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Energy Newsbriefs

Articles for September 24, 2012

ENERGY NEWSBRIEFS is a weekly current awareness service provided by the WSU Extension Energy Program Library and written by Angela Santamaria, WSU Energy Library Manager, to assist users in tracking developments in the energy field. To view past issues or to subscribe to receive an email notification of the publication of a new issue, go to the Energy Newsbriefs home.

Please be aware that although every URL is checked for accuracy prior to the publication of Energy Newsbriefs, URLs are, for various reasons, subject to change. Further, servers sometimes fail to connect to working URLs.


BIOENERGY

"HM3 Gears Up for Biomass Briquette Tests," by Anna Simet, Contributions Editor, Biomass Magazine was published in the August 2012 issue of that journal. It is a short article about the newly-funded emissions testing of the torrefied biomass bricks manufactured by an Oregon-based company.

BUILDING SCIENCE

The following two articles were published in the July/August issue of Distributed Energy:
  1. "Clever Construction," by David Engle, is a three-Web-page article describing the effect of clouds, smart meters, and smart grids on the BAS and EMS of new, smart buildings in the commercial sector.

  2. "Cubicle Comfort," by Carol Brzozowski, is a three-Web-page article about high-rise office buildings producing power onsite. It includes benefits to realize and challenges to overcome.

POLICY

"Dissolving Traditional Energy Boundaries" was written by Andrew Savage, Executive Management Team Member, AllEarth Renewables; it was posted on the author's blog, August 13, 2012, which is carried on the MHT website. The article addresses the paucity of, and opportunity for, net metering for groups to encourage community-scale renewables.

"Six New England States Launch Regional Renewable Energy Initiative," by staff, was published in the August 8, 2012, issue of EERE Network News. The New England states – Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont – are issuing an RFP (request for proposals) under their umbrella organization NESCOE (New England States Committee on Electricity) to procure renewables on a regional scale for the long-term.

The following two articles were published in the August 2012 issue of Environmental Building News (EBN); both may be slow to load:
  1. "Energy Reporting: It’s the Law," was written by Nadav Malin, President, and Tristan Roberts, editor; both of EBN; Continuing Education credit may be awarded to those qualified, but the article stands as a valuable and informative piece whether the reader seeks credit or not.

  2. "Feds Say Popular PACE Retrofit Program Is Still Too Risky," by Paula Melton, Managing Editor, EBN, explains that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the guarantors of most mortgages in the country, cannot stand behind mortgages taken out on properties that already have liens on them, because in the event of foreclosure, liens are paid back before mortgages. The question is whether PACE (properly assessed clean energy) financing involves liens or loans. The U.S. Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA) believes liens are involved.

RESIDENTIAL EFFICIENCY STRATEGIES

"Fall and Winter Energy-Saving Tips" is a Web page, revised (and re-named) seasonally, from the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Office of the U.S. Department of Energy. The site is now offering many tips for energy savings for the cooler months.

THERMAL TECHNOLOGIES

The following three articles appeared in the August 2012 issue of Industrial Heating:
  1. "A Breakthrough in Heat Treatment Is Coming" was written by Barry Ashby, Washington Editor, Industrial Heating. The author's information is from the company that has developed a patented technology to reduce heat losses that occur in the process of heat treatment.

  2. "Combustion Management," by Art Morris, Thermart Software, explains the complex balance between keeping oxygen levels high enough to minimize unburned fuels (so they do not represent energy losses in the flue gas) and low enough to minimize NOx in the flue gas. The author features his free, downloadable, Excel worksheet which calculates how much oxygen is best given the variables that make that determination so difficult.

  3. "Heat-Treat Audits" was authored by Daniel H. Herring, President of the Herring Group Inc. It discusses what audits of heat-treat departments examine and what results can be expected.

WATER

"Intertwined and Interdependent," by Soma Bhadra, Chief Executive Officer of Proteus Consulting, appeared in the July/August 2012 issue of Distributed Energy. The author shows how much energy is expended in supplying and treating water, how much water is used to produce energy, and how all this results in significant levels of greenhouse gas emissions. While attention to energy efficiencies (load reduction) at water facilities should continue, the future must include the load shifting that would result from cooperation between water and energy industries. Discussion includes how Dynamic Optimization with power grid integration would work in practice.


Past issues of Energy Newsbriefs are available here.

Generally, subscription information for the journals cited above can be found at the home page of their web sites.

© 2012 Washington State University Extension Energy Program. This publication contains material written and produced for public distribution. Permission to copy or disseminate all or part of this material is granted, provided that the copies are not made or distributed for commercial advantage, and that each is referenced by title with credit to the Washington State University Extension Energy Program. Copying, reprinting or dissemination, electronic or otherwise, for any other use requires prior written permission from the Washington State University Extension Energy Program.