Petra Solar's Regulatory Chief Appointed To US DOE Electricity Advisory Committee
Fred Butler Joins Group Focusing on Policy, Technical Issues That Affect Delivery of Electricity
(SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ, Oct. 20, 2010) Petra Solar, the world renowned clean tech company based in New Jersey, is pleased to announce that Petra Solar's Chief of Regulatory Affairs Fred Butler, an internationally recognized authority on energy policy, has just been appointed to the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) Electricity Advisory Committee (EAC).
The 27 EAC members represent a diverse group that includes state government officials, industry executives, environmentalists, and consumer advocates. The EAC will provide advice to the DOE's Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability in carrying out its mission to modernize the nation's electricity infrastructure, and in implementing the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
"We at Petra Solar are proud and pleased that Mr. Butler has been selected to be a member of this prestigious committee," said Dr. Shihab Kuran, President and Chief Executive Officer of Petra Solar. "Mr. Butler brings his unrivaled experience to the Electricity Advisory Committee, and we are confident that his knowledge from working with energy commissioners, regulatory commissioners, and utility leaders from around the globe will help guide the important work of the EAC. The entire nation will benefit from his expertise."
"I am honored to be on this committee with so many of the nation's experts in electricity policy, planning, and operations," said Mr. Butler. "I am greatly looking forward to working with the EAC on matters of critical importance to the DOE and the nation as we work to modernize the electricity grid, helping to enable a clean energy economy."
"I hope to add value to the committee through my regulatory expertise as well as my first-hand experience engaging commercial entities with leading technologies in the renewable energy field and in enhanced grid functionality," Mr. Butler added.
The EAC will make recommendations on a wide range of policy and technical issues that affect electricity delivery. These include challenges to smart grid deployments and integrating renewables into the grid; electricity-related research and development priorities; ways to enhance the benefits provided by the nation's transmission infrastructure; coordination between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), state and regional officials and the private sector on matters affecting electricity supply, demand, and reliability, including response to energy supply disruptions; and emerging issues.
The EAC, originally established in 2008, published three reports in 2008 and early 2009 on electricity supply adequacy, smart grid implementation and energy storage technology development. Many recommendations from these reports were included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and are being implemented in DOE policies and programs under the Obama Administration.
Additional information on the EAC can be found at www.oe.energy.gov/eac.htm.
Fred Butler is a widely recognized industry leader among state energy commissioners, regulatory commissioners and utility executives around the world. Mr. Butler is a former member of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), where he served two terms and more than 10 years as a commissioner. During his tenure, he served as President of both the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) and the Mid-Atlantic Conference of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (MACRUC). At NARUC he also was chairman of the organization's International Relations Committee, Committee on Water, Ad Hoc Committee on Climate Change, and chaired the NARUC Smart Grid Collaborative. In addition, Mr. Butler won recognition as an advisor to the Michigan State University Institute of Public Utilities, the New Mexico State University Center for Public Utilities' Advisory Council and the advisory council to the University of Florida's Public Utilities Research Center.
In addition to his work as Chief of Regulatory Affairs at Petra Solar, Mr. Butler serves in various executive capacities within the energy field.
About Petra Solar:
Petra Solar, founded in 2006 by Dr. Kuran, is the pioneer of the SunWave™ a grid-tied, pole-mounted, distributed solar generation system. The SunWave system combines solar energy with smart-grid communications and electric grid enhancement functions to create a comprehensive utility grade solution for utilities. Investors have demonstrated confidence in Petra Solar, providing $54 million in private capital since 2007.
Petra Solar is fulfilling a $200 million contract with PSE&G, New Jersey's largest utility, which is installing 200,000 of Petra Solar's SunWave systems on street light and utility poles in 300 New Jersey municipalities. This is the largest solar electric project under construction in the country. In the process, Petra Solar's workforce has grown from 15 employees in the spring of 2009 to 150 employees, a ten-fold increase.
Petra Solar's success in solar energy has just been recognized by U.S. Department of Energy and Sandia National Laboratories, which awarded Petra Solar the prestigious Solar Energy Grid Integration Systems (SEGIS) contract as part of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Program. The contract brings to $5.8 million the amount of federal funding granted to the clean tech company that pioneered smart solar on a pole. Through the contract, Petra Solar will extend its development of electric grid stabilization, micro-grid and smart grid technologies which will enable utilities to manage the massive increase in renewable energy deployment expected as the need for fossil fuel alternatives grows.
More information about Petra Solar can be found at www.petrasolar.com
