Secretary Steven Chu announces departure services in a letter to Department of energy employees

USA -- Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced his departure from Department of Energy (DOE) today in a letter addressed to DOE employees. He highlights the many DOE accomplishments over the past four years, with a heavy emphasis on renewable energy developments, energy efficiency and addressing climate change. Read the entire letter below:

Dear Colleagues:

Serving the country as Secretary of Energy, and working alongside such an extraordinary team of people at the Department, has been the greatest privilege of my life. While the job has had many challenges, it has been an exciting time for the Department, the country, and for me personally.

I’ve always been inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, who articulated his Dream of an America where people are judged not by skin color but “by the content of their character.” In the scientific world, people are judged by the content of their ideas. Advances are made with new insights, but the final arbitrator of any point of view are experiments that seek the unbiased truth, not information cherry picked to support a particular point of view. The power of our work is derived from this foundation.

This is the approach I’ve brought to the Department of Energy, where I believe we should be judged not by the money we direct to a particular State or district, company, university or national lab, but by the character of our decisions. The Department of Energy serves the country as a Department of Science, a Department of Innovation, and a Department of Nuclear Security.

I have worked each day to move the Department in a direction where the political leadership and highest levels of career managers have the intellectual curiosity and wisdom to learn from the people who reported to them and where the subject matter experts – which should include managers at the highest levels – as well as employees at our national laboratories welcome their counsel and help. I grew up and matured in organizations where a graduate student or staff scientist could have a discussion with a company department head, a professor, a national lab director and be heard, not because of their rank in the organization, but because of the quality of their ideas.

I came with dreams, and am leaving with a set of accomplishments that we should all be proud of. Those accomplishments are because of all your dedication and hard work.

Four years ago, ARPA-E was a vision described in the report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm. I was a member of that committee, but never dreamed that I would be asked to take the concept to reality. ARPA-E was designed to support high-risk, high reward technology development; to swing for game-changing home runs that can fundamentally transform energy technologies. The program has earned the respect of industry and academia for its outstanding funding choices, and active, thoughtful program management.

Its success was the result of the assembly of an extraordinarily talented group of individuals. This team would engage in active discussions that spilled into the evenings. They challenged each other with honest and frank discussions over their competing programs, and created an ARPA-E fellows program that was able to recruit some of the best recent graduates.

What have been the early results? ARPA-E was described by Fred Smith of Fed Ex in his ARPA-E Summit Keynote address that in his opinion, ARPA-E was best government funding program he has ever seen. In the first few years, 11 of the companies funded with $40 million dollars have attracted more than $200 million in combined private investment. While it is too early to tell if we have home runs like ARPA-net, there are a number of investments that have certainly rounded second base.

The spirit of ARPA-E is now being disseminated in other parts of the Department. The first transplant was a completely revitalized solar photovoltaic program that was dubbed SunShot. A small cadre of enthusiastic individuals led a transformation. Unsolicited feedback from industry and academia alike noted the dramatic increase in the quality of the program with essentially no increase in budget. One of the founding members of ARPA-E is now the Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). Remarkably, arecent Forbes article described the changes now in progress with the lead, “quiet clean energy innovation revolution at the Department of Energy,” and noted “a leap in the right direction and absolutely critical to creating a more flexible, innovation-focused DOE mission.”

I would love to describe what has been happening in many other specific areas of the Department, but my message would fill many more pages. In the last two years, we have issued two Grand Challenges to innovators in industry. The SunShot Challenge called for reducing the full cost of utility scale solar energy to $1/watt, which roughly equates to a levelized cost of electricity (LOCE) of 6 cents/kWh without additional subsidies created for the solar industry. This is close to the projected EIA cost of natural gas and the anticipated LOCE on a new natural gas electricity generator a decade from now. When we first discussed this goal, industry did not take it seriously. Today, they tell me that our input challenged them to rethink their road maps and now agree that it is an achievable goal.

The President announced an EV Everywhere Challenge, with the goal to achieve plug-in hybrids or EVs with a 100 mile range at the same cost of owning and operating a comparable sized internal combustion engine car with 40 miles/gallon for 5 years.

The batteries developed for plug-in EVs will also revolutionize the electrical distribution system and the use of renewable energy. Wind energy is already expected to reach grid parity in less than a decade. Unless we develop new business models with utility companies and other stake holders, we will not be able to take full advantage of the accelerating pace of technology.

We’re also forging stronger partnerships with industry to give America’s innovators and entrepreneurs a competitive edge in the global marketplace. We have held workshops with industry in materials, computation, solar PV, plug-in electric vehicles, and many other areas to actively engage companies to take better advantage of the Department’s capabilities -- from our extraordinary user facilities to our scientists and engineers. In addition, numerous industry leaders have told me of a new found appreciation of our “convening” role in many areas of energy innovation, including innovations in energy finance. Going forward, this convening role and intellectual brainstorming sessions with industry will be increasingly valuable.

DOI Announces renewable energy offshore lease sale

The Department of the Interior (DOI) and its Bureau of ocean energy management (BOEM) on 30 November announced competitive lease sales for renewable energies development of two wind zones power in the Atlantic Ocean. BOEM proposes to lease nearly 278,000 hectares of offshore Virginia, Massachusetts and Rhode Iceland.

The lease sales, which will take place next year, are always competitive on the outer continental shelf wind energy first sales. They are important milestones in the DOI 'smart from the start"wind-energy program to facilitate the choice of location, leasing and construction of new wind energy projects. This proposed leasing areas cover as potential high winds have resource and more than 4,000 megawatts be wind generation, enough to power to be able to support an estimated 1.4 million homes.

Were the proposed sale of notices in the Federal Register on December 3 that published, detailed information on the areas for leasing, as well as details such as procurement procedures available. Notices public comment 60-day period ending on 1 February 2013. See press release DOI, Federal notice for Massachusetts and Rhode Iceland and Federal Register notice register for Virginia.

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Hub Department of energy announces new batteries and energy storage

The Energy Department on 30 November, announced that its Argonne suburb was elected national laboratory in Chicago for a price of up to $120 million within five years to a multipartner a new batteries and energy storage hub to connect team. Called the hub, the Joint Center for energy storage research (JCESR), research and development makes the five Department of energy national laboratories, five universities and four private companies in an effort that combine to achieve the revolutionary advances in battery performance. Advancing next-generation technologies are an important part of the President Obama of the strategy to reduce dependence on foreign oil and lower energy costs for U.S. consumers battery and energy storage for electric and hybrid cars and the power grid.

Other national laboratories, a partnership with Argonne are Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. Partner universities include the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, University of Illinois-Chicago, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and University of Michigan. Four industrial partners have also joined; including Dow Chemical Company, applied materials, Inc.; Johnson controls, Inc.; and clean energy trust.

Does the State of Illinois to build the State-of-art JCESR helper function $5 million campus located on the Argonne in the suburb of Chicago. JCESR is the fourth energy innovation hub, produced by the Department of energy since the modeling and simulation of nuclear reactors, to achieve significant improvements in the energy efficiency of buildings and the development of fuels from sunlight are 2010 other hubs dedicated. A fifth hub focused on critical materials research was announced earlier this year and is still in the application process. See Energy Department press release.

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Interior Minister announces lease agreement for Delaware offshore wind energy

An agreement on the first commercial lease after its "smart from the start" has reached offshore-wind energy development initiative announced the US Department of Interior (DOI) and its Bureau of ocean energy management (BOEM) on 23 October BOEM. Located in the federal waters, the site covers 96.430 hectares about 11 nautical miles off the coast of Delaware.

The lease NRG Bluewater grants the exclusive right, a wind Delaware LLC or multiple plans the BOEM lead to activities in support of wind energy development in the area of leasing to submit. The company can an assessment plan with a proposal site assessment activities, such as the installation of a meteorological Tower or meteorological buoy lead present. It can send also a construction and operation plan construction of actual wind system and cabling propose to shore.

NRG Bluewater originally proposed a 450-megawatt project off the coast of Delaware, with estimates that the project could generate enough electricity to power for more than 100,000 houses. This estimate could change, after NRG learns additional planning and survey work and sends its plan to the BOEM, where the possible plans based on ecological, technical and other factors before granting approval for the construction of value determined. The smart start initiative for Atlantic of outer continental shelf announced in 2010 should site selection, to facilitate leasing and construction of new offshore renewable projects. See the DOI press release and the BOEM Delaware Web site, including a map of the site.

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USDA Announces $134 Million in Smart Grid Funding

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on October 11 announced funding to modernize and improve the efficiency of rural electric generation and transmission systems. The announcement includes additional loan support of $134 million in Smart Grid technologies in 16 states. The selected projects are located in Alabama, California, Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. In August, the USDA reported that it had met its goal to finance $250 million in Smart Grid technologies in fiscal year 2012.

USDA also announced nearly $264 million in loans to partially finance wood-burning plants in Colorado, Hawaii, and Texas that are expected to generate 69 megawatts (MW) of electricity. Additionally, $14,565,000 was announced to finance the construction of a 5.5 MW solar-powered generating facility in Maryland. See the USDA press release.

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Department of Energy Announces $1 million for hydrogen fuel technology way

The Department of energy on October 5 announced new funding, the most promising technology paths in direction to the gasoline equivalent reach of hydrogen as a fuel of the $2 - to $4 per gallon by 2020 to evaluate. The financing help the Department broader give efforts to drivers and businesses more opportunities and to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

To help achieving this aggressive target by 2020, the selected projects will determine through this program cost-efficient materials and processes generates hydrogen from renewables and natural gas. Researchers in these projects will manufacture and supply of technologies, analyze also, to identify the main challenges and priorities; You are to assess further progress and hydrogen costs. This effort will include annual analyses of the key technical challenges with the Department of energy hydrogen analysis models (H2A) in addition to other industry tools. The Department of energy progress warning message displayed.

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Department of Energy Announces Federal Energy Management Award winner

The winners of the 31st annual federal energy and water management awards has the Energy Ministry on October 4. These awards recognize federal agencies invest commitment in energy efficiency measures that save taxpayer money and to increase U.S. energy security. The winners of this year's total 6 trillion BTU stored energy, almost 2 billion gallons of water and almost 165 million $ in fiscal 2011. Its initiatives also offset more than 78 billion BTU based on fossil energy helped by a combination of electricity produced from renewable energy sources and purchases. The energy savings are equivalent to more than 100,000 cars off the road for a year remove or eliminate the average annual energy consumption of more than 55,000 households.

This year throughout the Federal Government received 33 individuals, teams and organizations of awards for a variety of outstanding and innovative efforts that have improved energy, water and vehicle fleet efficiency. Past winners include employees serve the U.S. air force, army, Marine Corps, and Navy; the departments of energy, homeland security, Interior, transportation, and Veterans Affairs; the General Services Administration; and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Those demonstrated that mandated energy can achieve significant benefits of using performance-based contracts approved. The achievements implemented system-wide changes to operating and maintenance procedures, 580 billion BTU save, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems upgrade and installation of high-efficiency lighting, building materials, and control energy management systems. This includes 78 billion BTU through the installation of renewable energy systems including solar thermal and photovoltaic systems, cogeneration systems that use Save Deponie gas and geothermal heat pumps. She pursued also leadership in energy and environmental facilities with State-of-the-art technologies certified design (LEED) and create eco-friendly workspaces. Find the Energy Department progress alert and the complete list of winners.

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USDA Announces $10 Million in Rural Smart Grid Funds

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on September 20 the latest in a series of funding steps to modernize and improve the efficiency of rural electric generation and transmission systems. The agency will offer loan guarantees to support nearly $10 million in smart grid technologies.

One of the loan recipients is Nobles Cooperative Electric, which serves counties in southwestern Minnesota and northwestern Iowa. Their loan includes $850,000 in smart grid projects. The Gundy Electric Cooperative, Inc., which serves customers in Iowa and Missouri, has also been selected for a loan guarantee that includes over $700,000 in smart grid projects. Earlier this month, the USDA announced it had met its goal to finance $250 million in smart grid technologies in fiscal year 2012. See the USDA press release.

In 2009, the Energy Department released the first Smart Grid System Report, which examined smart grid deployment nationwide. The report noted that smart grids have the potential to dramatically change how we experience electricity in the country. See the July 22, 2009 edition of the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network News newsletter.

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Army announces $7 billion-action to support renewable energy

On August 7 announced the army there are exhibited, has a $7 billion request for proposal $7 billion worth of renewable and alternative energy through power purchase agreements to procure. The $7 billion-capacity would be used for the purchase of energy over 30 years or less from renewable energy plants, which are built and operated by contractors with private-sector funding. Contracts are awarded for large and small companies in four different renewable energy technologies: solar, geothermal, wind, and biomass.

Project folders may be located States, U.S. territories or other property under the control of the Government to a federal property within the United. The call will be available for 60 days, with replies due on October 5. These contracts are part of the U.S. Department of Defense goal to get 25% of total energy from renewable sources by the year 2025. See press release of the army.

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Department of Energy Announces $102 million for small business research

The Department of energy announced on June 27, it is to new funds for 104 small businesses nationwide. The grants amounting to more than $102 million, supported with the commercialization and job creation to develop a strong potential companies in 26 countries, companies, promising technologies help.

From the Department of energy small business innovation programs funded research (SBIR) and small business technology transfer (STTR), are the choices for phase II work. In phase II, are companies build on the conceptual work in phase I and track to take the next steps in the technologies to the market. The phase II Awards are up to 1 million $ for work for two years. The awards support developing technologies in areas of large wind turbines up to more energy-efficient data centers. For example, the Xunlight works 26 solar company of Toledo, Ohio, on transparent, flexible cadmium telluride modules for photovoltaic. See the DOE press release, the list of awards and the site SBIR and STTR.

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Obama administration announces investment in biofuels

The Energy Department is increasing support for biofuels. The biorefinery pilot makes such cellulosic ethanol from corn on the cob.
Credit card: Poet

$30 Announced the Department of energy, the U.S. Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Navy on July 2 millions in promoting private investment in commercial advanced drop-in bio-fuels adapted. Drop-in biofuels are fuels, direct serve can substitute or supplement to existing gasoline, diesel and Jet fuels, without changes and existing distribution networks or engine fuel pump - and have the potential to us significantly to reduce dependence on oil imports. DOE offers $32 million in new investments also for earlier research, continue to drive for technological breakthroughs and other costs in the industry.

In his design for a secure energy future in March 2011 President Obama published objective of reducing oil imports by a third by the year energy efficiency and accelerate the development of biofuels and other alternatives set by 2025. As part of this effort led the blueprint DOE work Navy and the USDA to support commercialization of drop in biofuel substitutes for diesel and jet fuel, that the current funding announcement (FOA) lead opportunity. This FOA has a two-phased approach to share with Government and industry in the cost. In phase 1 applicants will submit a package of design and comprehensive business plan for a commercial biorefinery, identify and project sites to secure and further necessary steps set out in the notice. Selected winners still in phase 2 will present additional information for the construction or the upgrading of a biorefinery. Applications are due by August 13, 2012. The funding opportunity announcement and the blueprint for a secure energy future, see.

In addition, research that complement the commercial efforts of the Navy and USDA announced bot DOE new investments in earlier stage of biofuels. The last steps in the Obama Government are this early, pre-commercial systems to reduce efforts for the further development of biofuel technologies, improve performance, and to identify new effective and non-food feedstocks and technologies. Find the full funding request. Applications are due to the 13 August 2012.

DOE funding innovative pilot-scale and demo-scale biorefineries that could produce renewable bio-fuels, announced $20 million to support today covers to meet the military specifications for kerosene and ship diesel with a variety of non-food biomass raw materials, waste-based materials and algae. These projects support may be new plant construction, retrofit on existing U.S. bio-refineries or operations plant to begin production on the pilot or pre commercial scale. This investment will help made collect also federal and local governments, private developers and accurate data on the costs of the production of fuels from biomass and waste raw materials industry.

In addition, DOE announced $12 million to up to eight projects focused fuels on the exploration of possibilities for the development of organic transport and products with synthetic biological processing support. Synthetic biological processing provides innovative technology to efficiently, to enable low-cost conversion of nonfood biomass to biofuels. These projects will develop novel biological systems, which improve the breakdown of raw biomass raw materials and in the conversion of raw materials into transportation fuels.

Projects - carried by small businesses, universities, national laboratories and industry - will endeavour to overcome barriers to scientific maritime trade competitive advanced biofuels and bioproducts. Applications are due to the 10 July 2012. See the full funding opportunity announcement and the DOE press release.

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Energy Department Announces Funding to Test a Wave Energy Device

The Energy Department on May 18 announced that $500,000 is available this year to test the technical readiness of technologies that can harness energy from waves to supply renewable power to highly-populated coastal regions. The funding will support one project to deploy and test a wave energy conversion device for one year at the Department of Navy's Wave Energy Test Site off of the Marine Corps Base Hawaii in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu. This funding will demonstrate and accelerate wave power technologies that could further develop the country's significant ocean energy resources.

These efforts complement an ongoing collaboration with the Navy, underscoring how increased cooperation between the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the Energy Department can further the nation's objectives toward renewable energy development. Through the funding opportunity, the Energy Department will provide technical support to test and evaluate the best wave energy options to provide power to DOD facilities. The Energy Department estimates that there are over 1,170 terawatt hours per year of electric generation available from wave energy off U.S. coasts, although not all of this resource potential can realistically be developed. The Navy has supported wave energy conversion research with the expectation that this technology can be used to assist DOD in reaching its agency goal of producing or procuring 25% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025.

The Energy Department expects to select a proposed wave energy device that is substantially complete and ready for testing and data collection without significant modification. The testing will include a comprehensive performance assessment—as well as a review of all pre- and post-deployment activities, operations and maintenance activities, and related analysis—to advance understanding of these innovative technologies and identify areas of performance improvement that will benefit this emerging industry as a whole. See the Progress Alert and the funding opportunity announcement.

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Fuel cell Announces milestone Department of energy used

On 14 may, the Department of energy announced that more than a thousand fuel cells due to the support of the American recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 were made available. In the last three years, almost 1200 fuel cell in an emergency backup were deployed units and handling equipment such as fork-lift trucks. US companies this investment gives more options, reduce energy costs and oil used.

Companies are increasingly fuel cells for the in place-primary or for buildings, data centers and masts, high reliability and low emissions electricity production install. Until today, where close to have 700 fuel cells were deployed to provide backup power supply with $18.5 million in Recovery Act funding. Fuel cells are quiet and need not oil, so that they produce few emissions and pollutants. Fuel cells also typically require minimal maintenance, and they can be easily monitored from afar to further reduce of the maintenance time. In addition many leading American companies are fuel cells to their handling due to the productivity, cost, makes the choice and performance advantages of the fuel cell forklift truck. Funded under the Recovery Act, with $ 9.7 million more than 500 fuel cell forklift trucks are systems to support data collection and analysis, and training now operation to the public along with the tank.

Hydrogen fuel cells to do emit no harmful air pollutants, and they can increase productivity fueled up quickly. Fuel cells maintain also full power between refuel. All of these projects collected data are aggregated, status results provide relevant technology and fuel cells performance data, without revealing proprietary information. These publicly available data products provide important information for future investors and customers. See the Energy Department progress closely and the fuel cell technology website.

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Energy Department Announces $2.5 Million for Fuel Cell Baggage Vehicles

The Energy Department announced on April 25 up to $2.5 million in funding is available this year to demonstrate and deploy fuel cell electric vehicles for transporting passenger baggage at major U.S. airports. Up to three projects selected for funding will demonstrate first-generation, fuel cell-powered baggage-towing tractors under real-world operating conditions, and will collect and analyze data to test their performance and cost-effectiveness. The funding will help industry bring advanced fuel cell technologies into emerging markets. It will also provide airlines and airports with new choices for ground support operations that cut energy costs, air pollution, and petroleum use.

The Energy Department seeks applicants to demonstrate and test the performance and economic viability of advanced fuel cell systems for up to three years. The 50% cost-shared projects will supply both information on fuel cell system operation and data on the economics of these vehicles to the Hydrogen Secure Data Center at the DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory for analysis and comparison. Data will be collected from actual airport operations so that engineers and economic analysts can assess the technology's performance, durability, and cost-effectiveness under the real-world conditions of commercial airports. Conclusions will be drawn from the data to evaluate the commercial viability of this fuel cell application, and the data will be shared with fuel cell manufacturers, helping to improve their designs and optimize overall performance and costs. See the DOE Progress Alert and the funding opportunity announcement.

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Department of energy announces funding for small business efficiency and renewable research

The Energy Department on 9 April announced that up to $9 million this year to about 50 small business innovative energy efficiency and renewable energy fund to advance. This initiative helps companies with promising ideas, which cut improvement of manufacturing processes, building efficiency increase, oil dependency, and electricity from renewable energy sources to generate.

DOE's Office of energy efficiency and renewable energy (EERE) provides funding through the Department of small business innovation research and small business technology transfer programs. These allow federal agencies with large budgets for research and development at a fraction of their funding for competitions between small business aside. Small businesses win awards in these programs to develop the rights to all technologies and they are prompted to market them.

Call this wide-ranging topic of research are small businesses broadly framed to work problems and achieving goals, and gives them the freedom to renew. It promotes even small companies with groundbreaking concepts for a part of research teams, the EERE programs. The possibility of financing includes 8 width themes and sub-themes 30 areas including advanced manufacturing, energy-efficient buildings, biomass, hydrogen and fuel cells and solar energy, wind and water power technologies. The Department of energy funded are selected small businesses with one year, awards of up to $150.000. Prize winner with successful projects have the option to compete for more than $1 million in follow-on funding. See the EERE progress alert and the application for the funding opportunity announcement for the funding opportunity Exchange Web site.

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Interior Department Announces Next Steps for Atlantic Offshore Energy

Das U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) und das Bureau des Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) kundigte am 28. Marz DOI Schritte zu beurteilen, die konventionelle und erneuerbare Energie-Ressource Potenzial in den Mid- und Sud-Atlantik stattfindet. Die Entwurf programmgesteuerte Umweltbelastung Anweisung (PEIS) freigegeben fur offentliche Kommentare helfen zukunftige Entscheidungen mitteilen, ob, und wenn also wo leasing angebracht ware.

Dieser Meilenstein Fortschritte BOEM zugeschnitten Regional Ansatz fur Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Exploration und Entwicklung, betont die Bedeutung einer besseren Verstandnis Ressource Potenzial in den Mid- und Sud-Atlantik. Der Entwurf PEIS beurteilt vorgeschlagene geologische und geophysikalische Aktivitaten, darunter seismische und andere Offshore-Untersuchungen, in den Mid - und Sud-Atlantik Planung Bereiche.

Der PEIS auch wertet die potenziellen Umweltauswirkungen der mehrere geologische und geophysikalische Aktivitaten in diesen Bereichen Planung OCS und, wo notig, umrei?t Minderungs- und Uberwachungsma?nahmen, die verringern oder beseitigen der mogliche Auswirkungen. Eine Vielzahl von Techniken wird auch verwendet, das Potenzial erneuerbarer Energie Strukturen-Website, und suchen marine Bodenschatzen wie Sand und Kies zu verstehen. BOEM verwendet auch geologische und geophysikalische Informationen zur Erfullung ihrer gesetzlichen Aufgaben um die Sicherheit von offshore-Aktivitaten zu uberwachen; Unterstutzung von Analysen der Auswirkungen auf die Umwelt und schonen die Umwelt; Erhalt des Marktwerts fur geleaste federal Lands zu gewahrleisten; und zur Erhaltung der Ol-und Gasvorkommen. Finden Sie die DOI-Pressemitteilung und den Entwurf PEIS.

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Obama Administration Announces Great Lakes Wind Projects Agreement

The Obama Administration joined the governors of Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, and Pennsylvania on March 30 to announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) streamlining offshore wind development in the Great Lakes. DOE, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and the Great Lakes Offshore Wind Energy Consortium are among the signatories.

The MOU will enhance collaboration between federal and state agencies to speed review of proposed offshore wind projects. Specifically, the agencies will develop an action plan that sets priorities and recommends steps for achieving efficient and responsible evaluation of proposed offshore wind power projects in the Great Lakes region. The area has the potential to produce more than 700 gigawatts of energy from offshore wind, about one fifth of the total U.S. offshore wind potential. DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory estimates that each gigawatt of offshore wind installed could produce enough electricity to power 300,000 homes.

To safely and responsibly develop offshore wind resources, federal and state agencies—which share jurisdiction in the Great Lakes—must fully evaluate the potential social, environmental, safety, and security impacts of projects. See the DOE press release, a fact sheet, and the complete MOU.

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Anadarko Announces Settlement With BP

{"s" : "apc","k" : "a00,a50,b00,b60,c10,g00,h00,l10,p20,t10,v00","o" : "","j" : ""} Press Release Source: Anadarko Petroleum Corporation On Monday October 17, 2011, 2:00 am EDT

HOUSTON, TX--(Marketwire -10/17/11)- Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE: APC - News) today announced an agreement with BP to settle all of BP's current and future claims against Anadarko associated with the Deepwater Horizon event.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Anadarko agrees to pay $4.0 billion to BP, and both parties have agreed to mutually release claims against each other. As part of this agreement, BP will release its claims against Anadarko for approximately $6.1 billion of outstanding invoices received to date, as well as to forego reimbursement for any future costs related to the event. In addition, BP will fully indemnify Anadarko for damage claims arising under the Oil Pollution Act, claims for natural resource damages and associated damage-assessment costs, and any claims arising under the relevant Joint Operating Agreement. Anadarko also will transfer its 25-percent interest in Mississippi Canyon block 252 (Macondo) to BP.

"This settlement agreement with BP is the right action for our stakeholders, as it removes significant uncertainty regarding future liabilities and associated risks," Anadarko Chairman and CEO Jim Hackett said. "With this issue resolved, we believe focus will return to the tremendous value embedded in our asset base and the company's operational and exploration success that have been under-valued during the last 18 months. Importantly, BP has committed to use the funds to pay the claims of individuals and entities affected by the Deepwater Horizon event."

According to its public filings, BP has recorded a charge in excess of $40 billion for total estimated costs associated with the event. To date, BP has invoiced Anadarko an aggregate of $6.1 billion for what BP considers to be Anadarko's 25-percent proportionate share of BP's actual and near-term costs.

"The settlement amount, equivalent to approximately $5 per share after tax, eliminates all significant exposure to historical and future claims," said Hackett. "Though the agreement does not provide indemnification against fines and penalties, punitive damages or certain other potential claims, we do not consider these items to represent a significant financial risk to Anadarko. This confidence stems from recent court decisions that released Anadarko from punitive damages and personal injury claims, combined with the findings of various investigations that have confirmed the company had no direct involvement in the drilling of the Macondo well."

Anadarko will record a $4.0 billion liability associated with this settlement in its third-quarter 2011 financials. The company will remit the settlement amount to BP within 45 days and plans to fund the payment with a combination of cash on hand and drawing down funds from its $5.0 billion credit facility. Anadarko expects to receive in excess of $163 million of net proceeds from its insurance providers and plans to repay borrowings under its credit facility with a portion of the proceeds from a possible monetization of its Brazilian subsidiary. The company expects to open a data room for its Brazilian properties later this year, with anticipated closing of a sale in 2012, subject to the terms achieving the company's desired value thresholds and regulatory approval.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation's mission is to deliver a competitive and sustainable rate of return to shareholders by exploring for, acquiring and developing oil and natural gas resources vital to the world's health and welfare. As of year-end 2010, the company had approximately 2.42 billion barrels-equivalent of proved reserves, making it one of the world's largest independent exploration and production companies. For more information about Anadarko, please visit www.anadarko.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Anadarko believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions. No assurance, however, can be given that such expectations will prove to have been correct. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the projections, anticipated results or other expectations expressed in this news release, including Anadarko's ability to successfully monetize select assets, collect insurance proceeds, draw on its secured credit facility, reduce debt, defend itself against any remaining claims (including, but not limited to, fines, penalties and punitive damages) and BP's ability to fulfill its indemnification obligations to Anadarko. See "Risk Factors" in the company's 2010 Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other public filings and press releases. Anadarko undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements.

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Flint Announces Completion of Carson Energy Services Acquisition

CALGARY, Oct. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ - Flint Energy Services Ltd. ("Flint" or the "Company") announced that it completed the previously announced agreement to acquire (the "Acquisition") all of the issued shares of Carson Energy Services Ltd. ("Carson"), a privately held energy services company based in Saskatchewan.

The transaction was subject to regulatory approvals which were obtained at the end of September, 2011 and closed effective October 1, 2011.  The purchase price is comprised of $112 million in cash and 2,121,212 Flint common shares, plus up to an additional $30 million earn-out spread over the next three years, subject to closing adjustments.  Payment of the earn-out portion of the purchase price is dependent on the Carson operations meeting the EBITDA target of $40 million per year.

Carson, established in 1974 and based in Lampman, Saskatchewan, is one of Saskatchewan's largest private companies engaged in energy services, with over 900 employees and operations in 17 locations covering major energy plays in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and eastern Alberta.  Carson offers pipeline construction, fabrication, civil and facility construction, oilfield maintenance, pipeline integrity, horizontal directional drilling, trucking and tubular management, environmental and safety sales and services.  Carson's well respected safety performance, outstanding employees, strategic services and operations, and strong customer service provides Flint with a firm platform to expand its energy services reach in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Ron Carson, President of Carson Energy Services Ltd., will continue as President of Carson's operations within Flint.  Carson will continue to operate under the Carson Energy Services brand while Flint and Carson adopt the best practices of each organization, ensuring uninterrupted and seamless services to their customers.  The Carson operating results will be consolidated in the Company's Production Services segment, and will be reported in the fourth quarter and year end statements.

Flint Energy Services Ltd. is a market leader providing an expanding range of integrated products and services for the oil and gas industry including: production services; field construction; oilfield transportation; process equipment design and manufacturing; and tubular management services.  With more than 9,500 employees, Flint provides this unique breadth of products and services through over 82 strategic locations in the oil and gas producing areas of western North America, from Inuvik in the Northwest Territories to Mission, Texas on the Mexican border.  Flint is a preferred provider of infrastructure construction management, module fabrication, maintenance services for upgrading, and production facilities in Alberta's oil sands sector. www.flintenergy.com

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

In this news release, reference is made to EBITDA of Carson, which is a non-GAAP measure. The EBITDA of Carson is defined to mean earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization, stock based compensation, joint venture results and impairment, and has been calculated in a manner that is consistent with the manner in which Flint calculates EBITDA.  Flint regularly provides information concerning Flint's EBITDA for various periods, because EBITDA is commonly referred to by lenders and other interested parties in evaluating Flint's financial position.  Accordingly, the anticipated EBIDTA of Carson is a financial measure that has been included in this new release together with the anticipated revenues of Carson to enable investors to assess, at a high-level, the financial effect of the Acquisition.  Investors are cautioned, however, that EBIDTA should not be construed as an alternative to net earning determined in accordance with GAAP as an indicator of financial performance.  Moreover, the method of calculating EBIDTA may differ from other organizations and, accordingly, the calculations of EBITDA contained in this new release may not be comparable to other organizations.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this news release are "forward-looking statements".  All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this news release may be forward-looking statements.  Forward looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "potential", "targeting" "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements pertaining to the payment of the purchase price and adjustments thereto, the payment of the earn-out portion of the purchase price, the expected outcome of the Acquisition including, without limitation, the impact of the Acquisition on annual revenues and EBITDA.  These forward-looking statements are based upon Flint's current expectations of the management of Flint regarding future events and future performance of Flint and Carson, financial performance of Carson and synergies associated with the Acquisition.  Flint believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements, and the assumptions on which such forward-looking statements are based, are reasonable; however, no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements should not be unduly relied upon.  Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements.  These factors include, but are not limited to, the inability to integrate the business, assets and employees of Carson into Flint, fluctuations in oil and gas prices, fluctuations in the level of oil and gas industry capital expenditures and expenditures on production and remedial work and other factors that affect demand for the Company's services, industry competition, uncertainties as to the Company's ability to implement its business strategy effectively in Canada and the United States, political and economic conditions, the Company's ability to attract and retain key personnel, and other risks and uncertainties described under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the Company's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2010 and other documents filed with Canadian provincial securities authorities and are available to the public at www.sedar.com.  The forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.  The forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and Flint assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as expressly required by applicable securities law.  Further information regarding risks and uncertainties relating to Flint and its securities can be found in the disclosure documents filed by Flint with the securities regulatory authorities, available at www.sedar.com.

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Gladstein, Neandross & Associates Announces New Conference Dedicated to Natural Gas in High Horsepower Applications

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SANTA MONICA, Calif., Oct. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- National environmental consulting firm Gladstein, Neandross & Associates (GNA) today announced a new conference, "HHP SUMMIT 2012 - Natural Gas for High Horsepower Applications," dedicated to examining the tremendous environmental benefits of natural gas as a fuel for equipment used in rail, marine, mine, construction, power generation and other high horsepower industrial applications.  Increased natural gas availability, accessibility, and mobile fueling options have recently expanded opportunities for use of natural gas in these sectors and other remote (non-pipeline) operations.  The inaugural HHP SUMMIT will review these topics over a two and a half-day event October 24-26, 2012 in Houston, Texas including general and breakout sessions, a tradeshow, networking opportunities and an off-site tour.  

Encana Natural Gas Inc. (Encana) and Pivotal LNG, a subsidiary of AGL Resources Inc., have signed on as Presenting Sponsors of this event.  Encana is a charter member of America's Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) and the second largest producer of natural gas in North America.  Pivotal LNG is a management company focused on acquisition, development, and operation of liquefied natural gas assets in conjunction with AGL's overall growth strategy.  These Presenting Sponsors have collaborated to provide conference attendees with information with an in-depth look at the significant cost savings and environmental benefits that are possible by switching to natural gas from diesel in high horsepower applications.  

Encana Executive Vice President Eric Marsh stated, "We have seen firsthand the tremendous benefits of running our own company's high horsepower equipment on natural gas and this event provides a unique opportunity to share our experiences and help others to reduce their operating costs, environmental footprint, and reliance on imported petroleum products.  Encana's support of the HHP SUMMIT confirms our own commitment towards utilizing natural gas in as many facets of our operations as possible and we look forward to sharing the positive results of our experience."

Summit attendees will learn from an array of international industry experts about the technologies, equipment and pending regulatory changes that may affect the many industries using high horsepower equipment. The summit will also examine the synergies that are presented across these various applications, particularly in terms of LNG fuel supply.

"The content to be covered at the HHP SUMMIT is exactly where we see tremendous growth potential in the natural gas sector," stated David Schultz, vice president, Pivotal LNG.  "It is exciting to see the innovation in an increased range of high horsepower equipment and technologies that enables us to fully utilize our plentiful domestic supply of clean natural gas."

The use of natural gas as a replacement for conventional diesel fuels in vehicle applications has been gaining ground in the U.S. and around the world for more than a decade. In high mileage and high fuel use applications such as over-the-road trucking, refuse and transit, significant cost savings are being realized in relation to the volume of diesel fuel being replaced with cleaner burning and lower cost natural gas. The use of natural gas in place of diesel in high horsepower applications presents an even more scalable opportunity to recognize operational cost reductions, near-immediate payback periods and environmental benefits.

For more information about the HHP SUMMIT, contact GNA at 888-993-0302 or visit www.hhpnaturalgas.com.

About Gladstein, Neandross & Associates

With headquarters in Santa Monica, Calif., and in New York, New York, Gladstein, Neandross & Associates (GNA) is one of the nation's leading environmental consulting firms specializing in emission reduction, energy and transportation policy, carbon management, and market development for clean, alternative fuel and efficient vehicle technologies.  As part of its comprehensive suite of consulting services, GNA offers nearly two decades of experience developing and managing clean energy related conferences, events and other outreach programs that have brought together thousands of attendees and industry leading speakers at venues across the United States.  www.gladstein.org

About Encana

Encana is a leading North American natural gas producer that is focused on growing its strong portfolio of natural gas resource plays in key basins from northeast British Columbia to Texas and Louisiana. By partnering with employees, community organizations and other businesses, Encana contributes to the strength and sustainability of the communities where it operates. Encana common shares trade on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges under the symbol ECA.  www.encana.com

About Pivotal LNG

Pivotal LNG, a wholly owned subsidiary of AGL Resources (NYSE: AGL), sells liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a substitute fuel for transportation and other mechanical uses in the wholesale LNG market.  www.pivotalenergydev.com

About AGL Resources

AGL Resources (NYSE: AGL), an Atlanta-based energy services company, serves approximately 2.3 million customers in six states. The company also owns Houston-based Sequent Energy Management, an asset manager serving natural gas wholesale customers throughout North America. As an 85-percent owner in the SouthStar partnership, AGL Resources markets natural gas to consumers in Georgia under the Georgia Natural Gas brand. The company also owns and operates two high-deliverability natural gas storage facilities: Jefferson Island Storage & Hub near the Henry Hub in Louisiana and Golden Triangle Storage in Texas.  www.aglresources.com

CONTACT:  Anne Hellwig
310-573-8558
anne@gladstein.org

SOURCE Gladstein, Neandross & Associates

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