EC March 2014

ec@lists.wvsierraclub.org

3 participants
7 discussions

Michael Hendryx Academic freedom versus FOIA
by James Kotcon 31 Mar '14

31 Mar '14

I was not aware that Hendryx had left WVU. JBK WVU successfully defends researchers' right to academic freedom<http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/n/2014/03/28/wvu-successfully-defends-researchers-r…> March 28th, 2014 In a wide-ranging order, a state circuit judge has upheld West Virginia University's<http://www.wvu.edu/> position that a researcher's raw data, draft documents and peer review commentary are exempt from public disclosure under the state Freedom of Information Act. In addition, the court found that FOIA requests seeking essentially "everything" related to a researcher's studies are "unduly burdensome." The strongly-worded decision by 17th Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Phillip D. Gaujot came in the case of Highland Mining Co. vs. WVU, a case aimed specifically at the University's School of Medicine.<http://hsc.wvu.edu/som> Highland was seeking essentially everything related to articles by former WVU researcher Michael Hendryx linking coal mining to adverse health effects, including draft documents and peer review comments. Highland filed multiple FOIA requests seeking anything in the University's possession related to Hendryx' research. The University declined to provide it, citing in part, the University's deliberative process, academic freedom and the requests' lack of specificity. Highland sued the University in 2012, claiming the refusal was not supported by law. As part of his deliberation, Gaujot ordered WVU to produce a sampling of the material Highland was seeking, and his decision was partly based on that review. In his ruling, issued March 19th, Gaujot affirmed the University's assertion that certain documents were exempt in part because he was concerned that researchers "may temper their approaches to research questions and problem-solving and be more hesitant to think outside the box, fearing public reception of the extreme or unconventional." Gaujot's order further reflected that the "academic freedom" principles embodied in First Amendment jurisprudence are applicable to the FOIA, "especially because the right to education in our State is fundamental, ... not only is academic freedom transcendental, but so too are the First Amendment principles which lie at its heart, making them applicable not only to constitutional law, but to FOIA jurisprudence as well." The FOIA was not intended to "reduce government agencies to full-time investigators on behalf of requesters," Gaujot said. Finding that "that Highland's production requests are unduly burdensome," Gaujot struck down all of Highland's claims and dismissed the case. Currently a professor of applied science at Indiana University, until recently Hendryx was associate professor in the Department of Community Medicine and director of the West Virginia Rural Health Research Center. -WVU- jb/03/28/14 CONTACT: University Relations/News 304.293.6997 - See more at: http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/n/2014/03/28/wvu-successfully-defends-researchers-r…

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from ScienceDaily e-newsletter: West Virginia chemical spill into Elk River contaminating air and water quality
by Paul Wilson 27 Mar '14

27 Mar '14

West Virginia chemical spill into Elk River contaminating air and water quality<http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_environment/~3/AH7…> Posted: 26 Mar 2014 06:20 AM PDT The complexities and implications of the chemical spill into West Virginia's Elk River keep growing, according to a new study. The lack of data motivated researchers to take on essential odor-related research that went beyond their National Science Foundation Rapid Response Research grant to better understand the properties of the chemical mixture called crude 4-methylcyclohexane methanol, the major component in the crude mix of the spilled chemicals into the Elk River. It is used in the separation and cleaning of coal products. -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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an excellent Fracking cartoon at this link
by Paul Wilson 21 Mar '14

21 Mar '14

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/20/1286006/-Cartoon-All-fracked-up?de… -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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Polar vortex and electric grid reliability
by James Kotcon 18 Mar '14

18 Mar '14

An emerging line from the coal industry and coal-friendly politicians is that the recent cold weather has demonstrated the need for more coal-fired power plants. A recent post from Mark Kresowick of the Beyond Coal campaign (se the link to his blog post below) demonstrates that it was actually the inability of coal plants to operate that contributed to the reliability problems, and the answer is More renewables and EE, not less. You may find this evidence useful in future discussions. Enjoy. Jim Kotcon ________________________________ From: Mark Kresowik <mark.kresowik(a)sierraclub.org> Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2014 10:17 AM To: James Kotcon Cc: Bill Price; David Muhly; David W. Sturm; Gary Nelson; Daniel Chiotos; Kim Teplitzky; Seth Long; Zachary Fabish; Jacob Kornfeld Subject: Re: WV TEAM Call-Back to the usual number 866-501-6174 Access code 33907431892 To Jim's question, below is a recent email/blogpost from me. Half of the plants that were offline during the polar vortex were actually coal plants. FERC is holding a technical conference on April 1st on the topic and we'll have someone there. http://www.pjm.com/~/media/documents/reports/20140109-january-2014-cold-wea… https://www.ferc.gov/legal/staff-reports/2014/01-16-14-bulk-power.pdf http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventDetails.aspx?ID=7272&CalType=%20&Cal… It sounds like there have been a lot of questions about the polar vortex and potential reliability problems with coal plants retiring. Senator Murkowski and others have been calling for Senate hearings, and its a major talking point in utility circles right now. To try and dispel some of these myths there is some helpful information below. Many of the reliability issues during cold snaps are actually caused by coal plants tripping offline. From equipment to coal piles freezing, the 2011 blackouts in Texas and this January's blackout in South Carolina were caused by coal plants unable to operate in cold weather. Coal plants are intermittent, clean energy is variable. Wind and solar variations can be forecast and accounted for, not so for coal and nuclear plants when they shut down abruptly. The other major problem in some regions is gas plants unable to actually get gas because its being used for heating. One solution there is simple: reduce the amount of gas needed. Whatever the problem is for a particular region, the solutions - including those that worked most effectively in the Mid-Atlantic - are actually more energy efficiency, demand response, wind, and solar, not keeping clunker coal plants around. I wrote a blog about this for the Sustainable FERC Project two weeks ago, you can read it here: http://sustainableferc.org/polar-vortex-shows-we-need-more-efficiency-wind-…. We'll try to share some additional information about this topic as it develops, but its actually pretty much the only thing our colleagues at the FERC Project have written about for the last month, so check out the other two blog entries on that site. -- Mark Kresowik Eastern Region Deputy Director Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign mark.kresowik(a)sierraclub.org<mailto:mark.kresowik@sierraclub.org> 202-675-7914 (o) 319-621-7393 (c) 50 F St NW Eighth Floor Washington, DC 20001

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MIT Researchers Ready Renewable Energy Storage Technology
by Duane 12 Mar '14

12 Mar '14

http://ecowatch.com/2014/03/10/bill-gates-backed-mit-researchers-ready-to-c… MIT Researchers Ready Renewable Energy Storage Technology By Brandon Baker, EcoWatch.com, March 10, 2014 A group of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say that liquid metals could provide the solution to a solar energy challenge—ensuring that the power is available at all times. The researchers are working on commercializing liquid-metal batteries that can store energy for less than $500 per kilowatt-hour. The group launched a startup company, Ambri Inc., and believes it found an alternative to the water systems that comprise about 95 percent of the country’s energy storage capacity. “If we can get liquid-metal batteries down to $500 a kilowatt-hour, we’ll change the world,” Donald Sadoway, chief scientific adviser at Ambri, told Bloomberg. MIT researcher Donald Sadoway says a new storage technology could change renewable energy. Video screenshot credit: Ambri Inc. That figure—about one-third the cost of some battery technologies—would enable wind and solar project developers to bring energy to the grid all times, increasing its reliability, the researchers say. By comparison, AES Corp., the largest operator of power-storage systems, sells its systems to utilities and developers for about $1,000 per kilowatt, according to Bloomberg. The company plans on installing its first two prototypes at a Massachusetts military base and a Hawaii wind farm by this time next year, if not earlier. Of course, it helps to have financial backing from billionaires like Bill Gates and Vinod Khosla. Gates gave the group seed funding back in 2011. Last month, Ambri won a $250,000 grant from New York state to develop and test a prototype battery with Con Edison Inc. “The liquid metal battery technology performs like both a tractor and a race car,” according to Ambri’s website. “It can respond to regulation signals in milliseconds and it can store up to 12 hours of energy and discharge it slowly over time.” Sadoway said he’s not concerned with lithium-ion batteries, deeming them a better fit for cars and portable devices as opposed to the large storage systems that feed the grid. “Lithium-ion plants are too expensive to build and it makes no sense to string a bunch of these tiny things together,” he said. He added that the batteries will be able to be delivered on a truck, instead of the pumped-hydro systems that require a hill, a hydropower plant and a lot of water. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, there are 23.4 gigawatts of pumped-hydropower capacity in operation, compared to about 304 megawatts of battery storage. “Ours won’t have any geographical constraint,” he said. Sadoway and the researchers founded Ambri in 2010. Visit EcoWatch’s RENEWABLES page for more related news on this topic. Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535. www.FrackCheckWV.net

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Re: [EC] Republicans for EE
by James Kotcon 10 Mar '14

10 Mar '14

FYI: Congressman McKinley co-sponsored this one, and his statement on it is at: http://mckinley.house.gov/press-releases/house-passes-mckinley-bipartisan-e… Another more descriptive article from Bloomberg is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-06/house-passes-energy-efficiency-bil… JBK ________________________________ From: Chuck Wyrostok <wyro(a)appalight.com> Sent: Monday, March 10, 2014 2:01 PM To: 'StacyGloss'; James Kotcon Subject: repubs for EE Does this mean they're against coal consumption??? ~(;>) http://grist.org/climate-energy/house-republicans-just-passed-a-good-enviro… Chuck Wyrostok Outreach Organizer Sierra Club, WV Chapter T: 877 252 0257 E. outreach(a)marcellus-wv.com<mailto:outreach@marcellus-wv.com> www.marcellus-wv.com<http://www.marcellus-wv.com/> Water is Life...Keep It Clean Whenever there is a huge spill of solar energy, it's just called a nice day.....

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FW: AEP proposes Mitchell transfer to Wheeling
by James Kotcon 07 Mar '14

07 Mar '14

FYI. They're Baaaaack! JBK ________________________________ From: James Kotcon Sent: Friday, March 07, 2014 8:58 AM To: Mark Kresowik; Daniel Chiotos Cc: Zachary Fabish; kim.teplitzky(a)sierraclub.org; Bill Price; David Muhly; David Sturm; Seth Long; Gary Nelson; Jacob Kornfeld Subject: RE: AEP proposes Mitchell transfer to Wheeling Nice catch. The Mitchell transfer was not mentioned in other news articles about the rate increase. JBK ________________________________ From: Mark Kresowik <mark.kresowik(a)sierraclub.org> Sent: Friday, March 07, 2014 6:42 AM To: Daniel Chiotos Cc: Zachary Fabish; kim.teplitzky(a)sierraclub.org; Bill Price; David Muhly; David Sturm; James Kotcon; Seth Long; Gary Nelson; Jacob Kornfeld Subject: AEP proposes Mitchell transfer to Wheeling They're coming back at it, this time proposing a transfer just to Wheeling so they don't need VA approval. http://www.statejournal.com/story/24884039/appalachian-power-wheeling-power… On Mar 6, 2014 9:40 AM, "Daniel Chiotos" <daniel.chiotos(a)gmail.com<mailto:daniel.chiotos@gmail.com>> wrote: Just to check, any expectation of a) when the WV Supreme Court will issue an opinion and b) when FirstEnergy would then submit their energy efficiency plan? http://wvmetronews.com/2014/03/05/supreme-court-hears-dispute-over-harrison… -- Cheers, Danny Chiotos 304-886-3389 (c) 304-535-8150 (h) 1603 W Washington St Harpers Ferry, WV 25425

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EC March 2014