Sustainable Community Development in NB

[sustain...@gmail.com]

New Brunswick is trying to encourage Sustainable Community Development
A sustainable subdivision makes sense. The theory is easy to
understand. Learn how this new subdivision concept is rapidly
becoming the preferred alternative. Daniel Savard, MCIP, MBA, senior
planner, N.B. Department of the Environment, describes the concept of
Sustainable Community Design and introduces the goals of the series.

Project details:
http://www.gnb.ca/0009/0136/0005/index-e.asp

Energy storage has long been touted as the silver bullet needed for
widespread renewable energy adoption but costs have remained high.
Today, several projects hold promise.

Grid-scale energy storage is gaining momentum as batteries, flywheels
and compressed air systems begin proving they can regulate frequency
and ancillary services with the same efficiency of "spinning reserves"
from fossil fuel-fired power plants.

“We still hear people say storage isn’t ready for primetime, but that
isn’t the case because we already have 20-MW storage plants being
built all over the country,” said Brad Roberts, executive director of
the Electricity Storage Association (ESA).

As more renewable energy hits the grid, generators and independent
system operators are looking to new storage systems to provide
emissions-free backup and regulation when intermittency interrupts
solar and wind power.

“We are interested in the potential of battery storage to be a game
changer in our industry in both regulated utilities and commercial
businesses,” said Greg Efthimiou, spokesman for Duke Energy, which
operates more than 1,000 MW of wind farms.

Duke Energy is installing the country’s largest battery storage
system, a 36-MW unit, near its 153-MW Notrees Windpower Project. The
system will regulate frequency and store excess energy for use during
peak demand. In Texas, where nearly 11,000 MW of generation comes from
wind farms, grid operator Electric Reliability Council of Texas relies
on standby gas turbines and steam coal generators to ramp frequency up
or down as wind generation changes.

The Notrees battery system is funded by a $22 million grant from the
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and matching funds from Duke Energy,
which will use Austin-based Xtreme Power’s proprietary dry cell
technology.

Investment, Policy Gains

ESA’s Roberts said the $158 million in stimulus earmarked by the DOE
for storage research generated $780 million in investments for
battery, compressed air, flywheels and other systems.

The storage industry has been calling for creation of an ITC to
further stimulate growth. With passage of Assembly Bill No. 2514 in
September, California began the process of developing a portfolio
standard for energy storage.

Full article:
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2011/08/energy-storage-industry-grows-to-integrate-wind-solar

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http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/print/article/2011/10/renewable-energy-development-smaller-projects-that-think-big

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