs to do better at looking ahead on electricity

State: Michigan

What prompted the net metering study?  What types of rules should be promulgated based on a 2016 bill signed by Republican Governor that required:

• preservation of retail net metering
• tackling efficiency
• tackling demand response
• increasing the state’s renewable energy goal to 15% by 2021.

So what exactly is Michigan’s PUC rulemaking looking to do?

• create new tariffs for distributed renewable projects no larger than 150 kW, generating up to 100% of a customer’s annual use
• “new rules that will allow customers participating in a net metering programs approved before the new tariff to continue to receive service under the terms and conditions of that program for up to 10 years from the date of enrollment.”
• Projects 20 kW and below will qualify for traditional net metering rates
• Projects up to the limit of 150 kW, will utilize a modified rate
• Renewable credits will be owned by the customer
• Application fees cannot exceed $50
• Ccustomers bear all interconnection costs.

Utility Dive | Michigan starts studying costs of distributed generation

• 2nd consecutive quarter with stronger energy activity
• Business activity index is robust at 41.8
• input costs and selling prices — reflected expansion on a quarterly basis

NGI Shale Daily | Dallas Fed Reports Optimism — and Activity — Rising for Oil, NatGas Operators

Background on net metering in Nevada:

• 2015 Nevada’s PUC eliminated net metering
• 2015 Nevada’s PUC set a lower rate with fees
• After the lower rate & fees, the Nevada PUC sets up grandfathering in existing solar customers

What the Legislature is considering in 2017:

• Assembly Bill 270 requires a:
  •  base export rate of at least $0.09/kWh
  • a $0.02/kWh value on the environmental benefits
• AB 270 goals are to:
  • help grow clean energy jobs
  • boost renewable energy industry which decreased after the 2015 PUC action 

Utility Dive | Nevada lawmakers consider bill to restore retail net metering

• El Paso Energy attempted a monthly minimum charge for residential users of solar, wind turbines or battery storage. The charge was denied by the Texas Public Utility Commission.
• “Nationwide, regulators have rejected comparable requests from many utilities.“
• Oncor is asking the Texas Public Utility Commission for similar residential monthly charges of roughly $40.

What do advocates of solar, wind and battery storage say?

• The fee will discourage investment

What support do companies offer requesting the monthly charge?

• these customers cost the utility about $1.6 million in 2016
• the monthly charge is about paying for the electric grid

Dallas Morning News | The new Oncor is going after a new target: Texas homeowners with solar panels

State: California

The legislation: California AB 1405 (2017)

How it works: 

• Defines a four hour peak-load time period around the hour of each day that exhibits the highest peak demand

•  Directs state regulators to determine the percentage of clean kilowatt hours each electric utility delivers.

• In 2020, requires the California Public Utilities Commission to to ensure each utility increases the percentage of clean peak resources it delivers every 3 years for at least 15 days per month. 

Where did this blue state idea come from? A red state- Arizona. The Arizona state consumer advocate proposed tweaks to the state renewable portfolio standard (RPS) that could maximize the value of new capacity by adding a timing

Utility Dive | California bills propose ‘clean peak’ standard to boost renewables deployment

State: Utah

The legislation:  Utah House Bill 23 (2017) 

How Utah phased out solar tax credits:

• rooftop solar tax credit will be phased out by 2021
• the current $2000 tax credit will be reduced by $400 starting in 2018
• $400 annual reduction will continue until the phase out is complete

Utility Dive | Utah governor signs bill to phase out solar tax credit

State: Florida

Utility Project at issue: An 88 mile Florida Light & Power transmission line

The Legislation: Opponents say it overturns a 3 judge ruling requiring the project to follow local development rules by exempting utilities from development regulation

Florida SB 1048 (2017)

Miami Herald | City officials from Miami-Dade urge legislators to reject FPL transmission line bill

• free market means competition throughout the state, not ” single utilities serving wide swaths of Texas”
• Texas has low electricty rates, but the 5th highest energy bills in the US
• Texas current deregulation distorts “balancing energy supply and demand through fluctuating wholesale prices”
• According to a Girddy survey, 42% of Houstonians “want improvements in transparency, timeliness and accuracy of rate and energy usage information”
• Texans should have mobile access to more “demand response” of their electricty needs

Trib Talk | Gregory Craig CEO of Griddy | It’s time to deliver on the promise of electricity deregulation

Is oli & gas development near schools like selling alochol? or, like sexually oriented businesses?

Senate Bill 1868 & House Bill 3403  both seek to limit oil & gas development near schools.

Senate Bill 1868 sets up this regulatory system:

• public hearings for drilling within 1,500 feet of a school or daycare

 House Bill 3403sets up this regulatory system:

• allows municipalities the right to decide whether or not oil and gas companies can drill within 1,500 feet of a school

Fuel Fix | Two bills seek to limit drilling near schools and provide public notice

Ft. Worth Star Telegram | Bill seeks to reclaim local control over oil and gas drilling near schools

State: Connecticut

The legislative benefit: Reclassifying nucelar as a renewable

State: Illinois

The legislative benefit for nuclear: State funding of $325 million a year for 2 nuclear plants

Utility Dive | Connecticut bill would protect Millstone nuke by classifying it as a renewable resource

The pension: CALPERS

The water bank: Willow Springs Water Bank

How does the water bank operate?

• It’s a collection of Los Angeles-area water agencies
• The LA agencies pay fees to store water
• The water stored  bolsters supplies during dry periods

Who: The retired head of Michigan’s Health and Human Services Epidemiology Department

The plea bargain: No contest to  a charge of willful neglect of duty

The sentencing: 1 year probation

Are there more criminal charges coming? Yes, 7 others face crimes up to tampering with evidence

Governing | Ex-Health Official Sentenced to Probation for Flint Water Crisis

What problem is fixed by small modular reactors? The impact of Federal repeals of incentives for wind and solar on renewable energy generation in non-attainment areas.

What is a small modular reactor? 

• a small modular reactor is nuclear energy
• that is a fraction of the size of existing nuclear power plants
• can be built/installed quickly
• less expensive to operate
  • a 50-megawatt SMR has 1/20th as much fuel as a typical nuclear plant
• safer to operate

Do small modular reactors exist?  NuScale, an Oregon-based nuclear company, is seeking certification of an SMR to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

How much power is generated? 12 modules generate 600 megawatts

FuelFix | Commentary: An important new electricity source for Texas

Where: Dimmit County

Who: Alphabet Energy Inc.

What is Alpahebet Energy Inc. doing? Using a thermoelectric generator that converts waste heat from flares into electricity at an oil well

What the company says about cost:  cost-competitive with diesel generators and other power sources

San Antonio Business Journal | Tech company turning natural gas flares into electricity in Eagle Ford (slideshow)

The report: by the World Economic Forum, The Future of Electricity: New Technologies Transforming the Grid Edge

What technology is considered part of the sharing economy? Grid Edge Technology

What is Grid Edge Technology? Smart and connected technologies at the end of the electric power grid, such as:

• distributed storage
• distributed generation
• smart meters
• smart appliances
• electric vehicles

Why is this compared to the sharing economy? Because it puts the consumer in charge by:

• producing their own electricity
• storing their own electricity
• consuming electricity at a cheaper time
• selling electricity back to the grid

Modern Diplomacy | Power to the People: How the Sharing Economy Will Transform the Electricity Industry

• Shift chain of command. Florida’s consumer advocate will report to the Attorney General
• Change Appointments to utility commission. Require geographic/regional appointments
• Term Limits for Commissioners.  2- 4 year terms max.

Florida Municipal Electric Assoc. | House Proposes Changes in Utility Regulation

News Service of Forida | House targets changes in utility regulation

Utility Dive | Florida subcommittee advances bill to revise utility regulation

• Homeland Security says Energy has the highest security flaws of all industries
• Gulf waters provide an opportunity for unprotected wireless signals that can hack the concerntration of energy facilities on the Gulf Coast
• Energy Equipment designed decades ago without security features
• “Efforts over the years to link computer networks to devices that monitor pressure or control valves have exposed operations to online threats”
• Oil & gas aren’t subject to the stricter cybersecurity measures required for power, chemical and nuclear facilities

AP | Hackers Drawn to Energy Sector’s Lack of Sensors, Controls

Oil Price.com | Texas Oil Companies Exposed To Major Cyber Threat

The power management tool: virtual power plants

What is a virtual power plant? A way to manage green power and feed it into the power grid as needed

How do virtual power plants operate?

•  By using communication and control technology
• To make a bunch of distributed energy assets act like one big energy asset

Wallstreet Journal | How California Utilities Are Managing Excess Solar Power

The pipeline name:“EPIC” pipeline — which stands for Eagle Ford, Permian, Ingleside and Corpus

The pipeline details:

• 730-mile
• oil carrying pipe
• from West texas to the Gulf of Mexico
• transport  590,000 barrels a day barrels per day of crude oil and condensate
• more than half the size of the Keystone XL pipeline extension that TransCanada Corp. has been trying to build since 2012
• funded by private equity investors

The companies behind the project:

• San Antonio-based midstream company TexStar
• Texas-based midstream company Ironwood Midstream Energy Partners
• Stamford, Connecticut-based commodities trader Castleton Commodities International

Corpus Christi Caller Times | 730-mile pipeline bound for Corpus Christi

The Company: E.ON

The Texas project: The Texas Waves energy storage projects in Pyron and Inadale

The business trend: battery storage for wind energy

The amount of energy that can be stored: Batteries will hold 20 megawatts of power

2017 Goal: 2 large-scale storage solutions providing 9.9 MW of energy to the Texas grid

UPI | German company to store wind energy in batteries in Texas

What regulators are saying:

• 74% of regulators saw “flexibility” for utilities as a benefit of the cloud
• 70% saw it helping utilities keep up with technology changes
• 61% indicated it will give utilities better access to applications

Regulatory common ground:

• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Uniform System of Accounts (USOA) as a rationale for treating cloud computing like onsight software
•  May 2016 New York Public Service Commission order allowing utilities to earn a rate of return on prepaid SaaS subscriptions.
• Illinois is is leading the only regulatory proceeding in the U.S.examining the value of software as a service (SaaS) and cloud computing to utilities.

Utility Dive | Utilities, regulators find common ground in reforms to encourage cloud computing

Why did the earthquake risk decline? “fewer felt earthquakes occurred in 2016 than in 2015”

Are  there caveats on the decrease? 

• ““The forecast for induced and natural earthquakes in 2017 is hundreds of times higher than before induced seismicity rates rapidly increased around 2008,”
• Texas has an enhanced hazard from induced seismicity
• The decrease in Texas earthquake activity is liekly due to a decrease in injection wells

USGS | New USGS Maps Identify Potential Ground-Shaking Hazards in 2017

Dallas Morning News | Are earthquakes gone from our area for good?

State: Arizona

The result of the rooftop solar rate case in Arizona: new rooftop solar customers would be paid $0.129/kWh for excess energy exported to the grid

The details:

• export rate declines 10% annually for new rooftop solar systems
• customers lock in rates for 10 years at sign up
• Solar energy consumed by end users themselves would be valued at about $0.105/kWh
• offset rate would be lower for demand charge rate options, likely between $0.096 and $0.078/kWh
• time-of-use rates
• residential demand charges
• 20-year grandfathering period

Utility Dive | Arizona Public Service, solar industry reach critical rate case settlement

Consumers benefit from Mexico’s deregulated energy market by:

• enhanced energy security
• energy resiliency from this integrated production platform
• Mexico’s growing export market has helped U.S. producers survive
• Increased exports to Mexico frees up capital to ensure oil and gas exploration and production

The Hill | Energy Policy Research Foundation| US consumers benefit from energy integration with Mexico, Canada​

Eminent Domain and the Plains States go together like Coffee and Fika. 

What’s the new twist in eminent domain legislation in Nebraska? 

• Preventing public utilities from using eminent domain to aquire privately owned electric generation or transmission facilities.
• Not giving private developers eminent domain authority

Are these intra-industry eminent domain fights du rigor in Nebraska? Yes, in 2016, Nebraska passed a bill to prevent public power districts’ authority to use eminent domain to seize renewable energy facilities

Does the 2017 bill have any carrots for private electric companies? Yes

• Deregulation 
•  if certain benchmarks are met, it will exempt privately developed electric generation/ transmission facilities from review by the Nebraska Power Review Board

Nebraska LB 547 (2017)

Unicameral Update | Bill would shield private electric facilities from eminent domain

State: Utah 

The Legislation: Phase out current solar tax credit, reducing it by $400 in year one, until a complete phase out on 1.1.2022.

The current tax credit for solar: $2,000 credit 

The selling point: Adds  $5.4 million to public education funding 

Utah’s House Bill 23 (2017) 

Salt Lake Tribune | Legislature sends governor bill to phase out solar income-tax credit

• District heating & cooling. Centralizing heating & cooling via a main source allowing a central plant to be advanced to use more sustainable and clean forms of fuel
• Tree power.  Using waste from the forest industry to generate heat and power
• Geothermal heating to capture body heat.  Heating public buildings by using human generated heat.

Sweden.se | 7 EXAMPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY IN SWEDEN

The water way: Upper San Saba River

The Management Plan delegation at issue: Granting a private board the power to regulate all diversions from the Upper San Saba River 

What did the Attorney General Opinion Say? 

• Maybe it goes too far, maybe not. It’s a question of fact for the courts. 
• There’s a 8 part test from the TX Supreme Court to figure this out.
• In that test, that some of the board members may have a pecuniary interest weighs against a constitutional delegation, but there 7 other equally important factors.

KP-0133

What CPS Entity is rescuing animals at power plants? Worthwhile Animal Rescue Mission (WARM), a non-profit founded by CPS in 2011

Do they work with breed specific rescues? Yes, they transfer rescued animals to breed specific rescue organizations for home placement or transfer an animal to a no-kill shelter

How many animals have been helped since 2011? 203

How do CPS employees contribute? By volunteering with WARM  to help animals that have been abandoned near power plants 

San Antonio Express News | CPS Energy’s nonprofit rescues stray animals found at power plants

Where: Michigan

What are lawmakers saying in Michigan about smart meters? 

• This is a property rights issue. Property owners have a property right in rejecting smart meters without any cost to the property owner.
• This is a data security issue. A more connected world means invitations for hackers.

Michigan HB 4220 (2017)

Advocacy Group: Texas Energy Advocates Coalition

TEAC is based in : San Antonio

Founded by: Kym Bolado with Shale Magazine

TEAC’s purpose: connect regular people & members of the business community with the energy industry.

First ever TEAC day at the Texas Capitol: February 22, 2017

San Antonion Business Journal | SA-based group to hold Citizens for LNG & Energy Day at state capitol

The Companies involved: Howard Energy Partners, Watco, Ferropuerto Midstream

The transportation project: Rail from Houston to Aguascalientes in North Central Mexico

Completion Date: November 2017

The products carried through the terminal:  gasoline, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas

Tank Terminals | Mexican Company to Build Fuel Rail, Storage Terminal in Mexico

Where: North Dakota

The bills:

• Criminalize the wearing of masks for adults, most of the time
• Increase penalties for rioting
• Increase penalties for trespassing

The catalyst: The protests at Dakota Access pipeline

Bismark ND | Daily Journal | North Dakota Senate OKs bills aimed at pipeline protesters

In 2016, here’s how the import-export picture looked like between the U.S. and Mexico

• U.S. energy exports to Mexico tallied $20.2 billion
•  U.S. energy imports from Mexico tallied $8.7 billion
• 9% of crude imports into the US come from Mexico
• Crude imports were approximately 588,000 barrels per day
• U.S. sent 849,000 barrels per day of petroleum products to Mexico
• U.S. imported only 87,000 barrels of petroleum products per day from Mexico
• Natural gas exports tallied 3.8 billion cubic feet per day

Midland Reporter Telegram | US exports more energy products to Mexico than it imports

A report in Nature Energy by Robert Fares and Michael Webber says that:

• battery storage system could reduce peak power demand by 8% to 32%
• battery storage system could reduce peak power injections by anywhere from 5% to 42%
• storage inefficiencies increase annual energy consumption on average by 324 kWh to 591 kWh per household
•  storage indirectly increases emissions of carbon dioxide by 153 to 303 kilograms, of sulfur dioxide by 0.03 to 0.20 kg, and of nitrogen oxide by 0.04 to 0.26 kg per household.

The data is based on home usage in Austin, TX.

Yes, you read that correctly, energy storage inefficiencies increase energy consumption under current capacity and storage.

Utility Dive | Residential storage can undercut benefits of rooftop solar, says new study

In the States:

• American Wind Energy Association passed conventional hydropower dams to become the largest source of renewable electricity capacity in the U.S
• Wind is the 4th largest power source overall
• There’s a catch on the #1 ranking, if you take into account both conventional hydroelectric dams & pump storage power hydropower remains #1 renewable in the US

In Europe:

• Wind surpassed coal to be Europe’s #2 power source
• Wind accounts for 16.7% of Europe’s power
• #1 power source in Europe is natural gas

The Hill | Wind tops nation in renewable energy capacity for first time

FuelFix | Wind power surpasses coal in European energy market

State:  New York

Data sharing requirement: New York’s  Reforming the Energy Vision

What former FERC Chair Jon Wellinghoff​ Says: “The sharing of distribution-level data by New York utilities can fundamentally change the way utilities and third-parties operate not just in New York, but throughout the whole country,” 

The goals of utility data sharing: more clean resources and cut consumer costs

The concerns about data sharing:  utility data privacy issues & sharing infrastructure data around airports and other high risk facilities

Utility Dive | How utility data sharing is helping the New York REV build the grid of the future

A bill in California calls for public funds to be divested from interests in Dakota Access Pipeline. CALPERS wants to keep these investments whcih include investments in Wells Fargo.

What argument is offered against divestment?

• ““Investors that divest lose their ability as shareowners to influence the company to act responsibly”

Also this week, Seattle voted to divest from Dakota Access Pipeline.

Sacramento Bee | CalPERS wants to keep investments in Dakota Access pipeline

4 Regional Chairs of the Texas Energy Caucus.

The Chair of East Texas: Jay Dean

Longview News Journal | Jay Dean chosen as leader of energy caucus

Convenience Store Decisions says the deregulated diesel and gasoline prices in Mexico is “spilling into West Texas.”

Convenience Store Decisions | Mexican Fuel Deregulation Causing Ripples

The Company: PowerFunnel

The founders: UT-SA alum- Victoria native Cole Brady & Bill Tolhurst

The nuts and bolts of solar for rural areas:

• easily transported
• easily assembled
• sits on the ground with a 25-degree pitch
• weatherproof electrical components that convert the solar energy for residential use

How quickly can these rural solar devices pay for themselves? Depends on the tax incentives

Victoria Advocate | Victoria native develops solar unit for rural use

The group: Texans for Natural Gas

The group’s background:  Started in 2014 in North Texas as North Texans for Natural Gas. Currently has more than 200,000 members.

Purpose. Mission. Goal.: 

• For the glass half empty types: fights activists protesting oil and gas development in Texas
• For the glass half full types:  give a voice to those who support energy developmen

Fuel Fix | North Texas oil and gas advocacy group expands statewide

Experts: Stanford’s Earth science and environmental law experts

The legal recommendation to halt fracking: a conservation easement which they’ve named a mineral estate conservation easement (MECE) 

What’s not needed for a conservation easement:  government regulation

The property value impact of a MECE: the property value is diminished but offset by a tax write-off

Are MECEs permitted in Texas? Yes

Standford News | New analysis suggests ways for landowners to limit fracking and mineral extraction without regulations

PHYS.ORG | New analysis suggests ways for landowners to limit fracking and mineral extraction without regulations


 

• The U.S. has its first oil surplus with Latin America
• surplus of 89,000 barrels a day of petroleum begain in October 2016
• 1st surplus since 1993
• 184,000 barrels a day suplus by November 2016
• 50% of Mexico’s gasoline consumption is U.S. gasoline

Petroleum World | First-ever oil trade surplus U.S. with Latin America

San Antonio Water System opened a new H2Oaks Center, a desalination facility, on January 27th which will:

• Pull water from the salty Wilcox Aquifer
• The Wilcox aquifer, desalinated water, will be mixed with:
  • Fresh water from the Carrizo Aquifer
  • And with SAWS’s underground water reserves
• Will produce an extra 12 million gallons of water per day
• Will produce enough water for 53,000 homes
• This phase of the H2Oaks facility began construction in 2014 with a cost of $197 million

Texas Public Radio | SAWS Opens New Water Desalination Plant

The state: Iowa

Utility information must be dislcosed?  Yes, currently in Iowa cybersecurity at utility companies is accessible to the public

Why would regulators want to protect utility data security information? To allow state regulators to communicate more freely with utilities and federal regulators about cybersecurity + safety

Globe Gazette | Iowa utilities regulator to seek exemptions from public records law

A University of Texas Cockrell School of Engineering study, published on January 30, 2017, in Nature, found that:

• Solar panels that store energy for nighttime use cause an increase in energy consumption by 8-14% per year
• Solar panels that store energy for nighttime use increases emissions compared with sending excess solar energy directly to the utility grid
• “This [study]  also counters the prevailing myth that storage is needed to integrate distributed solar power just because it doesn’t produce energy at night.” – Michael Webber, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and deputy director of UT Austin’s Energy Institute
• Solar energy storage reduces peak grid demand by 8 to 32%
• Solar energy storage reduces the magnitude of solar power injections to the grid by 5 to 42% 

  PHYS.ORG | Storing solar power increases energy consumption and emissions, study finds
   

What entity created the energy calculator? Energy Institute at the University of Texas

What does it do? Determines what type of electricity is the cheapest to generate, based onw here you live

Does it include distribution costs too? Yes

Does it include other costs too? Yes, it also includes indirect costs that impact our health and the environment due to air pollution, over time.

Everything Lubbock | University of Texas Study Determines Cheapest Electricity for the Future

UT’s “Full Cost of Electricity” study & UT’s online calculators

70% of Americans anticipate major cyberattacks in the next 5 years on our nation’s public infrastructure

EPIC.ORG | Pew Survey Finds Support for New US Privacy Laws, Limits on Data Retention: | Pew Survey Finds Majority of Americans Are Data Breach Victims

The bill: North Carolina Legislature is considering HB 10 which would extend the authority of eminent domain by allowing it to connect customers. The bill’s language:

The bill’s text expanding powers: “Connection of Customers. – For the public use, private condemnors, local public condemnors, and other public condemnors in subsections (a), (b), (b1), and (c) of this section shall possess the power of eminent domain and may acquire by purchase, gift, or condemnation any property for the connection of any customer or customers.”

The bill’s language to entice private property rights advocates: At the same time HB 10 would limit eminent domain, and the connection of consumers, by requiring a public use for eminent domain.

North Carolina HB 10 (2017)

Carolina Journal | Eminent domain amendment back in play

The state: Illinois

The water testing requirements for schools & day care facilities:

• which facilities does the law apply to? 
  • day cares
  • schools with students up to 5th grade
  • schools built before 2000 
• who pays for the water testing? the school / the day care
• will parents be notified? yes

Governing | New Illinois Law Requires Schools to Test Water for Lead

A bill to allow for private sale of electricity in Nebraska also includes a laundry list of eminent domain prohibitions for all electric generators and distributors.

Nebraska’s LB 660 would prohibit eminent domain for:

• generation
•  transmission
• distribution

If that isn’t enough, a stand alone bill calling for no eminent domain for the electric industry also exists in LB 547

Omaha World Herald | Nebraska lawmakers introduce bills that would end public power companies’ monopoly, use of eminent domain

Nebraska LB 660 & Nebraska LB 547

Total U.S. savings for power generation in deregulated markets: $3 Billion.

University of Chicago | Study Shows Electricity Markets Are More Cost-Effective Than Cost of Service Regulation

FuelFix | Study finds that deregulated power markets decrease cost of generating power by $3 billion a year

The state: North Dakota

The legislative tactics to reign in protests:

• Make it a crime for adults to wear masks at protests
• Limit liability of a driver who unintentionally injuress or kills a pedestrian obstructing traffic on a public road or highway. 
• Require the state’s attorney general to sue the federal government  to recover law enforcmeent costs occured from the pipeline protests

NBC News | Pipeline Protesters Decry North Dakota Bills That ‘Criminalize’ Protests

What part of infrastructure building is being called crony capitalism? stimulus projects and privately financed projects with a public purpose

What is the link of water projects to crony capitalism? it was an insiders game

What’s the link between water projects, infrastructure building, and crony capitalism? Private companies with eminent domain authority partaking in a govenrment function, like eminent domain, for private gain.

The Jackson Sun | Crony capitalism masquerading as infrastructure reform

The state: Wyoming

The legislative proposal: Require 95% of utulity deliveries to be from “”eligible resources” which excludes wind and solar

The impact to utilities if they don’t comply: A “penalty of $10/MWh for energy not supplied from a list of resources that includes net-metered projects and traditional resources like coal, gas, nuclear, hydro and oil.”

Wyoming Senate File 71

Utility Dive | Wyoming lawmakers want to limit utility usage of in-state wind energy

The state: Georgia

The effects of repealing the electric vehicle tax credit:

• Georgia replaced a tax credit with a registration fee
• Electric Vehicle sales declined 80%
• The sales decline has been consistent.

Utility Dive | Georgia electric vehicle sales shrink 80% in wake of tax credit repeal

Montana is considering 2 bills that would require additional scrutiny of utility bills including:

• House Bill 189 requires regulator review of utility fees and prohibit trackers on meters to adjust fees
• House Bill 193 prohibits a specific utility from recovering the full cost of power it purchases from other sources

Utility Dive | Montana lawmakers push to increase scrutiny on utility costs

Texas facilities have made their first delivery of deisel fuel to Mexico via rail from Corpus Christi. 

Tank Terminals  | Mexico Finally Gets First Diesel Delivery via Rail From Texas

The State: Utah

The legislative action: In 2011, to protect private property rights, Utah restricted access to navigable waters that traverse private property. Anglers and floaters had to ask for permission to use navigable waters that cross private property.

The conundrum: 1000 miles of prime fishing flows through private lands

The courts:  Justices question the logic of applying statutory access standards that allow people to walk on a river but not float on a river.

KSL | Utah Supreme Court wades into stream access cases

UTAH’s HB 141 (2011)

In response to the water contamination in Flint, Michigan, the Michigan Legislature passed HB 5120 (2015-2016) to:

• improve notice to the public
• when is the notice required? when a water supply has  exceeded the federal “action level” for lead
• how quickly must the notice be sent? within 3 business days

What lingering lead level issues exist? The bill’s author thinks the federal lead standards are too lax

Governing | Flint-Inspired Law Forces Faster Public Notice About Contaminated Water

The Department of Energy’s QUADRENNIAL ENERGY REVIEW: SECOND INSTALLMENT, directly links natural gas piepline cybersecurity to the stability and cybersecurity of the nation’s electric grid. (See page 4-32 et. al.)

What federal report is warning of doom and gloom in electric grid security? A 500 page report from the Department of Energy | read it here

What label does the DOE give the electric grid? A national security asset

What benefits would the grid have if its labeled a national security asset? more fedderal protection and more federal funding. 

What cybersecurity issues does the report raise?

• increase information sharing between the government & industry
• lack of security-specific technological and workforce resources 
• multi-jurisdictional threats  
• Cyber security needs for pipelines are directly tied to cyber security needs for the electric grid

The Hill | Energy Dept. report highlights new threats to electric grid

Which utility was hacked? Burlington Electric, the municipally-owned utility

What hack was discovered? Malware that traces to Russian hackers according to U.S. officials

Was the the grid in Vermont impacted? No, the malware was isolated to a single laptop

How was the malware discovered? U.S. Department of Homeland Security asked the utility to monitor its computer systems

NPR | Vermont Utility Says It Found Malware Linked To Russian Hacking On Laptop

The start up setting new trends in water delivery for oil and gas: Sourcewater

The business goal: Connecting oil and gas with industrial water supply, including finding, transporting, and recycling water

The niche: Fracking obtains its industrial water supply largely by word of mouth

MIT News | Startup offers “online booking” for industrial water

The House Committee Natural Resources Committee interim committee report makes these recommendations:

• Water Markets:
  • Regional planning groups should be encouraged to work together & across regions for new sources of water.
  • “Direct groundwater conservation districts to set and enforce easy to digest rules for water markets in their area.”
• Desalination
  • TWDB should continue to review the feasibility of seawater desalination 
• Regional Water Planning
  • Noting the complexity of the situation, the committee recommends that regions be required “to more thoroughly assess & address particular types of strategies or planning approaches. “
• Aquifer Storage
  • “Texas should promote more aquifer storage and recovery projects throughout the state to prevent freshwater loss. “

House Committee on Natural Resources December 2016

What’s the Trans Pecos Pipeline?  A West Texas pipeline that will deliver natural gas to Mexico & the pipeline cost will be paid by Mexico so it can power electricty plants

What characteristics of the Trans Pecos pipeline that draw parallels with the Dakota Pipeline protest?

• Landowners talk about court awards in the millions that they won but that are unpaid.
  • The pipeline is appealing the awards.
• Native Americans are getting involved to protest in Texas
• The Texas land includes some of the last legacy ranch land in the US
• The Trans Pecos goes through Big Bend Park

What do I need to know about the protest camps?

• Started forming in mid-December
• 3 Camps.
  • 1 near Alpine
  • #2 camp near the ghost town of Casa Piedra called Two Rivers Camp
  • #3 camp near Toyahvale, near the Balmorhea State Park & its water springs
• spearheaded by Big Bend Defense Coalition, an environmental advocacy group
• The Society of Native Nations, a group based in San Antonio & key to the North Dakota protests, is involved

Fronteras | Dakota Pipeline Standoff Echoes In Texas: Mexico Still Counting On US Natural Gas

Ft Worth Star Telegram | Protesters opening camps to protest West Texas drilling and pipeline

What 6 things do I need to know about the Port of Houston and the volume of plastics resin moving through the port?

• 45.7% of the overall US volume of 335,329 TEUs moves through the Port of Houston
• #2 is New Orleans at 13.6%
• Cheap natural gas has led analysts to estimate that resin traffic will boom to 500,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units of annual US resin exports
• In 2017, new polyethylene will start moving through the port, with an estiamted production of 9.4 million metric tons a year of new polyethylene from 2016 to 2021
• 10 yers ago Los Angeles and Long Beach had a slight edge over Houston
• In the last 10 years, Houston has doubled its resin exports by:
  • expanding Bayport and Barbours Cut container terminals
  • deepening the channel
  • improving road and rail connections

Journal of Commerce | US ports’ battle for resins will intensify in 2017

Platts | US ports prime themselves for expected uptick in petchem exports

Mexico’s demand for natural gas keeps increasing & its all in the numbers:

• 25% increase in daily pipeline exports to Mexico in August 2016
• The August 2016 increase is also 85% above the daily average from 2011 to 2015
•  7.3 billion cubic feet per day is the current natural gas export rate
• $34 billion in investment over 35 years for the most recent auction of Mexico’s formerly controlled Gulf drilling
• Mexico is adding 12 new pipelines with a capacity of 9.7 billion cubic feet of gas per day

San Antonio Express News | Mexico’s growing appetite for U.S. natural gas

Which Houstonian launched a $1B clean energy fund in Houston? John Arnold

The fund:  Breakthrough Energy Ventures

The roots of the fund:  Breakthrough Energy Coalition consisting of Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg, George Soros + others

Breakthrough Energy ventures will invest in: early and mid-stage companies that have an impact on greenhouse emissions and provide a financial return for the fund

Houston Business Journal | Houston billionaire, others launch $1B clean tech energy fund

State: Virginia

Solar Coalition Goal : Utilities + Solar look to add 40 MW to Dominon’s grid & up to 10 MW for Appalachian Power grid.

What regulatory bonuses are included?

• expidited permitting
• 1st solar power purchase agreement in Virginia + no cost shifting to rate payers

Utility Dive | Virginia utilities back legislation to open solar opportunities, including community solar

The project denied eminent domain: An oil pipeline through rural Ohio

What were the judge’s objections?

• The company pointed to a $237.3 Million economic boon and the court said economic development is not a reason for eminent domain
• The pipeline provides no direct benefit or service to Ohioans.
• The common carrier statute that applies to pipelines like this is an unconstitutional infringement on the property rights of Ohioans

Legal Trends in the Rust Belt meet Legislative Trends in the Southeast and Beyond.

Sentinel Trribune | Court rules Kinder Morgan can’t use eminent domain for pipeline

The state: California

The state agency: California Energy Commission

The regulations: energy-efficiency standards for computers and monitors sold in the state, including:

• After 15 minutes of inactivity the monitor turns off
• After 30 minutes of inactivity the computer enters sleep mode

Regulatory history: Proposed in March 2015. Phased introduction of standards from Jan. 1, 2018, to July 1, 2021.

Energy savings: 

• 2,332 gigawatt-hours a year
• $373 million annually in utility bills
• Will be able to power 350,000 homes for a year

Sacramento Bee | California adopts nation’s first energy-efficiency standards for computers, monitors

The city: Hastings, Nebraksa

The target property to acquire: Utility poles owned by Windstream

The public purpose: Acquiring a secure the means of distributing electricity to the citizens of Hastings without relying on a 3rd party for repair

Hastings Tribune | Council approves eminent domain for utility pole ownership

The Irrigation District: Engelman Irrigation District

The State Auditor report:

• Financial Concerns. Need to be able to pay the bills.
  • ​insufficient controls to meet financial obligation
  • sales revenue went down 60.5% from 2014 to 2016
• Statutory Concerns. Need to be able to follow the law. The district did not:
  • “determine what percentage of the District’s maintenance and operating expenses should be covered by its various rates”
  •  “develop written policies and procedures in most key business areas”
  •  “approve budgets in a timely manner”
  • ” sufficiently bond its board members.”
• The district’s cost to get water went up 130%

State Auditor Report 17-017

New publication on Mexican deregulation: ICIS Mexico Energy Report

The Texas pipeline site: Trans Pecos Pipeline

The protests: 3 members of the Big Bend Defense Coalition were arrested 

What’s different between the North Dakota protests and the Texas protests? The Texas protest doesn’t have a hook that includes water contamination of Native Americans

Breitbart | 3 Arrested at West Texas Energy Pipeline Construction Site

• there should be competitive nuetrality in software systems
  • right now on-sit, in-house software is a capital expense, cloud computing is not
• can help utilities streamline operations by providing easy to update and always up-to-date software
• can help utilities cut costs of installation and integration
• the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners passed a resolution supporting it

Utility Dive | Why NARUC wants state regulators to incentivize utility cloud computing

Which state’s utility is entering the EV charging station market? California

What do the 3 proposals approved by the California PUC look like?

• One EV charging plan will be wholly utility owned
• One EV charging plan will have independent charger providers
• One EV charging plan will be a hybrid with utility and independent ownership

The regulators concern? Whether utility owned EV charging stations hamper competition and freezes out indpendent ownership in the EV charging market

Utility Dive | How PG&E’s EV charging pilot will test utility ownership models

Wind energy provided 15% of Texas power supply on Sunday, November 27, 2016. 

How has wind energy been stacking up?

• In 2015, the daily average for wind was 11.7% of ERCOT
• IN 2016, wind is expected to be 14.7% of ERCOT

ERCOT | Wind generation output tops 15,000 MW in ERCOT region

Breaking Energy | Wind Surges To Nearly 15 Percent Of Texas Power Supply

Who sponsored the poll? University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Who participated? 3,000 homeowners in Florida, Texas and California

What do the homeonwers prefer, in order of preference?:

• incentives for water efficient equipment
• more practical conservation information
• easier identification of water-efficient appliances
• better landscape irrigation ordinances

Science Daily | Homeowners want incentives to conserve more water, survey shows

What one step allowed Nebraska’s Central Platte Natural Resources District to thwart a ransomeware attack? Their computer system backsup every 15 minutes.

SC Media | Nebraska irrigation district thwarts ransomware attack with automatic backup

SB 177 by Van Taylor, the Majority Rights Protection Act.

The economic benefits: Estimated to bring 1000s of jobs back to Texas

The change from current law: Currently 100% of mineral rights owners must agree to secondary or tertiary drilling. SB 177 lowers 100% threhold to 70%.

The opponents: 

• The 4th attempt at unitization changes.
• Previous changes haven’t made it out of a legislative chamber
• It amounts to a taking of property without compensation

RigZone | Texas Bill Would Give Super Majority Rights to Drill Old Wells

The current standard to be considered an active well:  10 barrels of oil or 100,000 cubic feet of natural gas per month for at least 3  consecutive months

The new standard for active wells: five barrels of oil or 50,000 cubic feet of gas per month for 3 consecutive months

Midland Reporter Telegram | RRC relaxes requirements for plugging inactive wells

Where is there talk of sharing economy arriving in energy? Australia

How will sharing enter the energy market? micro-grids in peer-to-peer rating and community-focused energy systems

Renew Economy | Why sharing solar is the next big thing in energy industry

Where: Michigan

The regulators who want to impsoe data security standards on utilities: Michigan Public Service Commission

What data security requirements would be added to utlities?

• require annual reporting that overivews:
  • utility cybersecurity programs
  • staffing numbers
  • describes employee training
  • explains cybersecurity threats that have been experienced

Washington Times | State wants rules to toughen utilities’ cybersecurity