NEW DELHI, May 20 -- The government of India issued the following news release:

The surplus power from the States can be transferred to a power deficit State through the Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) from the source of supply depending upon the available transfer capacity (ATC) between the point of supply and point of drawl. Open Access in transmission (introduced by the Central Government through Electricity Act, 2003), trading mechanism and Power Exchange in accordance with the relevant regulations notified by CERC facilitate this process. National Grid, for evacuation of power from generating sources located in different regions in the country and facilitating transfer of power from surplus to deficit regions, is in place. In addition, licenses have been granted for trading of power. Power exchanges have also been set up for facilitating transfer of power from surplus to deficit States. The surplus power available with the States is also supplied by the States to other needy and desirous States under bilateral arrangements.

People are an intriguing lot, which, for those of us in the social sciences, makes them all the more interesting to study. For those in the public or private sector, though, humans can be perplexing, and often vexing creatures for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes there's no apparent link between what people think - or say they think - and how they act. Other times, people are difficult to persuade that change is good. And more times than not, people want their cake and eat it too.

Even when confronted with unassailable facts - for example, lower costs of electricity or lower carbon footprints - some people will cling tenaciously to old ways. Conversely, a few might abandon old ways and jump on radical bandwagons for no apparent reason. More likely, though, people will say they embrace something - the green movement, for example -- but what they really mean is, "I embrace your embracing it; I'm too set in my ways to do much changing."

Being an engineer

ENP Newswire - 21 May 2013

Release date- 17052013 - DES MOINES, Iowa - MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company and TransAlta Corporation (TSX: TA; NYSE: TAC) announced today the formation of CalEnergy, LLC, a new special purpose entity that will allow CalEnergy to market reliable green power in a new way.

WYLFA nuclear power station could generate electricity until the end of 2015 - potentially securing more than 600 jobs for another 15 months.

The Anglesey nuclear plant secured permission in October 2010 to extend the operational life of the two reactors to December 2012.

SUMMARY: This action would establish more stringent vehicle emissions standards and reduce the sulfur content of gasoline beginning in 2017, as part of a systems approach to addressing the impacts of motor vehicles and fuels on air quality and public health. The proposed gasoline sulfur standard would make emission control systems more effective for both existing and new vehicles, and would enable more stringent vehicle emissions standards. The proposed vehicle standards would reduce both tailpipe and evaporative emissions from passenger cars, light-duty trucks, medium-duty passenger vehicles, and some heavy-duty vehicles. This would result in significant reductions in pollutants such as ozone, particulate matter, and air toxics across the country and help state and local agencies in their efforts to attain and maintain health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Motor vehicles are an important source of exposure to air pollution both regionally and near roads. These proposed vehicle standards are intended to harmonize with California's Low Emission Vehicle program, thus creating a federal vehicle emissions program that would allow automakers to sell the same vehicles in all 50 states. The proposed vehicle standards would be implemented over the same timeframe as the greenhouse gas/fuel efficiency standards for light-duty vehicles, as part of a comprehensive approach toward regulating emissions from motor vehicles.

EFFECTIVE DATE: Comments. Comments must be received on or before June 13, 2013.

The following information was released by the Department of Energy, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory:

Enough Northwest wind energy to power about 85,000 homes each month could be stored in porous rocks deep underground for later use, according to a new, comprehensive study. Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Bonneville Power Administration identified two unique methods for this energy storage approach and two eastern Washington locations to put them into practice.

Compressed air energy storage plants could help save the region's abundant wind power which is often produced at night when winds are strong and energy demand is low for later, when demand is high and power supplies are more strained. These plants can also switch between energy storage and power generation within minutes, providing flexibility to balance the region's highly variable wind energy generation throughout the day.

New Delhi, May 20 -- In an effort to spur the development of new generating technologies and contribute to forest health in the state, Xcel Energy filed today with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) for approval of a demonstration project to solicit electricity production from gasification of forest biomass.

Earmarked for modernisation and upgrade by EDF, the Le Cheylas pumped storage plant in France has become the focus for Europe's study of how to convert an existing powerhouse from conventional to variable speed motor-generators. One of the 500MW plant's two units is to undergo the switch over as part of a five-year study with EU support to examine the feasibility and challenges, but also, more widely, what the market opportunities could be on the Continent for such conversions.

A key reason for the conversion project, being undertaken by an Alstom-led consortium - eStorage - is to help study best options to cope with fluctuating, unpredictable output from intermittent renewables, like wind and solar power plants. The output is valuable strategically as it is carbon-free, helping Europe's transition to a far less fossil-fuel intensive generation mix. But it must be either used or saved when generated, which is fine if demand is sufficient otherwise a means of large-scale storage is needed.

WASHINGTON, May 21 -- Nuclear Regulatory Commission has issued a notice called: University of Missouri-Columbia Facility Operating License No. R-103.

From the Caribbean Summit of Political and Business Leaders that took place in the British Virgin Islands last week, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) and NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) on Friday announced a new global alliance to expand the use of renewable energy systems at Starwood properties.

The alliance will begin with three properties, including the installation of a 1.3 megawatt (MW) solar array at the Westin St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands where NRG will build, own and operate the project. This array will provide clean, efficient power to the resort helping to reduce local air emissions and the impact of shipping on the fragile Caribbean ecosystem by directly reducing demand for diesel fuel imports.

Publication No. WO/2013/067916 was published on May 16 by WIPO.

Title of the invention: NEW BLADE OF COMPOSITE MATERIAL FOR HORIZONTAL-AXIS WIND POWER GENERATOR

Applicants: ZHANG, Xiangzeng [CN/CN]; (CN)
Inventors: ZHANG, Xiangzeng; (CN)

Owens Corning and Constellation announced the development of a 2.6-megawatt (DC) solar generation project that will supply clean energy to the company's thermal and acoustical insulation plant in Delmar, N.Y.

This is the project that everyone likes," said John Wright, Executive Director of Business Development at Northland Power in Canada. This is a bold statement to make about any power project, and indeed quite rare to hear it said about a hydropower one. It is, however, the firmly held belief of the company which hopes to develop what could become Canada's largest pumped storage facility; and only the second one in Ontario.

What makes the proposed Marmora pumped storage project unique is that it already has most of the components it needs in place. The plan is to utilise an existing, disused open pit mine to create a project of a closed loop configuration. It will have the ability to generate 400MW of power for five hours flat out, with a reservoir capacity of 25-30Mm3.

Furthermore, what makes Wright and his colleagues believe so strongly in this scheme is the fact that the project is needed. "Ontario has made great progress in relation to its renewable energy portfolio," Wright explains, adding that the province's current generation of 1700MW of renewable power is set to increase to 10,700MW. "But what the province is finding now is that the system has the potential to be more volatile to operate and needs tools to help time-shift power."

ENP Newswire - 21 May 2013

Release date- 17052013 - For the first time in New South Wales, produced water from deep in coal seams will be blended with fresh water and used to irrigate crops at Gloucester in an innovative trial, with early results proving successful.

New Delhi, May 20 -- NTE Hybrid, the hybrid renewable energy technology joint venture between NTE Energy and Energy Investors Funds (EIF), is pleased to announce the award of its second set of patent claims by the United States Patent & Trademark Office. This patent expands the applicability of NTE Hybrid's groundbreaking hybrid technology to non-combined cycle fossil fuel fired power plants, including coal, oil and natural gas fired facilities. This new patent substantially increases the range of facilities in which NTE Hybrid's technology can be applied.

In 2012, U.S. installations of photovoltaic ("PV") solar generation reached 3,313 megawatts, an industry record and an increase of 76 percent over 2011, according to a recent announcement by GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association. The number of solar installations in the U.S. in 2012 exceeded 90,000, and the rent payment schedule included 83,000 installations of distributed solar generation in the residential market. GTM Research and SEIA expect that the residential market for solar generation will surge in 2013 and beyond, as third-party solar financing options become more widely available.

Spain is facing many challenges trying to integrate a large amount of renewable energy (wind and solar) into real-time dispatch of its power generation to meet electricity demand. To meet sustainable criteria for grid stability and reliability, the major utilities in Spain are looking into alternative storage projects, and especially pumped storage projects. Spain has one of the most dynamic markets for pumped storage in southern Europe with a total installed capacity of 5350MW in operation against a total estimated potential of 13,000MW. Spain is slated to construct additional projects in the coming decades. One government report on renewable energy plans for 2011-2020 estimates a target installed capacity of about 6300MW by 2015 and 8800MW by 2020. Iberdrola, Gas Natural Fenosa (GNF), and Endesa are the three main utilities that are expected to undertake these developments to fulfill the government objective.

TOKYO, May 17 Kyodo

MODEC Inc., a maker of floating oil production platforms, and theSaga prefectural government have announced that what they call the world's first experiment to generate electricity from a combination of tidal and wind energy systems will start this fall off the coast of the prefecture.

/3BL Media/ - BOSTON, May 21, 2013 /3BL Media/ - Energy efficiency is estimated to be a multi-hundred-billion dollar investment opportunity in the United States, but better policies are required to unlock broad-based financing from institutional investors, who together manage approximately $70 trillion in assets globally.

That is the key finding ofPower Factor: Institutional Investors' Policy Priorities Can Bring Energy Efficiency to Scale, a new report issued today by Ceres and its Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR). Based on the input of nearly 30 institutional investors and other experts from the energy, policy and financial sectors, Power Factor cites three areas of policy-utility regulation, demand-generating policies and innovative financing policies-that can take energy efficiency financing to a scale sufficient to attract significant institutional investment.

The Bonneville Power Administration issued the following news release:

Enough Northwest wind energy to power about 85,000 homes each month could be stored in porous rocks deep underground for later use, according to a new, comprehensive study. Researchers at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Bonneville Power Administration identified two unique methods for this energy storage approach, and two eastern Washington locations to put them into practice.

Compressed air energy storage plants could help save the region's abundant wind power - which is often produced at night when winds are strong and energy demand is low - for later, when demand is high and power supplies are more strained. These plants can also switch between energy storage and power generation within minutes, providing flexibility to balance the region's highly variable wind energy generation throughout the day.