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Energy efficiency

ABB wins $35 million order to strengthen power grid and boost wind energy in Belgium

Submitted by aburr on Sat, 2015-02-28 17:36

ABB won an order worth around $35 million from Belgian electricity transmission system operator Elia for gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) and shunt reactors, helping stabilize and expand the country's power grid to accommodate more wind energy. The shunt reactors increase the energy efficiency of power transmission by improving power quality and reducing transmission costs. The order was booked in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Finding Common Ground on Energy Efficiency

Policy recommendations for utilities and regulators.

It’s the downright cheapest way of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Yet it’s mired from state to state in battles over definitions, principles, and parameters. Herein a collection of recommended policy positions to break the impasse over energy efficiency.
Byline: 

M. Sami Khawaja, Hossein Haeri, and Brian Hedman

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Taking Digital to Scale

Eight key ‘plays’ to alter how work is managed and performed.

Adopting digital capabilities to transform operations and processes holds immense promise for utilities. Indeed, it’s the best path to growth.
Byline: 

Greg Bolino and Jack Azagury

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ConEdison Solutions Wins $56 Million Contract to Boost Energy Efficiency at More Than 90 U.S. Army Sites in 11 States

Submitted by aburr on Wed, 2014-01-22 13:04

ConEdison Solutions (CES) signed a $56 million contract with the U.S. Army Reserve's 99th Regional Support Command (RSC) to provide energy efficiency services and operations and maintenance support at 90 sites in 11 states. The contract is a component of the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) program. Under this initiative, a limited number of qualified, private-sector energy service providers can provide energy efficiency, renewable energy and water conservation services to federally owned buildings and facilities.

Turning Toward Customers

Utility transformation guided by improved customer insight.

Improved customer insight can help utilities transform their business models, to strengthen engagement with consumers and remain competitive as the energy sector evolves.
Byline: 

Osvald Bjelland

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DSM in the Rate Case

A regulatory model for resource parity between supply and demand.

Integrated resource planning must level the field for both supply- and demand-side resources. Commissions in several states are showing the way.

Byline: 

Brian Hedman and Jill Steiner

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Efficiency Beyond the Low Fruit

Continuous improvement requires changing practices and cultural norms.

As efficiency programs mature, utilities and regulators will be challenged to keep producing demand-side resources. A systems-oriented approach can yield cost-effective results.

Byline: 

Hossein Haeri, Heidi Ochsner and Jim Stewart

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The Trouble with Freeriders

The debate about freeridership in energy efficiency isn’t wrong, but it is wrongheaded.

In any conservation or efficiency program, some market participants will reap benefits without paying their share of the costs—i.e., the “freerider” problem. Some freeriders are unavoidable and generally not a problem. But as Cadmus Group analysts Hossein Haeri and M. Sami Khawaja explain, avoiding excessive freeridership requires careful program structuring, as well as ongoing measurement to accurately evaluate outcomes.

Byline: 

Hossein Haeri and M. Sami Khawaja

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