SUNDAY

Paraguay set to become net oil exporter in coming years. 4B bls est. in just 1 basin. New prez biz smart. President Energy (UK) (PPC) has majority stake in field that could have up to 159M bls. Proximity to similar holdings in Argentina. Amerisor Resources (UK) (AMER) also has permits for 5 blocks in other basins.

In late April TVA announced it had met '13 goals with buying 7.5Mw through Green Power Providers program. Open to clean/renewable energy systems under 50Kw. TVA will still accept aps for systems under 10Kw for 500Kw remaining in '13 program. Larger systems have to wait until '14.

US govt est. $40B/yr can be saved by reducing energy use in commercial bldgs 20% by '20. Better Buildings Challenge helping meet the goal. Bullitt Center opened in Seattle last month. Designed to be 83% more energy efficient than typical bldg. Owners want complete energy, water self sufficiency by next year. Living Building Challenge certification process requires that bldg helps restore natural enviro. Bullitt lighting 90% natural. Built with heavy timber v. concrete, steel. Water comes only from rain treated onsite (plenty of rain in Seattle, naturally). First Fuel Software (Boston) est. US bldgs can save $17B/yr of energy costs just through operational improvements. Found heating, cooling systems often work at odds with each other.

IBM, Airlight Energy, ETH Zurich, U of Applied Sciences Buchs NTB won $2.4M grant from Swiss agency to develop low cost, high concentration PV thermal system. Plan to use triple junction PV cells on micro channel cooled module. 30% el conversion efficiency, recovery of 50% waste heat. Trying with lightweight high strength concrete, cheap pneumatic mirrors. System also can provide AC through adsorption chiller, make desalinated drinking water.

AV Solar finished 19Mw piece of 127Mw AZ solar farm. Power going to San Diego G&E. Kyocera, Hyundai PV panels. Fluor engineering, procurement, construction, ops and maintenance. Prudential Capital finance.

AEP got FERC OK to separate OH  power generation assets from OH distribution, transmission ops. Transfer to another powgen comp, regulated affiliates.

Over 100 national, state, regional orgs telling Congress to adopt new farm bill with robust mandatory funding for clean/renewable energy, energy efficiency programs. (God love our farmers.)

Sunset on $11.4M US fed effort - Fuels for Public Bldgs - to boost Maine wood pellet industry. 24 projects went for biomass boilers, most from Europe, assembled in Maine. (But using Maine forest, not oil or gas.)

Onward and upward pards.