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Navigant Wins Consultancy of the Year Award - Gulf Coast Region

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 11:00:00 -0500

Navigant was named Consultancy of the Year – Gulf Coast Region by Oil and Gas Awards based on an entry submitted on its recent work for the Gulf LNG Liquefaction Company, LLC (GLNG) which submitted its application for LNG export on August 31, 2012.

Read Navigant’s submitted entry below:

CONSULTANCY OF THE YEAR – GULF COAST

Navigant is submitting nomination for consideration for Consultancy of the Year for 2012 in the Gulf region, based on its work for the Gulf LNG Liquefaction Company, LLC (GLNG) that submitted its application for LNG export on August 31, 2012. At this time, GLNG submitted to the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy an application for long-term authorization to export up to 11.5 million tons per annum of liquefied natural gas (approximately 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day) from domestic sources for a 20 year period. The project is scheduled to commence deliveries at the end of 2018 from a terminal to be located in Jackson County, Mississippi, near the City of Pascagoula, MS.

Successes

Navigant’s work for the American Clean Skies Foundation in 2008, established Navigant as a reputable leader in the area of natural gas shale and unconventional gas in North America. By mid-2010, Cheniere Energy engaged Navigant to provide an analysis that would be used by Cheniere for its ground-breaking application to the DOE for approval to export of LNG from Cheniere’s Sabine Pass LNG export project in Texas. Despite several other DOE applications that have been submitted since, including the current GLNG application this year, the Cheniere Sabine Pass LNG export project remains the only LNG export project to have received DOE approval to export to non-Free Trade countries. Navigant’s successful analysis played an instrumental part of the favorable DOE Cheniere decision and the “lessons learned” from Cheniere will hopefully carry forward as part of the GLNG project application, as well as several other LNG export projects, that are currently before the DOE pending a decision.

Expertise

In addition to the successful Cheniere Sabine Pass application, Navigant has supported seven other U.S. LNG export projects, including the GLNG project, to provide similar in-depth analyses on the construction of LNG export facilities. As such, Navigant has become a recognized leader in the area of providing independent third party market impact studies for LNG project developers planning on filing applications for the export of LNG to the DOE. Navigant has assisted these large infrastructure projects that range in size from capital costs of $3 Billion to $10 Billion by using its proprietary natural gas market modeling and forecasting tools. These tools allow Navigant to perform a detailed market analysis that is unique to each project and allows the client to better make informed decisions on specific LNG export projects. In addition, the analysis serves as an independent third party analysis for the DOE review and application process. In fact, the methodology and analysis first developed by Navigant, has proven to be key in the approach taken by other projects and towards answering questions of interest to the DOE and others, including matters as important as national security, energy independence, and resource sustainability.

Relevance

In its submission for consideration of Oil and Gas Consultant of the Year in the Gulf Coast Region, Navigant draws reference to the importance of its work for GLNG and to the broader oil and natural industry and to the country as a whole. In an era of expected ongoing gas production successes, particularly in the development of North American natural gas shale, LNG exports hold promise to as an important emerging new market to assure the ongoing development of natural gas as a clean and abundant energy source for the future. Navigant’s understanding and early work done in the natural gas and shale area has proven invaluable for GLNG and for other LNG projects. Navigant’s work in assessing the impact of LNG exports should over the next few years provide new global market opportunities for natural gas as North America becomes more connected to the global market. As this occurs, LNG exports will become an important piece of a new natural gas market structure in North America that will in turn help assure a healthy upstream natural gas producing sector. This will be for the benefit of the natural gas industry, the economy, and for the country as a whole over the long-term.

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The Time for (Behavior) Change is Now

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0500

Utilities and governments across the U.S. are starting to realize that their technology-centric energy efficiency programs can benefit from a more thorough understanding of the social and behavioral aspects of energy use. This paper presents the results of a meta-analysis of successful behavior change programs in the energy industry as well as in other fields. There is a growing body of evidence – summarized in this paper – that social incentives can be more effective than financial ones in promoting energy-efficient behaviors and purchase decisions.

Evaluating Renewable Energy Programs

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 07:39:15 -0500

This article by Navigant's Frank Stern, published by Association of Energy Services Professionals, considers whether utility program evaluation skills are applicable to evaluating the impacts of renewable energy programs. They may apply in the case of distributed renewables, but utility-scale renewables are less likely to require similar types of program evaluation. One issue related to utility-scale renewables that has required program evaluation skills is attribution, but obtaining necessary information through interviews with developers may require different skill sets. The author concludes that program evaluators must understand how the markets for renewable energy and energy efficiency differ.

The Sun Devil in the Details: Lessons Learned from Residential HVAC Programs in the Desert Southwest

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 07:39:19 -0500

This Navigant report by Kevin Cooney, Marshall Keneipp, Justin Spencer, and Chris Newton examines the driving factors that influence the performance of residential heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) efficiency programs in the desert southwest. The authors conducted primary field data collection in Phoenix, AZ and Palm Desert, CA in the course of evaluating existing energy efficiency programs. These programs covered a range of measures, including: high efficiency new equipment, early retirement of air conditioning equipment, and equipment sizing for new construction. The resulting studies show that residential HVAC energy efficiency programs need to be designed carefully in order to ensure maximum return on investment. In general, high efficiency equipment retrofits produced lower savings than expected, while early retirement and proper system sizing appear to offer significant benefits. The program design principles presented here can be applied directly to other residential programs in hot, dry climates and can be modified and applied to other regions with high cooling loads. (The report was presented at the International Energy Program Evaluation Conference in Paris, France.)

Building DSM on a Smart Grid Platform

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 07:39:14 -0500

In this white paper, Navigant's Daniel M. Violette, Erik Gilbert, and Stuart Schare discuss how the evolution of the Smart Grid will change demand-side management (DSM) efforts in electricity markets. DSM practitioners must play an important role in research and design if the evolving Smart Grid is to deliver promised energy efficiency and demand response benefits. The paper provides background on the impact the Smart Grid project will have on virtually every person and business in the United States as it works to develop an integrated demand-supply electricity market, as well as the Smart Grid investments that are already underway. The Smart Grid has to the potential to change the way customers make decisions about energy use and their investments in energy efficiency, as well as decisions about energy and load management equipment. All of these factors are central to the design of energy efficiency and demand response efforts. In addition, benefit-cost studies of the Smart Grid vision have promised sizeable benefits from energy efficiency and demand response, yet the actual processes by which these benefits would be achieved have not been fully developed.

A Technology Roadmap Towards a Low Carbon Electric System: A Utility's Experience Sharing

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 07:39:14 -0500

In this paper, Navigant Consulting's Andrew Kinross and Priscilla Lee, and John W. M. Cheng and Chi Cheung Ngan of CLP Research Institute present one power utility's experience in developing a technology roadmap for the transition to a low carbon electric system based on clean energy and technological innovations to lower carbon emissions. Because there is no one solution for addressing climate change, the utility used a portfolio approach to identify a range of key technologies to achieve low carbon energy, including renewable energy resources, carbon capture and storage, and green and innovative energy services. The authors note that many utilities are facing similar issues and that the power industry as a whole faces challenges associated with climate change, environmental concerns and pressure from regulators for a low carbon environment.

Smart Grid Prioritization Methods

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 07:39:18 -0500

In this article for Electric Perspectives, Navigant's Eugene L. Shlatz discusses the challenges utilities face as they invest in smart-grid technology and try to quantify the benefits of these investments. As with any other investment, utilities must demonstrate that these smart grid investments provide both short- and long-term value while meeting the needs of all stakeholders. Shlatz notes that utilities can begin by quantifying the real costs and benefits over the life of the assets in order to make a critical and unbiased comparison to traditional investments. The article describes the various benefits smart-grid technology can bring to both utilities and their customers, then discusses ways to quantify those benefits. A case study compares a portfolio of smart-grid investments to traditional utility investments using life cycle economic evaluation methods and identifies the types of smart-grid projects that tend to provide the highest value.

Energy and Utilities Sector Roundtable

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 10:52:05 -0600

Navigant’s Bill Dickenson joins other energy industry leaders including SNR Denton’s Clint Vince in Financier Worldwide’s December 2010 Energy and Utilities Sector Roundtable discussion. The energy crisis has forced a new age of dynamism on the energy sector, framed by environmental issues and concerns about energy security. While renewables are beginning to enter the mainstream, shale gas has become increasingly lucrative, however, there is debate as to whether the “nuclear renaissance” has, or will ever arrive. Participants discuss major trends in the energy and utilities sector, political influences impacting the direction of energy policy, ways the push for renewable energy is reshaping the sector, and the outlook for climate regulation and legislation.

NG Market Notes - January 2011

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 07:39:17 -0500

In the featured article of the January 2011 issue of Navigant’s NG Market Notes newsletter, Director Rick Smead reviews the EIA’s mid-December, early release of the Annual Energy Outlook (AEO) for 2011. The treatment of natural gas in this issuance showed enormous progress in recognizing the boom in shale development. In fact, I do not recall as substantial a change from AEO to AEO as is reflected for natural gas in this one. In AEO 2011, the EIA has estimated a recoverable resource base of 827 Tcf, within two percent of Navigant’s North American Natural Gas Supply Assessment estimate that first recognized just how big our natural gas resource could be. Market Notes is a free monthly newsletter covering natural gas hot topics, prices, legislative/regulatory highlights and events.

NG Market Notes - February 2011

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 07:39:16 -0500

In the featured article of the February 2011 issue of Navigant’s NG Market Notes newsletter, Navigant looks at the impact of our severe winter weather on natural gas prices—or lack there of. As of this writing, the latest in a string of vicious winter storms is predicted to cover half the United States with blowing snow and sub-zero temperatures. For the bal¬ance of winter, the U.S. National Weather Service is forecasting below-normal tem¬peratures and above-normal precipitation (snow) across most of the northern tier of states, including the gas-intensive Great Lakes market area. Natural gas storage inventories are roughly on par with last year’s record levels. Yet prompt prices are slightly lower this year than last, and much lower than two years ago. Market Notes is a free monthly newsletter covering natural gas hot topics, prices, legislative/regulatory highlights and events.

Solar Photovoltaic & Distributed Generation - Studies at the Forefront of Grid Operational Impact

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 07:39:18 -0500

In response to regulatory, environmental and market incentives, the amount of distributed generation (DG) and Utility-Scale solar photovoltaic (PV) generation added to the electric utility grid has grown and is expected to continue to be robust. Until recently, electric utility planners and operators have been able to accommodate most of this new generation without significant impact or expansion of the electric grid. However, there is uncertainty as to how the variability of large-scale wind and PV generation profiles may strain the ability of the grid to integrate and economically and reliably deliver the power. Navigant is now conducting analyses that will address timely and critical issues, including the amount of DG that can be added to the existing distribution grid without compromising reliability or system performance. The results of the distribution study were filed with the Nevada Commission on December 30, 2010, and it identified technical and economic impacts of small PV and small wind generation on NV Energy’s distribution system.