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One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my little nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. "Oh, no," I said. "Disneyland burned down." He cried and cried, but I think that deep down, he thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late. ~Jack Handey

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Check out CCBJ's current issue!

2010 Executive Review & CCBJ Awards edition
Which companies stood out in the Climate Change Industry in 2010? What trends are top analysts and executives expecting to shape 2011 and beyond? CCBJ's annual Executive Review and Awards edition highlights the fastest growing and most innovative companies in the Climate Change Industry (CCI) with awards for Growth, Financing, Consulting & Engineering, Technology Merit and other categories. Also, experts in renewable energy, nuclear power, energy efficiency and other topics answer our questions about what's on the horizon for their segment or sub-segment of the CCI.

Table of contents, excerpts and ordering information available at:
http://www.climatechangebusiness.com/ccbj_editions



Newly Updated for 2010:
Environmental Consulting & Engineering Market Datapack

The data package includes the following Environmental Consulting & Engineering industry and market data tables. (Final annual figures are included for 2009 for markets and the top 340 U.S. Environmental Consulting & Engineering firms with market estimates for 2010 based on first-half or three-quarter data and survey responses by companies.)

To view table of contents or to purchase click here:
http://www.ebionline.org/segment-and-market-data-packs/2-environmental-consulting-engineering-market-datapack



Look Inside CCBJ -Market Obstacles Remain for Combined Heat and Power

Combined Heat and Power (CHP) enjoys respect in energy and climate change circles but lacks public understanding and support. Market and environmental regulations have restricted growth while the recession has stalled investment in CHP. But backup power regulations, cleaner turbines, modernized air permitting in some states and other developments are improving the prospects for what Oak Ridge National Lab calls "one of the most promising options in the U.S. energy efficiency portfolio."

To see the rest of this article click below
http://www.climatechangebusiness.com/Look_Inside_CCBJ



Climate Change Industry Market Reports

After almost three years of research, EBI has released its premier edition of EBI Report 4000: The Climate Change Industry. Designed as a comprehensive source of market intelligence on the century’s top emerging industry sector, the 830-page report features market quantification, recent annual growth, forecasts, trends and profiles of numerous companies in each the segments listed below.

EBI Report 4000 features an introduction placing the Climate Change Industry into perspective and 13 sections.

Ordering information, tables of contents, list of exhibits are available at
http://ebionline.org/climate-change-industry-research-reports

Recent News

1.Obama draws outlines of energy initiatives
2.33% RPS bill sent to California Gov. Brown’s desk
3.EPA seeking exemption of CCS projects from hazardous waste regulation
4.Constellation Energy to help State Dept. achieve energy goals
5.Doosan Power to invest ₤170 million in Scottish wind development
6.ICF awarded $36.5 million Energy Star contract
7.Tetra Tech wins $16.2 million contract for Indonesia clean energy
8.IBM to acquire building management firm Tririga
9.MWH to support development of hydroelectric project in Alaska
10.Solix raises $16 million, changes name
11.Minnesota Power to develop 105 MW, orders Siemens turbines



1. Obama draws outlines of energy initiatives

On March 30, President Barack Obama announced a series of initiatives designed to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and to rein in rising gasoline prices for the American consumer. The President set a goal of reducing oil imports by one-third by 2025 and said that half of that achievement would come from reduced oil consumption and half from the development of domestic oil supplies. The initiatives designed to reduce consumption include higher fuel efficiency standards for heavy trucks, increased ethanol production—including the establishment of four commercial-scale biorefineries within the next two years—and increased use of natural gas to fuel motor vehicles, in particular vehicle fleets.

In his address at Georgetown University, Obama reiterated his call in the State of the Union address for 80% of U.S. electricity to be generated from clean sources by 2035. In doing so, he reaffirmed his commitment to include nuclear energy and clean coal in the clean-energy mix. Yet while he mentioned the U.S.’s loss of technology  leadership in wind and solar technology to other countries, he offered no specifics on policies to regain that leadership or on a federal clean energy standard.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate continues to debate amendments to a small-business bill that would cut into the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) authority to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by various degrees. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has proposed an amendment that would permanently strip the agency of any such authority, while Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) has proposed a two-year delay in the implementation of EPA’s GHG rules. Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), with support from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), has proposed an amendment that would render permanent the exemption from regulation for small GHG sources and agricultural entities in EPA’s “tailoring” rule. A vote on the small-business bill was expected by the end of this week.


2. 33% RPS bill sent to California Gov. Brown’s desk

The California legislature has passed a bill requiring the state’s public and private utilities to obtain 33% of their electricity generation from renewable energy sources by 2020, far outstripping the current goal of 20% by the same year. The California Senate had passed the bill last month by a 26-to-11 margin along party lines, and the California Assembly approved it on March 29 by a 55-to-19 margin, also along party lines, thereby sending the measure to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk. “This bill establishes California as the national leader in clean energy, improving the environment and stimulating the economy while protecting ratepayers from excessive costs,” said Senator Joe Simitian, Democrat from Palo Alto and lead sponsor of the Senate version of the bill. “Fossil fuels are finite and demand for energy is growing,” he added. “Fossil fuel prices are going to keep heading up. Renewable prices are headed down.”

Assemblyman Dan Logue (R-Linda) warned that the bill “is the kind of legislation that does damage to the economic health and well-being of California.” Governor Brown hasn’t openly taken a position on the bill, but a spokesperson described him as “broadly supportive of codifying the requirement that 33% of the state’s electricity come from renewable resources.”

3. EPA seeking exemption of CCS projects from hazardous waste regulation

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has sent to the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) a proposed regulation that could conditionally exempt carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects from compliance with federal hazardous waste regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Although the agency hasn’t clearly specified what the proposed rule would allow or prohibit in terms of carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration, it said in a regulatory agenda summary issued last year that it will consider the conditional exemption under RCRA and will evaluate whether other regulations, laws, and programs—for example, Department of Transportation rules and EPA’s Underground Injection Control Class VI rule—would be adequate to “address potentially unacceptable risks from the capture, transport, and geologic sequestration of CO2 streams.” EPA’s delivery of the proposed regulation to OMB follows the National Coal Council’s recent approval and release of a report advising Energy Secretary Steven Chu to encourage EPA to grant certain regulatory exemptions for CCS projects.


4. Constellation Energy to help State Dept. achieve energy goals

Constellation Energy (Baltimore, MD) has signed a 20-year contract with the U.S. Department of State under which the utility will help the department comply with a White House executive order requiring a 28% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across all federal agencies, departments, and facilities by 2020. Under the Energy Savings Agreement (ESA), Constellation Energy will initiate its service to the State Department by constructing a $50 million solar power plant on a 40-acre site in New Jersey, and it will sign a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with the developer of a wind farm in Pennsylvania and deliver that power to federal facilities. The company will also supply to the State Department Green-e Energy-certified renewable energy certificates sourced from renewable energy facilities located within the United States. Constellation Energy serves more than 150 federal agency and institutional customer accounts with electricity and natural gas supply, including more than 375,000 renewable energy credits, approximately 1.7 decatherms of natural gas, and approximately 6.9 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity to the U.S. Capitol, the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Institution, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Federal Reserve.


5. Doosan Power to invest ₤170 million in Scottish wind development

Doosan Power Systems, a unit of South Korea’s Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Ltd., announced that it plans to invest up to ₤170 million (about $272 million U.S.) over the next 10 years to pursue wind energy development opportunities in Scotland. Doosan Power will initially establish a research and development “center of excellence” at its existing facility in Renfrew, near Glasgow, with the support of Scottish Enterprise, a Scottish economic development organization. A second phase of the company’s initiative will include the establishment of assembly and manufacturing facilities in Scotland. Altogether, Doosan Power expects its entry into the Scottish wind power market to create up to 1,700 new jobs, including 700 in direct jobs and another 1,000 positions through the supply chain.


6. ICF awarded $36.5 million Energy Star contract

Environmental and energy consultancy ICF International (Fairfax, VA) has been awarded a contract by EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation to provide technical and analytical support for the agency’s Energy Star program. Specifically, ICF will provide support for initiatives undertaken by the program’s Labeling and Residential Branch. Under the contract, which has a value of $36.5 million over its five-year lifetime, ICF will provide a range of services, including specification development, research and analysis, sales and marketing strategy development, media marketing, software and electronic information development, program integrity support, program evaluation, administration, and management support.


7. Tetra Tech wins $16.2 million contract for Indonesia clean energy

Environmental and infrastructure engineering firm Tetra Tech, Inc. (Pasadena, CA) has received a $16.2 million, 3.5-year contract from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to support the government of Indonesia in its effort to meet the nation’s energy security and GHG emission reduction goals. Under the contract, Tetra Tech will help the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources expand its domestic energy supply in order to provide electrical coverage to 90% of its population by 2025. A key element of Indonesia’s clean energy strategy is to develop the country’s geothermal resources on a large scale and to pursue other renewable energy initiatives by mobilizing investment from multilateral development banks and the private sector. Tetra Tech will also help the government of Indonesia achieve its goals of reducing GHG emissions by 26% by 2020 under a “business as usual” scenario and by 41% under an “accelerated development” scenario.


8. IBM to acquire building management firm Tririga

IBM Corp. (Armonk, NY) has made a move to strengthen its position in building management through a proposal to acquire Tririga (Las Vegas, NV), a software developer specializing in the development of building management and sustainability tools for large commercial office buildings. The purchase of Tririga will strengthen IBM’s “smarter buildings” business by providing enhanced tools in real estate portfolio management, capital project management, and energy and environmental sustainability, the computer giant said. “The combination of Tririga and IBM smarter building solutions will deliver the industry’s most comprehensive capabilities that span the needs of all industries for managing facilities and real estate portfolios,” said Florence Hudson, energy and environment executive at IBM. “Having one view of building operations worldwide will be a powerful tool to help organizations control and optimize their second-largest corporate expense—property.” The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2011.


9. MWH to support development of hydroelectric project in Alaska

MWH (Broomfield, CO) has received a two- to five-year contract from the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) for hydropower engineering services to support the evaluation and development of hydropower projects along the Alaska Railbelt electrical grid. Among the projects that MWH will evaluate is an updated project concept for a remote section of the Susitna River between Anchorage and Fairbanks—a project with a potential installed capacity of 600 MW, making it the largest hydroelectric power plant to be built in the United States in several decades if it proceeds to construction, according to MWH. The Alaska legislature has appropriated $10 million in funding for the hydropower projects, including $5 million in FY 2011 for engineering activities, including MWH’s assistance in helping AEA evaluate project selections, feasibility, and cost estimates.


10. Solix raises $16 million, changes name

Solix Biofuels (Fort Collins, CO) announced that it has raised more than $16 million from a group of existing investors in the first part of a Series B financing round and has changed its name to Solix Biosystems. The company said that it will use the financing to support commercialization of its AGS industrial algae growth technology using proprietary photobioreactors. Bohemian Ventures, the Southern Ute Alternative Energy Fund, and 12BF Global Ventures participated in the latest funding round. “This new round of financing from current investors demonstrates their continued excitement and support for our progress,” said Solix CEO Joel Butler. “Solix is poised to launch its first commercial AGS product into the market. With our focus on providing customers with algae production systems, Solix BioSystems better reflects the company’s objectives.”

11. Minnesota Power to develop 105 MW, orders Siemens turbines

Minnesota Power, a unit of ALLETE Co. (Duluth, MN), is expanding its wind power portfolio in North Dakota through the development of a 105 MW wind farm in Oliver and Morton counties in the central part of the state. The $157 million Bison 2 project will consist of 35 SWT-3.0-101 direct-drive wind turbines to be supplied by Siemens Energy (Erlangen, Germany). Deliveries of the turbines are scheduled to begin in August 2012. Minnesota Power expects the Bison 2 plant to be commissioned in late 2012. “The timing is fortunate for expanding our renewable energy production,” said ALLETE President and CEO Alan Hodnik. “Development of Bison 2 will leverage substantial investments we’ve already made in North Dakota and take advantage of the federal production tax credit and a very competitive wind turbine market.”




Featured Conferences
  
Electric Power
May 10-11, 2011
Rosemont, IL
http://www.electricpowerexpo.com/

Brownfields 2011
April 3-5, 2011
Philadelphia, PA
http://www.brownfields2011.org/en/home

Carbon Markets Masterclass
April 28, 2011
San Francisco, CA
http://www.environmental-finance.com/events/view/29

Carbon Markets Masterclass
June 16, 2011
New York, NY
http://www.environmental-finance.com/events/view/30

Forestry, Biomass & Sustainability 2011
May 12-13, 2011
London
http://www.environmental-finance.com/events/view/27



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