Will Hurricane Sandy boost smart grid investment in NJ

NJ Spotlight reports:  “Until now, New Jersey has hardly embraced efforts to make the grid smarter, mostly due to costs, which could run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. After (Hurricane) Sandy, however, both lawmakers and the president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities have said that the state needs to take another look at the issue and decide whether the benefits outweigh the costs.” 



A smart grid is viewed by proponents as a planned nationwide network that uses information technology to deliver electricity more efficiently and reliably — so much so that advocates have called it “electricity with a brain.’’
Its benefits apply to both consumers and utilities. For customers, it could lead to fewer and shorter service interruptions during major storms. It could also mean lower bills thanks to reduced demands for electricity. For utilities, it could improve grid reliability and diminish the need for expensive capital transmission projects.
Jersey Central Power & Light, probably the most widely criticized utility when it comes to restoring power after the recent storms, last week proposed a pilot project to develop a smart meter system for its customers.


Not everyone is convinced that smart meters are worth the cost
It doesn’t provide the bang for the buck that some people argue,’’ said Stefanie Brand, director of the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel, in a telephone interview. “They don’t pay for themselves and I don’t think they are smart,’’ she said, referring to the so-called smart meters. 
When a storm like Sandy hits the state, the outages are so extensive — 2.7 million of New Jersey’s electric customers were without power at some point — that smart meters provide little help determining where restoration efforts should be directed, according to Brand.


Read the full story here. 

Related:
Sandy and the smart grid: who won? 

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For thorough coverage of environmental news, issues, legislation and regulation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, try a FREE subscription to EnviroPolitics, our daily newsletter that also tracks environment/energy bills–from introduction to enactment 
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Open-space funding bills head to NJ Gov. Christie’s desk
Meg Morris promoted to new post at Covanta Energy
How about that: The Green Car of 2013 is not an import
NJ enviro groups’ billboard: Here’s looking at you, DEP
How has limited liability corporation law changed in NJ?





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Open-space funding bills head to NJ Gov. Christie’s desk

High Point State Park, Montague / David Kenny

A package of bills providing funding for the purchase of  flood-prone properties and other open-space projects received final legislative approval today in the New Jersey Assembly.

Gov. Chris Christie now gets to decide whether to sign the $123 million spending package.

NJ Keep it Green, a coalition of conservation advocates, provides details here.

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For thorough coverage of environmental news, issues, legislation and regulation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, try a FREE subscription to EnviroPolitics, our daily newsletter that also tracks environment/energy bills–from introduction to enactment 
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Our most recent posts: 
Meg Morris promoted to new post at Covanta Energy
How about that: The Green Car of 2013 is not an import
NJ enviro groups’ billboard: Here’s looking at you, DEP
How has limited liability corporation law changed in NJ?
Freeman re-elected as Brownfields Partnership president




Open-space funding bills head to NJ Gov. Christie’s desk Read More »

Meg Morris promoted to new post at Covanta Energy

Meg Morris

Recycling Today reports that Covanta Energy Corp., with headquarters in Morristown, N.J., has promoted Meg Morris to a new position–vice president of materials management.

 The company, which is involved in waste management and renewable energy, says that the Materials Management division identifies the best approach the company should take in regards to using and reusing resources most productively and sustainably throughout their life cycles, from the point of resource extraction through material disposal, ensuring they are reused, recycled or recovered with the least amount of impact on the environment. 

In her new position, Morris will be tasked with developing and implementing programs that address sustainable waste management needs. These includes assisting existing and prospective clients with waste reduction, reuse and recycling programs; coordinating community outreach and education programs such as those that focus on the removal of mercury, cadmium, pharmaceuticals and electronic waste from the waste stream; and collaborating with NGOs. 

Previously, Morris was the director of environmental science and community affairs at Covanta. 


The company has New Jersey facilities in Essex, Union and Warren counties in New Jersey; Chester, Harrisburg, Lancaster County, Plymouth and York in Pennsylvania and in Babylon, Hempstead, Hudson Valley, Huntington, MacArthur, Niagara and Onondaga County in New York.


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For thorough coverage of environmental news, issues, legislation and regulation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, try a FREE subscription to EnviroPolitics, our daily newsletter that also tracks environment/energy bills–from introduction to enactment 
***********************************************************************************************************

Our most recent posts:
How about that: The Green Car of 2013 is not an import
NJ enviro groups’ billboard: Here’s looking at you, DEP
How has limited liability corporation law changed in NJ?
Freeman re-elected as Brownfields Partnership president
NJ Senate to vote on two alternative-fuel vehicle bills

Meg Morris promoted to new post at Covanta Energy Read More »

How about that: The Green Car of 2013 is not an import

With two of its cars among the five finalists, Ford took the Green Car of the Year Award 

for its 2013 Fusion on Thursday at the LA Auto Show, according toTheEnergyCollective. 

The newly redesigned, midsize sedan is offered with three different engines: gas-electric hybrid, plug-in hybrid and gasoline. The base model starts at $21,700, while the gas-electric hybrid, rated at 47 mpg for both city and highway driving by the EPA, starts at $27,200.

The Fusion was recognized for its low petroleum use and low carbon dioxide emissions, as well as for its competitive pricing, reported the LA Times.

The Green Car Journal’s award is decided by a prestigious panel of judges, including environmental leaders such as Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune, Global Green USA President Matt Petersen, and Ocean Futures Society president Jean-Michel Cousteau, along with car enthusiast and late night comedian Jay Leno and the journal’s staff. 

“We’ve moved our brand from laggard to leader in fuel economy,” said Dave Mondragon, Ford’s general marketing manager as he accepted the award.

Read the full story here.

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For thorough coverage of environmental news, issues, legislation and regulation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, try a FREE subscription to EnviroPolitics, our daily newsletter that also tracks environment/energy bills–from introduction to enactment 
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Our most recent posts:
NJ enviro groups’ billboard: Here’s looking at you, DEP
How has limited liability corporation law changed in NJ?
Freeman re-elected as Brownfields Partnership president
NJ Senate to vote on two alternative-fuel vehicle bills
Where to find environmental seminars in NJ & PA

How about that: The Green Car of 2013 is not an import Read More »

NJ enviro groups’ billboard: Here’s looking at you, DEP

If anyone at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection feels a twinge of embarrassment over political maneuvers that led to the ouster of  Highlands Council Executive Director Eileen Swan, they’re getting a big, friendly reminder every day that
they gaze out the window.

Holding a glass of unadulterated New Jersey drinking water, Eileen smiles down from
a large billboard. Playing off a national milk industry ad campaign, it asks passersby:

‘Got Water?  Thank the Pinelands and Highlands.’

NJ Spotlight reports the details in Billboard Targets Diluted Rules for Protecting Aquifers

Related:
NJ Highlands Council Fires Exec Swan; Deputy Resigns

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For thorough coverage of environmental news, issues, legislation and regulation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, try a FREE subscription to EnviroPolitics, our daily newsletter that also tracks environment/energy bills–from introduction to enactment 
***********************************************************************************************************

Our most recent posts:
How has limited liability corporation law changed in NJ?
Freeman re-elected as Brownfields Partnership president
NJ Senate to vote on two alternative-fuel vehicle bills
Where to find environmental seminars in NJ & PA
Sandy brings out the crooks. There’s an app for that

NJ enviro groups’ billboard: Here’s looking at you, DEP Read More »

How has limited liability corporation law changed in NJ?

If your business is a limited liability corporation in New Jersey, or you’re thinking about filing to become one, you should take note of significant changes recently made to the state’s LLC law.

The amendments, which mark the first major overhaul of the LLC law since its enactment in 1993, are designed to keep pace with other states by providing for greater
flexibility in New Jersey’s LLC business model. 

In an alert to their law firm’s clients and friends, Wolff Samson attorneys Laurence M. Smith and Junie Hahn detail what’s new in the LLC law. You’ll find their complete report here.

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For thorough coverage of environmental news, issues, legislation and regulation in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, try a FREE subscription to EnviroPolitics, our daily newsletter that also tracks environment/energy bills–from introduction to enactment 
***********************************************************************************************************

Our most recent posts:
Freeman re-elected as Brownfields Partnership president
NJ Senate to vote on two alternative-fuel vehicle bills
Where to find environmental seminars in NJ & PA
Sandy brings out the crooks. There’s an app for that
Prepare to say goodbye to Norfolk. Atlantic City, too

How has limited liability corporation law changed in NJ? Read More »