News, Trends & Analysis
Chad Blevins
Chad Blevins holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations with Highest Honors from Saint Edward’s University in Austin, TX. He is a proud Air Force Reservist that was recognized as an Honor Graduate after completing “boot-camp” at age 31. He went on to train as an Engineering Apprentice and achieved the level of Distinguished Graduate, while also serving as the top student leader for a Detachment of over 200 Airmen. Every day, Chad strives to live by the Air Force Core Values: Integrity First | Service Before Self | Excellence in All We Do Chad is a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager, and also holds a Certificate in Energy Technology & Policy from the University of Texas.
Homepage: http://www.smartpowercommunity.com/
Posts by Chad Blevins
SolarIndustryMag.com: Content / New & Noteworthy / Big-Name Investment Marks Pivotal New Era For U.S. Solar Projects
Mar 16th
by Lori Lovely on Thursday 15 March 2012
Although corporate investment in solar is nothing new, an influx of investment attached to high-profile names – such as Warren Buffett and Google – is now taking place as the solar sector matures.“High-profile investment lends credibility, but the increased level of investment is due to many factors, such as the federal tax credit, state solar support programs with set-asides that mandate solar renewable energy credits and more funding support,” says Lewis Milford, president of advocacy organization Clean Energy Group.
For More >
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Loading ...Reading the Derivatives Markets: Oil Futures Prices May Not Mean What You Think
Jun 28th
This is one of my MUST READS.
Reading the Derivatives Markets: Oil Futures Prices May Not Mean What You Think | Texas Enterprise.
by Sheridan Titman on March 22, 2011
Written in conjunction with Malcolm Wardlaw
As I mentioned in my earlier posts on crude price divergence, the market’s view of the Gulf oil spill post-event and future oil prices, futures prices provide “forecasts” of future oil and gas prices. However, people in the industry tend to misunderstand the relation between futures prices and the prices that are expected to be realized in the future, and perhaps because of this, they tend to be somewhat critical about the accuracy of those More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Cleantech Open Business Competition: Deadline to apply is May 24!
Apr 25th
Cleantech Open Business Competition
The Cleantech Open Business Competition can accelerate the launch and growth of your company. Just by entering you’ll quickly gain access to a robust national network and the resources and support to help grow your solution idea into a successful, sustainable business.The deadline to apply is May 24! Apply here!
Work with proven leaders!Since its inception in 2006, nearly 400 promising teams have availed themselves of the Cleantech Open’s one-of-a-kind hands-on workforce development, nurturing, and funding programs with impressive results:
- 461 companies have now completed the Cleantech Open’s programs and between them have raised over $300M in external private capital;
- Over 30% of More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Tool Quantifies Business Value of Geospatial Network Management Solutions
Feb 16th
GE Energy has published the ROI Handbook for geospatial network infrastructure management solutions: A structured approach to quantifying and delivering business value. The ROI handbook is designed to help network operators make fact-based decisions about investments in network infrastructure management solutions, gain buy-in by making the right level and pace of investment, and support their business objectives based on a quantifiable return-on-investment.
Investment prioritization and justification are more relevant than ever as leaders of network operators look to quantify specific and measurable return across all IT investments. As a result, many geospatial technology advocates face significant challenges to secure More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...New TCAP Study Finds History of Mismanagement at ERCOT | Texas Coalition for Affordable Power
Feb 14th
All, Setting the conclusions of this report aside, it is worth checking out because it provides a thorough historical review regarding the development of the ERCOT system. Also – there are quite a few statistics cited in the report (with 378 citations listed in the appendices). So, it could be useful for chasing down some data.
Going back to the conclusions – they are a tad controversial. What do you all think? Do you think that the report adequately accounts for the differences in generation mix between states, the impact of natural gas prices, or the fact that non-competitive (muni and More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Know your DIMP? (free ESRI webinar: GIS meets Grid)
Feb 14th
Firstly,
I just love this acronym, which is new to me. Secondly, using GIS with DIMPs is an idea that is obvious and will be increasingly part of the utility space. Not that utilities have failed to integrate some geographical information into their operating systems, but that there is still a lot of room for improvement.
I’ve been thinking about this for a while. It is what led me to buy the smartpowermaps.com domain back in 09 (not that I’ve done anything with it… just part of my domain prospecting for future use habit).
Anyhow, there is an upcoming free webinar from ESRI More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Xtreme Power and Xcel Energy Partner With SolarTAC on Utility-Scale “Solar-to-Battery” Distribution Project
Dec 29th
December 29, 2010 08:00 AM Eastern Time
Dynamic Power Resource™ to be installed at nation’s largest solar technology testing facility
DENVER–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Xtreme Power Inc., provider of Dynamic Power Resources™ (DPRs) for utility-scale energy storage, and Xcel Energy (NYSE:XEL) today announced a partnership to install a 1 megawatt (MW) system to collect operational data on the integration of energy storage and solar energy systems at the Solar Technology Acceleration Center (SolarTAC).
“Taking part in the SolarTAC project with Xcel Energy affords us an opportunity to work alongside one of the most progressive utilities in the industry”
SolarTAC is a private facility in Aurora, Colo. that serves as a solar More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Guest Post: The Hidden Opportunity in Distributed Generation : Greentech Media
Dec 26th
JEFF LIPTON: DECEMBER 15, 2010
Guest Post: The Hidden Opportunity in Distributed Generation
An important subset of DG: portable power
Distributed power generation (DG) has been a hot topic recently. With growing concerns over utility grid capacity and reliability, the role of point-of-use power generation technologies is increasingly important. While definitions of what comprises DG vary based on location, size, grid connectivity, and other factors, one consistent defining characteristic of DG is that it is power generation that is not centrally controlled by utility companies.
Point-of-use for local sustainability
When power is generated locally, at or near the point-of-use, the end user is less dependent More >
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...DOE Webinar: Quantifying the Impact of State Policies on Clean Energy Development, 17 NOV
Nov 10th
TAP Webinar November 17: Quantifying the Impact of State Policies on Clean Energy Development
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Technical Assistance Program (TAP) will host a Webinar on Wednesday, November 17, titled State of the States: Quantifying the Impact of State Policies on Clean Energy Development.
At this Webinar, you will hear about the State of the States project at the DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which looks at the growth of clean energy development that coincides with the implementation of specific state policies. The analysis is carried out from the point of view of policy makers and researchers, but More >
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Egypt, World Bank sign $820m loan agreements for CCGT, wind projects
Nov 8th
Egypt and the World Bank have signed two new loan agreements worth a total $820m to finance the construction of a gas fired power plant and a wind farm.
The two agreements are for the construction of a 1500 MW combined-cycle gas turbine power plant in north Giza, near Cairo, worth $600m, and the development of wind power project worth $220m.
Minister of International Cooperation Fayza Abulnaga and Shamsad Akhtar, the World Bank vice president for the Middle East and North Africa region, signed the agreements.
Akhtar said the World Bank was “pleased to support the renewable energy strategy of More >
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