Oklahoma WinCharger : a newsletter for Oklahoma wind stakeholders.

              OWPI:
A collaborative project between the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University
that investigates and promotes wind energy resources in our state.
O k l a h o m a W i n d P o w e r I n i t i a t i v e
In this issue…
News & Events........... 1
Wind ........................ 3
Solar ......................... 4
Geothermal................ 5
Biofuels ..................... 5
Renewable News........ 6
Calendar of Events ..... 8
Staff
Editor & Contributor:
Jonathan Moore, OWPI-OU
Copy Editor:
Mike Klatt, EVAC-OU
Contributors:
Scott Greene, Geography
Department, OWPI-OU
Steve Stadler, Geography
Department, OWPI-OSU
Mark Meo, Science and Public
Policy Program, OWPI-OU
September / October 2011 Vol. 11, # 5
PSO’s Windchoice Program Awarded Green-e® Certification
TULSA, OK, July 6, 2011 – Public Service Company of Oklahoma’s (PSO) Wind-
Choice program is now Green-e® Certified. Green-e is the nation’s leading inde-pendent
certification and verification program for renewable energy.
Sourced from 100 percent Oklahoma wind power, WindChoice is the only cer-tified
green power option in the state and is available to PSO’s residential and com-mercial
customers, governmental organizations, school districts, and educational in-stitutions.
“We are pleased that households and businesses in Oklahoma now have a
certified wind option from resources within their home state,” said Green-e Energy
Manage Alex Pennock. “Oklahoma is rich in wind power, and now residents can take
advantage of their resources to power their lives with clean energy from their own
backyard.”
PSO joins a growing network of renewable energy providers that offer prod-ucts
certified by Green-e Energy. The program provides independent, third-party
certification to ensure renewable energy meets strict environmental and consumer
protection standards.
Providers of Green-e Energy Certified renewable energy agree to abide by
the Green-e Energy Code of Conduct, and meet strict disclosure and truth-in-advertising
requirements. All marketers of Green-e Energy Certified products un-dergo
an annual third-party audit to document that the company purchased or gener-ated
enough renewable energy to meet customer demand and marketing claims.
“PSO is proud to offer Oklahoma residents their first certified 100 percent re-newable
energy option,” said Kathy Champion, PSO Energy Efficiency and Con-sumer
Programs manager. “We think it’s important that the energy we use comes
from domestic energy supplies as much as possible, and we think Oklahoma can
continue to be a leader in the clean energy revolution.”
The electricity generated for PSO’s WindChoice program comes from the
Minco Wind Farm, a 99-megawatt facility in western Oklahoma which began com-mercial
operation in December, 2010.
2
Eligible residential customers can sign up online for
WindChoice at PSOklahoma.com/WindChoice, or by
calling the PSO customer solutions center toll-free at
1-888-216-3523. Commercial and industrial custom-ers
can enroll using the same methods as residential
customers, or by contacting their PSO account repre-sentative.
A program of Center for Resource Solutions, Green-e
is the nation’s leading independent consumer pro-tection
program for the sale of renewable energy and
greenhouse gas reductions in the retail market.
Green-e offers certification and verification of renew-able
energy and greenhouse gas mitigation products
through Green-e Energy, a renewable energy certifi-cation
program; Green-e Climate, a greenhouse gas
emission reduction certification program; and Green-e
Marketplace, a program that licenses the Green-e
logo for organizations that purchase or generate suf-ficient
quantities of renewable energy. To learn more
about Green-e Certified products and programs
available in all 50 states, visit
www.green-e.org.
Editors Note: The above is adapted from a press release issued
by Public Service Company of Oklahoma on July 6, 2011.
24 Governors Ask President to Focus on Wind
Energy Development.
Iowa, Aug. 24—A coalition of 24 governors from both
major parties and each region of the country has
asked the Obama administration to take a series of
steps to provide a more favorable business climate
for the development of wind energy, starting with a
seven-year extension of the Production Tax Credit
(PTC) and the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) to provide
stable, low tax rates for wind-generated electricity.
A letter from the governors, sent last month to the
White House, has since been made public by the
Governors Wind Energy Coalition. Signed by coali-tion
chair Gov. Lincoln Chafee (I-RI) and vice chair
Gov. Terry Branstad (R-IA), the letter says:
"Although tax credits for wind energy have long en-joyed
bipartisan support, they are scheduled to ex-pire
next year. Wind-related manufacturing will slow
if the credits are not extended, and some of the tax
credits' benefit will be lost if Congress pursues a last-minute
extension. It is important to have consistency
in policy to support the continued development of
wind manufacturing in the United States. Extending
the production tax credit and the investment tax
credit, without a gap, is critical to the health of wind
manufacturing in our nation. The wind manufacturing
industry in the U.S. would benefit even greater if the
extension of these credits would be for at least seven
years. Governors have always focused on jobs and
economic development as their main responsibility.
Now that Washington is following suit, it helps for
these governors to tell Washington what has been
putting people to work in their states," said AWEA
CEO Denise Bode. "It is also helpful for them to sup-port
the removal of roadblocks that can occur in ad-ministrative
agencies, so that deployment objectives
are not unintentionally thwarted."
The governors' letter also calls for:
 Establishing a combined intergovernmental
state-federal task force on wind energy devel-opment
to "ensure the Administration's wind en-ergy
goals are met."
 Expanding the Department of Energy's renew-able
energy programs to "focus not only on
technology research and innovation, but also on
technology deployment and market develop-ment,"
noting that, "these are precisely the types
of efforts other nations are utilizing to success-fully
compete with the United States. We must
recognize that a scientific breakthrough five or 10
years from now, plus several more years for com-mercial
acceptance, will be of little value if our
wind industry has been relegated to minor play-ers
in the global marketplace."
 Improved collaboration on siting new wind
turbines: "... [W]e believe wind energy and wild-life
protection are entirely compatible and we
urge a prompt resolution of the Wind Energy
Guidelines and Eagle Guidance concerns."
 Expediting deployment of offshore wind: "A
new U.S. offshore wind sector would create tens
of thousands of jobs in businesses ranging from
R&D and engineering to manufacturing and ma-rine
construction."
 Identifying transmission and grid integration
priorities for Power Marketing Administrations
(PMAs) such as the Bonneville Power Admini-stration
The letter concluded, "We believe these actions will
help address some of the national economic and en-ergy
challenges before our nation. We look forward
to working with you and your Administration to further
our nation's wind energy development to help drive
economic growth, energy development, and the
creation of high-paying jobs." Full text is available
from the coalition's website.
Editors Note: The above is adapted from a press release issued
by the Governors Wind Energy Coalition on August 26, 2011.
W i n d P o w e r
Google is blowing into Oklahoma on the strength of
the state’s renowned wind resources. The search
engine titan has struck a deal to buy the power from
a 100.8-megawatt wind farm being developed in
Grady and Caddo counties near Minco. Electricity
from NextEra Energy Resources’ Minco II Wind En-ergy
Center will help power Google’s data center
near Pryor, which is expected to be operational later
this year.
“We’ve made the commitment to be a carbon neu-tral
company, and this purchase is part of our effort
to minimize our impact on the environment,”
Google’s Gary Demasi wrote September 29 on the
company’s blog. “We’ve managed to reduce our en-ergy
consumption by over 50 percent by building
highly energy-efficient facilities, but we know that
efficiency alone isn’t enough to eliminate our carbon
footprint.”
Google’s 20-year power purchase agreement with
Juno Beach, FL-based NextEra is the second deal
between the two companies in less than a year.
Google also is buying 114 megawatts of power from
a NextEra wind farm in Iowa in a deal cemented in
July.
“These purchases represent long-term, meaningful
actions to reduce our carbon footprint and power
our operations with clean electricity,” Demasi wrote.
“As a company we hope that purchases like these,
plus the additional $350 million we’ve invested in
renewable energy projects, support the market and
drive down the cost of clean energy.
“This will enable even more companies to invest in
sustainable energy solutions.” Kylah McNabb, wind
energy specialist for the Oklahoma Department of
Commerce, said the deal is great for the state.
“Google is really getting into this business model,”
she said.
The company works through subsidiary Google En-ergy
to participate in the wholesale energy market.
NextEra officials are excited about the opportunity to
continue working with Google Energy.
“We are thrilled to expand our relationship with
Google Energy and appreciate their ongoing sup-port
of emission-free, renewable energy,” said Mike
3
BP to Build Massive Wind Farm
in Kansas
Kansas, Oct. 4, 2011—BP Wind Energy has an-nounced
that it will build a 419 MW wind farm in Bar-ber,
Harper, Kingman, and Sumner counties.
The Flat Ridge II wind farm will be located on a
66,000-acre site in south central Kansas. The wind
farm will utilize 262 GE wind turbines, each of which
has a rated capacity of 1.6 MW.
BP Wind Energy has entered into a long-term power
purchase agreement (PPA) totaling 314 MW from the
proposed project with Associated Electric Cooperative
Inc. (AECI). BP says it is actively marketing the re-maining
capacity to other customers in the Midwest.
"Today's announcement of a PPA with AECI is a mile-stone
in the project's development that will create
some 500 jobs during peak construction and will pro-vide
over $1 million annually to the local communities
without impacting traditional farming and ranching ac-tivities,"
says John Graham, president and CEO of BP
Wind Energy.
The project will be 100% owned and operated by BP
Wind Energy. Subject to the receiving of all the neces-sary
permits to proceed, it is anticipated that initial site
construction work will start in the fourth quarter of this
year. The wind farm is expected to become commer-cially
operational by the end of next year.
Taken from North American Windpower on October 5, 2011
http://www.nawindpower.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?
content.8681
Google Buys Oklahoma Wind Power
Photo from Dorchester Times
stallation and ability to meet RPS requirements, as
well as a proven track record of operational plants,
remain a key advantage behind plants either
planned or under construction. Fernandez summa-rized
by saying the industry “needs to focus on three
areas – efficiency, innovation and standardization;
and as a whole adapt to the U.S. market and learn
from experiences around the world to drive PV for-ward”.
The U.S. Treasury grant will expire at the end of this
year, however, PV costs have continued to decline
as the technology becomes more efficient and the
industry itself expands. In 2010 the installation
costs of large-scale projects fell more than 20%, a
clear indication that PV is taking important steps to-wards
achieving financial independence and com-peting
in a free market if subsidies end.
To address this further, the industry will meet in San
Jose on 17-18 November at the 2nd Utility Scale PV
Plant Optimization Summit to discuss the latest im-provements
for plant design, engineering, and op-erational
strategies that are achieving grid parity -
the point at which photovoltaic electricity will com-pete
without subsidies with electricity generated
from coal, natural gas, or nuclear energy.
Editors Note: Taken from RenewableEnergy World on October
10, 2011 http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/
first-conferences/news/article/2011/10/light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel-
for-the-us-pv-market
O’Sullivan, Senior Vice President of Development for
NextEra Energy Resources. “With the support of cus-tomers
like Google Energy, we’ve built our wind fleet
from fewer than 500 megawatts a decade ago to
nearly 8,300 megawatts — the largest fleet in North
America today.”
Adapted from NewsOK on October 3, 2011
http://newsok.com/googles-data-center-near-pryor-to-be-powered-by-
minco-wind-farm/article/3560948
S o l a r
P o w e r
4
California, Oct. 10, 2011—The demand for PV pro-jects
in the United States has been rapidly expanding
over recent years as a result of falling module prices,
stimulus funding, and new regulatory incentives from
Congress. However, recent happenings, both political
and commercial, have formed a dark cloud over the
future of the PV market in the country.
In 2009 U.S. President Barack Obama launched the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which in-cluded
more than $70 billion in direct spending and
tax credits for clean energy. However, increasing pes-simism
surrounding the U.S. economy has put into
question the future of renewables in a country more
concerned with ridding itself of its national debt. Fur-thermore,
the recent bankruptcy of American manu-facturer
Solyndra, and the subsequent FBI investiga-tion
into their misuse of federal loans, has created a
climate of mistrust towards renewables.
However, despite this cynicism surrounding renew-able
energy, experts at PV Insider have been con-ducting
research that suggests PV installations will
continue to increase in this country. In a recent inter-view
Lori Mitchell of the San Francisco Public Utilities
Commission described PV as a “fast growing industry”
in North America, but acknowledged that “cost and
available capital” remain a challenge. This view was
backed up by David Fernandez, Senior Vice President
at Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, in a presentation
given at last year’s PV Yield Optimization Conference.
Fernandez argued that “the U.S. is a very cost driven
market, more so than Europe because it has not seen
the feed-in tariffs that were in place in countries like
Spain”. Showing support for photovoltaics, Fernandez
explained that “5 years ago the U.S. had the fourth
largest capacity of installed wind power in the world,
and within 2 years the U.S. saw substantial growth
and now has the largest installed capacity. I have no
doubts the same will happen in PV”. The ease of in-
Light at the End of the PV Tunnel
Photo from Green Momentum
G e o t h e r m a l
P o w e r
Washington, D.C., Aug. 16, 2011—President
Obama today announced that the U.S. Departments
of Agriculture, Energy, and Navy will invest up to
$510 million during the next three years in partner-ship
with the private sector to produce advanced
drop-in aviation and marine biofuels to power mili-tary
and commercial transportation. The initiative
responds to a directive from President Obama is-sued
in March as part of his Blueprint for A Secure
Energy Future, the Administration’s framework for
reducing dependence on foreign oil. The biofuels
initiative is being steered by the White House Biofu-els
Interagency Work Group and Rural Council, both
of which are enabling greater cross-agency collabo-ration
to strengthen rural America.
“Biofuels are an important part of reducing Amer-ica’s
dependence on foreign oil and creating jobs
here at home,” said President Obama. “But support-ing
biofuels cannot be the role of government alone.
That’s why we’re partnering with the private sector
to speed development of next-generation biofuels
that will help us continue to take steps towards en-ergy
independence and strengthen communities
across our country.”
Increased use of advanced biofuels is a key compo-nent
of the Administration’s energy security agenda,
but there is currently a lack of this manufacturing
capability for next-generation drop-in biofuels in the
United States. To accelerate the production of bio-based
jet and diesel fuel for military and commercial
purposes, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack,
Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, and Secretary of
the Navy Ray Mabus have developed a plan to
jointly construct or retrofit several drop-in biofuel
plants and refineries. This effort will help address
energy security and national security challenges,
and will provide economic opportunities in rural
America.
“America’s national security depends upon a viable
domestic biofuels market that will benefit taxpayers
while simultaneously giving Sailors and Marines tac-tical
and strategic advantages,” said Navy Secretary
Ray Mabus. “Today’s announcement not only lever-ages
our home grown fuel sources to support our
national security, but it also helps advance the bio-fuels
market, which ultimately brings down the cost
of biofuels for everyone.”
5
Washington, D.C., Sept. 8, 2011—U.S. Energy Secre-tary
Steven Chu today announced $38 million over
three years for projects to accelerate the development
of promising geothermal energy technologies and
help diversify America's sources of clean, renewable
energy. Thirty-two innovative projects in 14 states will
develop and test new ways to locate geothermal re-sources
and improve resource characterization, drill-ing,
and reservoir engineering techniques, which will
enable geothermal energy sources to help reduce the
nation's reliance on fossil fuels. Funded through
DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable En-ergy,
these advances will play an important role in
achieving President Obama's goal of generating 80%
of U.S. electricity from clean energy sources by 2035.
"The Department of Energy is investing in pioneering
new technologies that will further develop the nation's
geothermal resources, create skilled jobs for Ameri-can
workers, and help diversify our energy portfolio,"
said Secretary Chu. "The projects announced today
will provide opportunities for clean energy innovations
that will ensure the U.S. remains a global leader in
geothermal energy development and expand the na-tion's
use of this important renewable energy re-source."
This significant investment in clean energy develop-ment
is part of the Department's comprehensive effort
to reduce the cost of geothermal energy, making it
more competitive with conventional sources of
baseload electricity. Projects will perform feasibility
studies before advancing to prototyping and valida-tion,
which will be conducted through vigorous labora-tory-
based research and field testing. The selected
projects will support the Department's goals of lower-ing
the cost and financial risk associated with confirm-ing
and characterizing geothermal resources and will
help to overcome key technical challenges to the res-ervoir
creation and sustainability of enhanced geo-thermal
systems.
For a complete list of the award recipients please visit:
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/geothermal/news_detail.html?
news_id=17718
Editors Note: The above is adapted from a press release issued
by the Department of Energy on September 8, 2011.
Department of Energy Awards Up to $38 Million to
Advance Geothermal Energy
B i o f u e l s
President Announces Major Initative to Spur Biofuels
Industry and Enhace America’s Energy Security
“By building a national biofuels industry, we are creat-ing
construction jobs, refinery jobs, and economic op-portunity
in rural communities throughout the country,”
said Agriculture Secretary Vilsack. “As importantly,
every gallon of biofuel consumed near where it is pro-duced
cuts transportation costs and, for the military,
improves energy security. These pioneer plants will
demonstrate advanced technologies to produce infra-structure-
compatible, drop-in renewable fuels from
America’s abundant biomass resources,” said Energy
Secretary Chu. “It will support development of a new,
rural-focused industry that will replace imported crude
oil with secure, renewable fuels made here in the
U.S.”
The joint plan calls for the three Departments to invest
a total of up to $510 million, which will require sub-stantial
cost share from private industry of at least a
one to one match. The partnership aims to reduce
U.S. reliance on foreign oil and create jobs while posi-tioning
American companies and farmers to be global
leaders in advanced biofuels production. The United
States spends more than $300 billion on imported
crude oil per year. Producing a domestic source of
energy provides a more secure alternative to imported
oil and improves our energy and national security.
In June, President Obama signed an Executive Order
establishing the first White House Rural Council to
build on the Administration's robust economic strategy
for rural America and make sure that continued fed-eral
investments create maximum benefit for rural
Americans. Administration officials have been working
to coordinate programs across the government and
encourage public-private partnerships to improve eco-nomic
conditions and create jobs in rural communi-ties.
President Obama's administration has taken signifi-cant
steps to improve the lives of rural Americans and
has provided broad support for rural communities.
The Obama Administration has set goals of moderniz-ing
infrastructure by providing broadband access to
10 million Americans, expanding educational opportu-nities
for students in rural areas, providing affordable
health care, promoting innovation and expanding the
production of renewable energy. In the long term,
these unparalleled rural investments will help ensure
that America's rural communities are repopulating,
self-sustaining, and thriving economically.
Editors Note: The above is adapted from a press release issued
by the Department of Energy on August 17, 2011.
R e n e w a b l e
N e w s
6
September 29, 2011- At the American Council On
Renewable Energy’s (ACORE) annual RETECH
Trade Show and Conference, organized by
TradeFair Group, industry leaders agreed that the
renewable energy sector showed surprising growth
for 2011. In the first half of the year, 2,151 MW of
newly installed wind power and 582 MW of solar
power were added to the nation’s power supply.
There are multiple reasons behind the aggressive
growth numbers, including rapidly declining prices
for solar panels and wind turbines, which means
that renewable energy is becoming more and more
cost-competitive with traditional sources of energy.
“Renewable energy is increasingly competitive with
traditional sources of energy and a growing source
of grid power,” said Vice Admiral (Ret.) Dennis V.
McGinn, President of ACORE. “Thirty-three percent
of all new power in 2010 was generated by renew-able
energy resources. A combination of economics
and policy is driving U.S. market growth. However,
to sustain this momentum, we need long-term con-sistency
in government policy. We are no different
from other industries–renewable energy investors
need policy consistency. The U.S. economy and
American industry and workers will be the benefici-aries
of stable policy.”
It is anticipated that the pending expiration of the
1603 cash grant in lieu of tax credits at the end of
2011 and expiration of the Production Tax Credit
(PTC) at the end of 2012 will severely dampen the
number of new projects in 2012 at a time when the
jobs they would create would be most needed in the
U.S. economy. These policies have been successful
in delivering billions of dollars of private sector in-vestment
in the U.S. According to ACORE’s Part-nership
for Renewable Energy Finance (U.S.
PREF), $20 billion in renewable energy projects
would be lost if the 1603 and PTC programs are not
extended.
In a keynote address at RETECH, U.S. Sen. Lisa
Murkowski, R-AK and ranking member of the Sen-ate
Energy and Natural Resources Committee, ex-pressed
both hopefulness about the potential for
renewable energy and a desire for a more consis-tent
federal policy. “There’s a lot of reason for opti-mism
about clean technologies. New ideas are
emerging, costs are coming down, and deployment
is increasing. All of those are welcome develop-ments
for our energy supply and the global environ-
Despite Sluggish Economy, Renewable Energy
Shows Strength in 2011
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click on the link on the left side that says “Subscribe
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7
ment. Federal policies have played a role, but much
of the progress we’ve seen is the direct result of your
creativity and determination.” Senator Murkowski
went on to describe her view on what policy leaders
need to do. “Budget cuts have now begun here at
home, and the Breakthrough Institute has deter-mined
that more than seventy percent of the federal
support for renewable energy has either expired al-ready
or will expire within the next three year. We
need to design policies that can endure both the pas-sage
of time and shifts in party lines, and that will
receive consistent funding for five years or ten years
or longer.”
ACORE is actively working with its members to build
a vision for a sound, financially viable, long-term fed-eral
policy and to highlight the detrimental effects of
inconsistent policy. RETECH, attended by over 2,400
renewable energy players this year, is well-known for
delivering unparalleled educational content from
more than 250 industry-leading speakers, covering
all of the industry’s key technologies: wind, solar, hy-dro,
ocean, geothermal, biomass, biofuels, waste
energy and cross-cutting sections on markets, utility
perspectives, industry, finance and policy. Many of
the industry’s leading companies and organizations
sponsor and exhibit at the event’s onsite show floor.
Editors Note: The above is adapted from a press release issued
by ACORE on September 29, 2011.
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Calendar of Events
Nov. 09 Oklahoma Renewable Energy Council Meeting, 10 a.m. — noon, Department of Commerce, Gallery 1-2,
900 N. Stiles, OKC, OK 73104.
Dec. 14 Oklahoma Renewable Energy Council Meeting, 10 a.m. — noon, Department of Commerce, Gallery 1-2,
900 N. Stiles, OKC, OK 73104.
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