American Electric Power Co., Inc. Message Board

THIS STOCK IS TRASH WORTHLESS PAPER FOR SALE

Sentiment: Strong Sell

Wisconsin firms, utility commission Wyoming energy storage system

By Thomas Content of the Journal Sentinel
May 22, 2013

Two Wisconsin companies are teaming up on a smart grid demonstration project for a utility in western Wyoming.

The utility, Lower Valley Electric Cooperative, worked with Facility Gateway Corp. of McFarland to commission an energy storage system built by ZBB Energy Corp. of Menomonee Falls.

Facility Gateway provides services for data centers that include finding ways to make them more energy efficient. ZBB is a developer of power electronics and energy storage systems.

The Wyoming project aims to combine solar and wind power generation with utility-scale lead acid batteries, integrated with the ZBB system. The goal: to help overcome the variable output of renewable energy systems, said Warren Jones, Lower Valley distribution engineer, in a statement.

The bank of batteries will be used to help provide power output during times of peak power demand, he said.

For Menomonee Falls-based ZBB, the project offers it a chance to prove its technology can work in conjunction with utilities, as well as at customers that seek to generate all of their own power on-site.

The use of lead-acid batteries rather than ZBB’s zinc-bromide flow batteries “demonstrates that the ZBB EnerSection can work with multiple types of storage and that no one storage type is the definitive product for all applications and markets,” ZBB chief executive Eric Apfelbach said in a prepared statement.

jsonlineDOTcom/blogs/business/208493831.html

Richard Caperton, Guest Blogger and Adam James, Guest Blogger on May 21, 2013 at 11:06 am

The Production Tax Credit — the key federal incentive for wind power — is a success story. Since the PTC was first enacted in 1992, the cost of wind power has fallen 90 percent, 75,000 people now work in the wind industry, and wind power is booming.

Yet, some people still think the PTC should be eliminated. Most interestingly, Exelon — the large Midwestern utility and power plant operator — has made ending the PTC its number one lobbying priority, claiming that the credit distorts markets. This would be scary. Fortunately, it’s not true.

The truth is that Exelon hopes to slow or halt expansion of wind power projects that can affect the bottom line of their nuclear power plants in the Midwest, and to achieve that objective they’re blaming wind and the PTC for market phenomena like negative pricing that are almost always caused by inflexible generation technology and transmission constraints.

This post will summarize Exelon’s position on the PTC, show where it falls short, and then point out that Exelon is more concerned about competition from wind power, in general, than the Production Tax Credit.

Why does Exelon say the PTC is distortionary?

Exelon’s argument hinges on two fundamental ideas. First, that the PTC causes negative prices; and second, that negative prices are bad for wholesale electricity markets.

Digging into this argument requires a little knowledge of how power markets work. In much of the country — including where Exelon’s nuclear plants are located — power is sold in competitive markets, at a “clearing price” set by an auction process. In general, the clearing price is set by the most expensive marginal resource needed to meet demand at a given time. This price is then given to all the generators providing electricity at that time.

thinkprogressDOTorg/climate/2013/05/21/2012741/why-exelon-is-lobbying-against-the-production-tax-credit/

It's about time a dividend increase came through for us long-time shareholders ...hasn't been an increase in the .47/qtr. in the past 6 quarters. What gives, management?

BLK,BIIB,LNKD,WBK,SAM,ADS,PSA,SPY,PPG,RE,
stockmarketstudy dot org has 368 more stocks for you to study.

this has been some run up so we could be hitting head winds