In 2008, recognizing these threats to the state, the legislature enacted E2SSHB 2815 to create a framework for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Washington. The legislation sets statewide GHG reductions limits to:

• 1990 levels by 2020.
• 25 percent below 1990 levels in 2035.
• 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2015 or 70 percent below the State’s expected emissions that year.

The Legislature has also enacted policies that seek to track and reduce GHG emissions in Washington.  While substantial progress has been made, the state will likely not meet its 2020 limits. Governor Inslee introduced SB 5802 calling for a discussion with the legislature on what tools the state should use to achieve the GHG limits set in state law. On April 2, 2013 the Governor signed E2SSB 5802 into law.

The Act requires the Office of Financial Management to contract with an independent and objective consultant or consultants to prepare a credible evaluation of approaches to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The evaluation will be used by the Climate Legislative and Executive Workgroup created in the legislation and consisting of the Governor and four members of the legislature. The group is to recommend a program of actions and policies to reduce  emissions to ensure achievement of the state’s emission limit. The recommendations must include consideration of current best science, the effectiveness of the program, and policies in terms of costs, benefits, and results, and how best to administer the program and policies. The report is due December 31, 2013.

Find the Request for Proposals here.

Read the full story at the source:  Luke Timmerman, Xconomy, May 16, 2013.

My church, the Magnolia United Church of Christ in Seattle, has conflicting legacies. It has been an open, affirming church accepting of gay people for decades. It has had several leaders that are gay.

It has also been the sponsor of Boy Scout Troop 80 and Cub Scout Pack 80 since the 1940s.

Read the full story here.  Please comment!

• NEW LOCATION:  Washington State Housing Finance Commission, 1000 Second Avenue, Suite 2800, Seattle
• TIME:  Doors open/Networking at 7 a.m.  The program will run from 730-900 a.m.  Networking until 10 a.m.

Moderator: Kirt Montague is the CEO of Plum Energy LLC, a Washington-based company focused on the development of small-scale LNG value chains in the industrial and transportation markets.  He also is an Operating Partner for EverStream Energy Capital Management LLC, which invests primarily in energy related infrastructure, including LNG and CNG equipment necessary to facilitate the increased use of natural gas.  Previously, he was the CEO and a Board Member of Prometheus Energy Group, Inc., a vertically integrated energy company he founded in 2003 and led through the sale of a majority equity interest to the Shell Technology Venture Fund in October, 2010.  He is the current Chair of the Washington Clean Technology Alliance, and also serves on the Boards of three private companies in the space.

Andrew Douglas is the National Sales Manager for Kenworth Truck Company, a division of PACCAR Inc.  During his 30 year career in the transportation business, he has held numerous positions within PACCAR and its divisions including Kenworth, PACCAR Financial, and PacLease that included both domestic and International assignments.  For the past  eight years, Mr. Douglas has lead Kenworth’s “Green Initiatives” covering the growing markets for hybrid and Natural Gas products and  has worked directly with the Ports of Los Angles, Long Beach, Oakland and Seattle on clean truck strategies.  Mr. Douglas holds degrees in finance and economics and a Masters of Business Administration.  See Andy’s presentation here.

Dan Kovacich is Vice President at Maxum Petroleum responsible for the Marine Division & Rainier Petroleum Corporation.  He has 20 years of experience in the maritime trades on the US West Coast and is the sole fuel supplier to the Washington State Ferries.  As the result of a fuel risk management program developed by Kovacich over two years, the WSF operated below their fuel budget for the first time in 2012.  Maxum Petroleum continues to surpass the environmental, health and safety standards established for transferring fuel and lubricants over the water.  He received his graduate and undergraduate degrees from the University of Washington.

Jesse Saldivar is Business Manager, LNG for Transportation, Shell Upstream Americas.  He is responsible for the development of LNG Projects in the Transportation Sector.  He leads a cross functional team to deliver an end to end solution for customers including supply development, transportation and commercial development across all transportation sectors.  His career at Shell has provided him the opportunity to work on both the US East and West Coasts as well as overseas.  In addition to his global experience, he has worked in both Upstream and Downstream.  He is now located in Texas along with his wife and two children. Saldivar is a graduate of the University of Houston.

Clay Riding is Director of Natural Gas Resources for Puget Sound Energy.  He is responsible for PSE’s LNG initiative to build a regional scale LNG facility and expand the use of natural gas as a fuel for marine vessels and transportation markets.  Since returning to PSE in 2007, he has been responsible for the acquisition of long-term natural gas supplies, transportation, and storage for the company’s core gas and gas-fired generation portfolios.  He leads natural gas resource project development and oversees operation of the Jackson Prairie Storage Project.  He is also extensively involved in regional and national discussions regarding the growing interdependency of natural gas and electricity.  Mr. Riding has 31 years of experience in energy covering a broad-range of areas including risk management, utility operations management, trading, business development, and marketing.  He has an extensive background in the acquisition and management of energy supply resources, utility and interstate pipeline operations, and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulations.  Over the past 24 years he has been involved in the development of natural gas markets in the west including gas-fired generation.  Mr. Riding spent six years with The Energy Authority, four years with PSE (earlier in his career), and sixteen years with The Williams Companies.  Find Clay’s presentation here.

Reading materials suggested by the speakers:

• Charles Mann, What if We Never Run Out of Oil? The Atlantic, May 2013.
• David Cullen, OEMs Spell Out NGV Costs, Fleet Owner, October 12, 2013.
• Morgan Stanley, Natural Gas as a Transportation Fuel, April 16, 2013.
• American Clean Skies Foundation, Oil Shift, August 2012.
• Bradley Olson, Why Natural Gas-Powered Vehicles Are Catching On, BloombergBusinessWeek, May 2, 2013.  This article mentions several WCTA members.
• FC Business Intelligence, Liquefied Natural Gas as a Marine Fuel in the USA:  The Commercial Realities, January 2013.
• Bill White, Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects, LNG Industry Eyes Transportation Market, May 1, 2013.
• Northwest Gas Association, Natural Gas Vehicles: Seizing the Opportunity, 2013.

Nominations for the third annual King County Executive’s Small Business Awards are now being accepted. Don’t miss this opportunity to nominate your organization or others with your community who have not only emerged as solid enterprises, but are agile enough to stay ahead of the curve in your respective industries.

For more information and to submit a nomination visit www.kingcounty.gov/smallbusinessawards.

King County Executive Dow Constantine will host the third annual King County Executive’s Small Business Awards on September 25, 2013 to celebrate the significance of small businesses to the King County economy. He will be joined this year by emcee Pat Cashman with a special appearance from the Seahawks Blue Thunder Drumline.

Key Dates:

• July 15:  Deadline for nominations.
• August 26:  Finalists announced
• September 25:  Awards Program | 7:15 – 9:00am | Meydenbauer Center, Bellevue

Click here to register – space is limited

To be eligible for consideration, a business must:

• Be located in King County
• Have 50 or fewer employees
• Be a for-profit business in operation for at least 3 years
• Winner and finalists from previous years are ineligible

Updates for 2013

• A business may self-nominate or be nominated by a chamber of commerce, a city, or a business organization
• A business may be nominated in more than one category, but will need to complete a separate nomination form for each category
• All businesses previously nominated may be re-submitted for consideration, except for previous finalists and award winners

For questions regarding the King County Executive’s Small Business Awards Program, please contact Ray Moser at ray.moser@kingcounty.gov.  For information on sponsoring or partnering on this year’s program, please contact Margo Shiroyama at (425) 785-4015 or email mshiroyama@comcast.net.

Everett, WA – Are you interested in learning about the financial and environmental benefits that come with owning your own solar energy system? Join Snohomish County Public Utility District this month for informational sessions about the utility’s Solar Express program, which offers a range of incentives and educational support for customers interested in solar energy. The utility’s program covers both solar photovoltaic (PV or solar electric) systems and solar hot water systems. In the past three years, the number of solar units has tripled in Snohomish County.

Solar Sessions:

Tuesday, May 21– 6 to 7:30 p.m.

PUD Everett Commission Room, 2320 California Street

Wednesday, May 29 – 6 to 7:30 p.m.

PUD Edmonds/South County Office, 21018 Highway 99

Solar energy is a largely untapped source of renewable energy in Western Washington. With a photovoltaic system, a PUD customer can generate clean, green, renewable energy.

Cash Incentives/Loans:

Residential customers can qualify for up to $2,500 for solar photovoltaic systems and commercial customers can qualify for up to $10,000. All customers with electric water heaters can qualify for a $500 incentive on solar hot water systems. Residential customers may instead opt for a 2.9% APR loan up to $25,000 for photovoltaic systems and up to $14,000 for solar hot water systems. Customers may also qualify for additional federal tax credits and state production incentives.

Solar Express is one of the ways the PUD is promoting clean, locally-generated renewable resources. For more information, including meeting registration and program qualifications, call the PUD Energy Hotline at 425-783-1700 or visit www.snopud.com/solarexpress.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: MEDIA RELATIONS 425-783-8444

Source : Snohomish County PUD Press Release, May 10, 2013.

Delivering high-quality drinking water to nearly 59,000 people, the City of Olympia needed a system that could cover its 26-square-mile service area, including the City’s urban growth area. With Itron’s flexible AMI solution, Itron will install more than 19,500 water communication modules with a fixed network for the majority of the utility’s service area and a mobile collection system for the remaining service area. In addition, the City will deploy Itron’s data collection software and network software solutions.

“Given the size of our community, the City is looking for a more efficient approach to meter collection. Itron’s solution gave us that. Also given the geography of our service area, the City of Olympia required a hybrid approach to meter data collection. Itron’s solution gave us the flexibility we required to deploy both fixed network and mobile data collection systems,” said Clark Halvorson, Water Resources Director. “This—in addition to Itron’s proven customer service—is what set the company apart.”

The AMI solution will give the City access to more water usage data, which can be helpful in identifying problems, improving water conservation programs and educating customers about their water use. Staff will have access to meter information sooner, which will allow quicker customer service responses to water leaks.

“It is Itron’s goal to help utilities shape the future. With our flexible architecture, utilities like the City of Olympia can deploy whichever data collection system—or combination thereof—they require,” said Paula Billingham, vice president of sales, marketing and delivery for Water North America at Itron.

Itron is a global technology company. We build solutions that help utilities measure, manage and analyze energy and water. Our broad product portfolio includes electricity, gas, water and thermal energy measurement and control technology; communications systems; software; and professional services. With thousands of employees supporting nearly 8,000 utilities in more than 100 countries, Itron empowers utilities to responsibly and efficiently manage energy and water resources. Join us in creating a more resourceful world; start here: www.itron.com.

Source:  Itron Press Release, May 7, 2013.

World CNG:  Garret Alpers, founder and CEO of World CNG, a Seattle-based company that converts traditional gasoline cars into dual-fuel vehicles for as little as $8,000, estimates a taxi owner could recoup his expense in a year.

In 2008, as the recession eroded his business building race cars, Alpers ventured into natural gas conversions. By 2011 the company had revenue of $10 million; in 2012 it rose to about $14 million. He expects to do $30 million this year and as much as $60 million in 2015. “The transportation sector for natural gas has the opportunity to really pop in the next few years,” Alpers says.

Plum Energy:  “These are early days, but we’re on the brink of one of those tectonic shifts that occur every 100 years in the energy game,” says Kirt Montague, chief executive officer of Plum Energy, which develops fueling networks for trains, ships, and drilling rigs powered by natural gas. “For years, I felt like we were the only ones drinking the Kool-Aid. Now that’s no longer the case.”

Silver Award Winner: McKinstry, Seattle

“You might best know McKinstry as a commercial-building manager, but it also runs a significant manufacturing operation, including a 150,000-square-foot fabrication facility. In 2012, McKinstry put $2 million into such improvements as a new line for making rectangular ductwork. The new line can produce 60 percent more in the same time as the old one. McKinstry’s goal is to have components delivered to a job site on modular skids without requiring much field fabrication before installation. The results, McKinstry says, are better quality, lower costs, faster delivery and safer job sites.”

Source:  Seattle Business, May 2013.

Everett, WA — Recycle your old fridge or freezer this spring or summer, and you’ll have a chance to double your savings. Getting rid of an energy-wasting unit can save you up to $200 in energy costs annually. If you recycle a fridge/freezer before July 31, you’ll be automatically entered in monthly drawings for a chance to win $200 off your PUD bill. Plus you’ll be eligible to win weekly drawings for LED lighting packets (valued at $50 each). Start your spring cleaning by getting rid of your fridge/freezer – you’ll create some extra storage space and start saving!

How to Recycle Your Appliance

Requirements: To have a refrigerator or freezer picked up and recycled, it needs to be in working condition and 10 to 32 cubic feet in size. The program is for Snohomish County PUD customers only. Customers must own the unit(s) being recycled, with a pickup limit of two units per account.

To schedule a free pick-up, Snohomish County PUD customers should call JACO Environmental toll-free 1-877-577-0510. To help process your request, please have your PUD account number available. Some restrictions apply for the prize drawings. Rules and details are available at www.snopud.com/fridgerecycling.

Other Energy Savers

Many PUD weatherization incentives have increased this year. The utility can help you cover costs for duct sealing and insulation, heat pumps and efficient windows (for electrically heated homes). Install a ductless heat pump, for example, and you’ll receive a rebate of up to $1,200. These units not only reduce your PUD bill, but they also improve comfort in your home. The utility also offers discounts on compact fluorescent light bulbs and LEDs. For more information, call the PUD Energy Hotline at 425-783-1700 or visit www.snopud.com (click on Conservation).

FOR MORE INFORMATION:  MEDIA RELATIONS  425/783-8444

Source:  Snohomish County PUD, Press Release, May 2, 2013.