Listed in the Maplecroft Climate Innovation Indexes, Entergy was selected after demonstrating superior management, mitigation and adaptation in the field of climate innovation. More than 360 U.S. companies were considered for inclusion but Entergy was one of just 100 that made the cut.

The Maplecroft Climate Innovation Indexes are described as the most exhaustive study of the United States’ largest multinational companies and how they manage and adapt to climate change, with a special focus on innovation. According to Maplecroft, the Climate Innovation Indexes enable investors to identify the most resilient and innovative companies with the best long-term growth prospects. Maplecroft rated each company against more than 100 criteria, including: technological innovation and new working practices to combat climate change impacts; management of climate-related issues; adaption to physical climate-related risks, such as flooding or more extreme weather events throughout the supply chain; and, the reduction of GHG emissions.  Within the energy sector, Entergy Corporation consistently measured well above industry averages.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an updated list of the Top 50 Green Power Partnership organizations voluntarily using clean, renewable electricity from resources such as solar, wind, and low-impact hydropower. Intel Corporation tops the list as the largest single user of green power, followed by Kohl’s Department Stores and Microsoft Corporation. Combined, the Top 50 partners are using more than 15 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually. Through their use of green power, these top organizations are avoiding carbon pollution equal to that created by the electricity use of more than 1.3 million American homes each year.

EPA’s Green Power Partnership works with more than 1,300 partner organizations, over half of which are small businesses and nonprofit organizations, to voluntarily use green power. Green power resources produce electricity with an environmental profile superior to conventional power technologies, and produce significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

“We applaud all of our Green Power Partners for their use of clean, renewable energy. For the first time, each of the Top 50 partners is using more than 100 million kilowatt-hours of green power annually,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Their actions help to reduce harmful carbon pollution that threatens the health of our planet and the air we breathe, and mark another step toward a new era of clean, innovative American energy.”

Intel has ranked number one on the list since 2008 and uses more than 2.5 billion kWh annually, or 88 percent of the company’s nationwide electricity use. Microsoft, which holds the number three spot, and McDonald’s USA LLC, which ranks eleventh, are new to the list.

The Green Power Partnership also updated the rankings of the 100 Percent Green Power Users list, which highlights close to 700 partners using green power for their entire electricity load, as well as its Top 20 Retailers and Top 20 Local Governments lists. Kohl’s ranks number one on both the Top 20 Retailers and 100 Percent Green Power Users lists while the City of Houston ranks number one on the Top 20 Local Governments list.

Editor’s Note: Because agriculture is an important economic and environmental sector in Arkansas, this year for Earth Day, we bring these thoughts about the relationship between Earth Day and agriculture.

Dr. Jason Clay Reflects on Earth Day and Agriculture

When I visit places like the Amazon and Sumatra, I am reminded of their sheer beauty. I’m also struck by how much they’re changing with each visit. Growing demand for food and fiber around the world is fueling destruction of these biologically diverse regions.

As the world’s largest conservation organization dedicated to protecting species and their habitats, if we don’t get food and fiber right, we can turn off the lights and go home. Without action soon, there won’t be any biodiversity left to protect.

This is why World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is working with some of the largest global organizations to reduce the impact of agriculture on the planet. For example, WWF has teamed with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the food company Mars and the Beijing Genomics Institute to ensure the genomes of 25-30 “neglected” crops in Africa are sequenced and then put in the public domain. We will train up to 90 Africans each year to use 21st century technology for plant breeding and hope that in 5-10 years time, scientists will use this information to double or even triple the productivity of these underutilized crops, improve drought tolerance, disease resistance and overall nutrient content.

WWF has also joined forces with the Dutch government and Unilever, Nutreco and Rabobank to explore how carbon could be incorporated into agricultural commodity prices. One vision is for those companies that purchase popular commodities like coffee, milk and sugar to also buy the carbon that the farmer sequestered or avoided releasing during production. If developed in a responsible way, this approach could offer a host of benefits by making food production more sustainable, marginal lands more viable, and producers more financially secure.

In the next 40 years, we have to produce as much as food as we have in the past 8,000. To get there, we need to freeze the footprint of food. The two projects I’ve outlined fall within a construct I call the eight “food wedges” that, if implemented globally, will enable us to scale up food production and protect biodiversity.

More progress is being made across these wedges, including a new fund to rehabilitate underproductive and degraded lands, as well as projects to reduce food waste on the farm and throughout global supply chains. I detailed each of these strategies in the journal Nature last summer, and in a TEDxWWF talk last fall.

On Earth Day 2012, take a moment to consider how tightly bound our lives are to our precious, yet finite planet, from the food you eat to the shirt on your back. To maintain life as we know it, we must pursue global solutions to eliminate waste and preserve resources. It’s a daunting challenge for any one individual or organization, but working together, we can get there.

About Dr. Jason Clay:

Jason gets things done on a global scale. His ideas are changing the way governments, foundations, researchers, and NGOs identify and address risks and opportunities for their work. He brings people together to improve environmentally sensitive practices in agriculture and aquaculture. Jason’s goal is to create global standards for producing and using raw materials, particularly in terms of carbon and water.

He has convened industry roundtables of retailers, buyers, producers and environmentalists to reduce the key impacts of producing soy, cotton, sugarcane, salmon, shrimp, mollusks, catfish and tilapia. Jason ran a family farm, taught at Harvard and Yale, worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and spent more than 25 years working with human rights and environmental organizations before joining WWF in 1999.

Other committee members present were State Senator Gene Jeffress (D, AR-8), State Senator Jimmy Jeffress (D, AR-24), State Senator Jerry Taylor (D, AR-23), State Representative David Branscum (R, AR-90), State Representative Jerry Brown (D, AR-57), State Representative Larry Cowling (D, AR-2), State Representative David Fielding (D, AR-5), State Representative Kim Hammer (R, AR-28), State Representative Matthew Shepherd (R, AR-6), State Representative Garry Smith (D, AR-7), and State Representative Charolette Wagner (D, AR-77).

Todd Onderdonk, Senior Energy Advisor for ExxonMobil, gave an overview of ExxonMobil’s Energy Outlook 2040.  Exxon anticipates that hybrid cars will continue to grow in market share, but that economic factors will limit growth of natural gas and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.

Mr. Onderdonk continued that by 2040, the amount of energy used will be 80% more than the current level, and interest in nuclear generation continues around the world.  Wind and solar are expected to grow significantly by 2040, but due to their inherent variability, coal and natural gas will continue to be vital to the energy portfolio.  By 2025, natural gas should pass coal in the energy portfolio.

Rep. Hammer asked a question about the state of the electric grid.  Mr. Onderdonk stated that it will need continued focus as the fuel mix changes in the future.

The next presentation was from Clean Line Energy Partner’s Mario Hurtado, Executive Vice President of Development, and Kim Randle, Regional Outreach Manager.  They discussed Clean Line’s plans to connect wind resources in the Great Plains and southwest to load centers in the eastern and western United States.

Clean Line has four projects in development, including the Plains & Eastern line. When completed, this project will transmit power from wind farms in the Oklahoma panhandle, across Arkansas, to consumers with the Tennessee Valley Authority.   Mr. Hurtado discussed the economic benefits of the transmission line’s construction across Arkansas, and the partnership Clean Line has with General Cable in Malvern.  They anticipate starting construction in 2014, and energizing the lines in 2017.

The next meeting of the Joint Energy Committee will be Thursday, May 17, 2012.

A weekly review of energy, economic development and environmental issues in the news.

“Arkansas Unemployment Rate Drops to 7.4 Percent” – Arkansas Business – April 20, 2012
http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131134.54928.143263

“Entergy moves step closer to joining MISO power grid” – Reuters – April 19, 2012
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/19/us-utilities-entergy-miso-idUSBRE83I19A20120419

“US power prices fall in 2011 as demand drops” – Argus Media – April 19, 2012
http://www.argusmedia.com/News/Article?id=794563

“Arkansas lawmakers begin months-long tax study” – Arkansas Business – April 19, 2012
http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article.aspx?aid=131117.54928.143246

“PSC’s utility incentive system upheld” – Arkansas Democrat-Gazette – April 19, 2012 (subscription required)
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2012/apr/19/pscs-utility-incentive-system-upheld-20120419/

“Energy bills, pump prices poised for consumer relief” – Talk Business – April 18, 2012
http://talkbusiness.net/2012/04/energy-bills-pump-prices-poised-for-consumer-relief/

“Chinese companies look to Ark after Beebe trip” – Stuttgart Daily Leader – April 18, 2012
http://www.stuttgartdailyleader.com/news/business/x596769594/Chinese-companies-look-to-Ark-after-Beebe-trip

Chris Benson, an energy policy advisor for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, gave an update on the State Energy Plan.  Currently, a first round of stakeholder information gathering has been completed, and a first draft is in the works. The plan will be more of a Strategic Energy Framework then a detailed plan, with the purpose of creating objectives that are feasible over three to five years. A draft will be provided to the Governor’s Office in the summer.  The draft plan’s strategic energy objectives are to meet future energy supply and participate in a clean energy market economy.

Michele Halsell, managing director of the University of Arkansas Applied Sustainability Center (ASC), was the next speaker. She discussed energy efficiency case studies involving public facilities and noted that the Little Rock Air Force Base reduced energy usage 34% from 2003 through 2010.

Scott Hamilton, director of the Arkansas Energy Office, discussed the Arkansas Energy Code. He also noted that the Commission is looking to create new programs for energy efficiency financing, and that the utilities were working well with the Energy Office on efficiency programs.

The next meeting is June 21, 2012 at the Arkansas State Capitol.

Western power prices fell between 7pc and 19pc because of robust hydroelectric output, while prices in the east were 3-12pc lower because of cheap natural gas, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said its annual State of the Markets report. The unusually mild winter in the northeast also contributed to keeping prices low.

However, prices in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) area bucked the trend and jumped 40pc because of the record-breaking 2011 summer heat wave in Texas. On nine days day-ahead prices even approached the cap of $3,000/MWh.

Natural gas continued to increase its share of US generation, rising to 20pc of total output in 2011 from 10pc in 2002. Coal plant construction came to a halt in 2011 as coal’s share decreased to 44pc of total output from 51pc in 2002. Large coal-fired base load power plants still have an advantage in certain locations, particularly if coal can be delivered cheaply.

The greater reliance on natural gas has increased the importance of coordination between gas-fired generators and the pipeline companies that supply them. Concerns about such coordination are particularly relevant in the northeast, which experienced coincident peaks in electric and gas demand during the winter, and in the southwest, which lacks robust storage infrastructure.

Natural gas-fired generation rose slightly more than 3pc in 2011, while natural gas consumption increased less than 1pc.

Meanwhile, photovoltaic solar capacity reached 4GW as developers took advantage of a drop in prices for solar panels and rushed to connect new capacity before the Treasury Department’s cash-grant program expired at the end of 2011. New capacity increased 109pc from 2010 levels.

Overall demand for electricity decreased 1pc in 2011 as residential sector consumption fell 1.5pc. Commercial and industrial demand increased slightly.

DWS Communications Director Kimberly Friedman said, “Arkansas’ unemployment rate continues to show signs of improvement.  The last time we experienced a rate of 7.4 percent was in June 2009.  Additionally, March was the eighth consecutive month of employment growth.”

Adoption of the standards is intended to improve the methods and procedures used to accurately measure demand response and energy efficiency performance, according to FERC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The standards also should help organized wholesale power markets to properly credit demand response and energy efficiency resources for their services.

The proposed demand response standards would add specifications to existing standards in several areas, including meter data reporting, advanced notification, telemetry and meter accuracy. Together, the proposed and existing business practice standards provide a framework that can be used to develop performance evaluation methodologies for specific demand response services, but do not specify detailed characteristics of those methodologies, NAESB said. The proposal seeks comment on the appropriate level of detail that should be included in these methodologies, whether it is appropriate to develop more substantive measurement and verification standards that would be broadly applicable for all organized wholesale power markets, and if so, whether to develop such standards through a NAESB, Commission-led or other process.

The proposed wholesale energy efficiency standards would provide substantial detail to ensure more effective evaluation of the performance of energy efficiency products and services. The standards include four measurement and verification methodologies, as well as a mechanism for resource providers to propose, and organized markets to consider, alternative approaches.

The report estimates that without building a single new dam, these available hydropower resources, if fully developed, could provide an electrical generating capacity of more than 12 GW, equivalent to roughly 15 percent of current U.S. hydropower capacity.

These findings demonstrate one of the ways the nation can diversify its energy portfolio while achieving the Obama administration’s goal of generating 80 percent of our nation’s electricity from clean resources by 2035.

The report, titled “An Assessment of Energy Potential at Non-Powered Dams in the United States,” analyzes more than 54,000 specific sites that could be developed to generate power. The results indicate that, if fully developed, the nation’s non-powered dams could provide enough energy to power over four million households.

The greatest hydropower resource potential was found at lock and dam facilities on the Ohio, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas Rivers — facilities owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The top ten sites alone have the potential to provide about 3 GW of generating capacity, while the top 100 sites together could potentially provide 8 GW of clean, reliable energy. Many of these dams could also likely be converted to power-generating facilities with minimal impact to critical species, habitats, parks or wilderness areas.

The resource assessment also finds many potential hydropower sites are located in areas of the country with fewer wind or solar resources, giving nearby communities another way to secure renewable energy for local families and businesses.

And because hydropower provides reliable baseload power day and night, developing existing dams could also provide flexibility and diversity to the electric grid and allow utilities to integrate other renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.

This report, funded by the Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, will be a valuable tool for state and local officials, as well as industry stakeholders. It was produced by the Energy Department’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in partnership with Idaho National Laboratory.