Collecting and analyzing relevant data forms the basis for a comprehensive energy and water management program. The Iowa Economic Development Autority's Economic Development by Gaining Efficiency (EDGE) Program along with the Industrial Assessment Center at Iowa State University are co-sponsoring a data collection workshop. The workshop will be held on October 28, 2014 from 10am to 3pm at Reiman Gardens in Ames. Lunch will be provided.
0 Comments
On Tuesday, September 16, the Environmental Protection Agency agreed to extend the comment period for an additional 45 days for the 111(d) CO2 emission reduction from existing power plants proposed rule. This means that comments will be due on December 1, 2014. The original date for submitting comments was October 16, 2014.
Earlier this month, 53 Senators sent a letter to EPA Administrator McCarthy requesting an additional 60 day extension. IAMU is currently working with a group of members to discuss the Association’s filing. Rudy Parcel, IAMU Gas Services Coordinator has announced his retirement date of December 26, 2014. After 40 plus years in the gas industry with 19 of those years at IAMU, Rudy has been a force in federal and state gas issues and regulations, along with his construction services.
Curtis Dean, IAMU Broadband Services Coordinator, will be making a presentation at the Iowa League of Cities Annual Conference on Thursday, September 25th at 2:15pm. During the presentation, entitled "Why Broadband Matters", Dean will be discussing some of the reasons why access to fast, reliable, and affordable broadband is important for communities.
The attack on an electrical substation in California was not an act of terrorism according to an FBI expert. The FBI's John Lightfoot told an industry conference this week that despite reports to the contrary, the April 2013 incident at the Pacific Gas & Electric's Metcalf Substation does not meet the definition of a terrorist act.
You may have noticed a recent change in the format of the Informer. In an effort to improve our member communications Curtis Dean recently took over responsibility for this publication. Curtis has done a great job of revitalizing the look and feel of the Informer, as well as establishing an editorial calendar to ensure that staff delivers the best content possible. We look forward to continuing to improve our member communications in the future and if you have any thoughts on how better we could do that please feel free to contact myself (tdejoode@iamu.org) or Curtis (cdean@iamu.org). As part of the editorial schedule I will periodically be writing something myself for the Informer. I may write to briefly provide an update on IAMU activities, to talk about industry issues or to spotlight a member or employee I think you should get to know. This time I’d like to update you on some of our activities as an association. The IAMU Board of Directors and staff spent two days this week kicking off the associations biannual strategic planning. This year IAMU enlisted the help of Tim Blodgett with the American Public Power Association’s Hometown Connections to facilitate these important kick off sessions. Working together the Board of Directors and staff identified five strategic operating areas for the association to focus on going forward. Staff will now set out to establish proposed goals for Board approval, and ultimately will develop action plans for achieving those mutually agreed upon goals. There is lots of work to be done but it’s all a part of our continued effort to improve our focus on bringing value to the members. As part of our planning process we recently completed our member survey with the help of Iowa State University. While the results have not been officially analyzed yet I want to thank those who participated for their input. It’s always enlightening to get direct feedback on the things that we could be doing differently or better as the case may be. Look for more information on this in the future as we learn more. Lastly I want to be sure that you sign up for the 2014 Energy Conference on October 1st – 2nd (http://www.iamu.org/index.cfm/52940/52597/2014_energy_conference) We have an exciting array of speakers on a number of interesting topics. Please join us for the pre-conference seminar on Municipal Utility driving Community Solar Projects. In an episode of the Iowa Public Radio program "River to River", host Ben Kieffer hosted a discussion of the challenges facing Iowa communities due to aging water and wastewater infrastructure. CLICK HERE to visit the IPR website and listen to the program, which aired on September 11th.
Sergeant Bluff city and utility crews found themselves working on Labor Day due to a fast moving storm that tore through the area on August 31, 2014. The National Weather Service reported winds in excess of 80 mph during the storm which caused damage to the utilities electric system.
A number of IAMU members have begun the conversion of HID streetlights to new LED fixtures. The primary impetus behind the trend has been energy efficiency as the LED replacements use significantly less energy while offering longer life and lower maintenance costs. But according to an article in Forbes Magazine Online, there are other benefits to LED streetlights, such as general community appearance and safety. CLICK HERE to read the article online.
Distributed solar photovoltaic, or solar PV, generation has taken off in Iowa over the past several years., with Iowa’s installed capacity of grid-connected solar PV growing from 100 kW in 2008 to over 7400 kW by the end of 2013. Many utilities are considering community solar projects to capture customers’ excitement about solar while benefiting from the economies of scale achieved through a single central solar array. Community solar arrays, also known as community solar gardens, allow customers to receive the benefit of solar energy without installing panels at their home or business.
|
Archives
April 2023
|