Emerson (EMR), St. Louis, announced it has completed its acquisition of U.K.-based power protection powerhouse Chloride Group PLC, which now joins Emerson Network Power. This acquisition helps drive Emerson’s long-term global growth strategy for uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and integrated data center solutions. As previously announced, the purchase price was approximately $1.5 billion.
Rochford named V.P., Energy Efficiency, Sustainability and Public Policy for Legrand North America
Legrand, West Hartford, Conn., announced the appointment of Susan Rochford as vice president, Energy Efficiency, Sustainability and Public Policy, for Legrand North America. Rochford will be responsible for advancing Legrand North America’s progress in setting and achieving sustainability goals and commitments, as an organization and in the marketplace. In this capacity she will work closely with all the Legrand North America entities to identify, design and deliver sustainable products and solutions to meet the needs of the customers they serve.
“Our distribution and contractor partners understand the critical need for energy efficiency and sustainability in the companies they work with and products they sell,” said John Selldorff, president and CEO, Legrand North America. “Susan’s tremendous experience in these areas will allow Legrand to focus its efforts on bringing more energy-efficient products to market; being a more sustainable company that reduces costs and its environmental footprint; and playing a positive role in the formation of public policy in areas critical to our economic future and national security.”
Integrated Electrical Services to Help Build Minnesota Wind Farm
Integrated Electrical Services (IESC) has been awarded a contract from Mortenson Construction to provide electrical services at the Lakefield Wind Farm in southwestern Minnesota. IES will be responsible for the construction of the 200 MVA 345kV/34.5kV interconnect substation and transmission line for the project.
When complete, the Lakefield Wind Farm will consist of 137 GE 1.5 MW turbines producing 205.5 MW of installed capacity. The facility is expected to provide power for approximately seven percent of utility sales for Indianapolis Power & Light.
Leviton appoints Carrella and Weinberg to Marketing Posts
Leviton Manufacturing Co. Inc (Melville, N.Y.): The company recently announced two appointments: Chris Carrella is now director of technology for distribution marketing and sales and Jeffrey Weinberg is Southwest Regional Sales Manager for the company’s Lighting Management Systems. In his new role, Carrella will lead the implementation of cost-effective technology solutions to support Leviton’s customer-centric marketing and sales initiatives. In He has held various previous IT positions at at the company. Before joining Leviton, he held a variety of positions in the information technology field with Cablevision, Publishers Clearing House and Chase Auto Finance. He holds a BA in business administration from C.W. Post College.
In his new post, Jeffrey Weinberg will lead the expansion of the company’s energy-management systems throughout the Pacific Southwest. He began his career with the company in 1997 as a sales representative for American Insulated Wire (AIW), a Leviton subsidiary, and later went on to represent Leviton’s OEM solutions business where he grew lampholder revenue in the hydroponic industry and increase sales of the company’s GFCI devices and wireless lighting and appliance control products. Weinberg holds a BS in communications from the University of Arizona.
EIS Buys Seacoast Electric Co. to Expand in Marine and Petrochemical Markets
EIS, Atlanta, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Genuine Parts Co. (GPC), announced today that it has acquired the assets of Seacoast Electric Co. Inc., Hawthorne, N.Y., effective August 31. Seacoast has distribution locations in Virginia, Texas and California and serves the marine and oil and gas markets with shipboard and offshore cables and electrical equipment.
Exelon Electric Utility Spends $900 Million to Get Into Wind Biz
Exelon announced plans to buy buy John Deere Renewables and its 735 million MW of wind energy projects from Deere & Co. MarketWatch
Knoxville Lighting Entrepreneur Wants to Double Life of LED Streetlights
Andrew Wilhelm, founder of LED North America, Knoxville, Tenn., believes a a graphite foam developed by the Oak Ridge National Laboratory will help LED streetlights dissipate heat more effectively and prolong their life. A posting at www.knoxvillebiz.com says LED North America “licensed the exclusive patent rights to use the graphite foam in LED lighting products.”
NEMA’s T5 Fluorescent Lamp Shipments Show Double-Digit Increase
T5 lamp shipments index registered a reading of 152.0 during the second quarter of 2010, a 41.1 percent increase from a year ago, according to the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), Rosslyn, Va. The index reclaimed lost ground from the previous quarter, rebounding by 19.8 percent. T8 lamp shipments also showed robust growth, increasing 12.7 on a year-over-year basis. Conversely, shipments of T12 lamps declined 2.6 and 7.9 percent for the quarterly and year-over-year comparisons, respectively.
The share of T12 lamps in the linear fluorescent market also declined. T12 lamps accounted for 26.3 percent of sales, 5.1 percentage points below the 2009 average of 31.4 percent. T8 lamps increased to a 65.0 percent, a half point below its all-time high. The portion of the market held by T12 lamps grew to a new high of 8.7 percent. These market share trends are likely to continue due to the July 1, 2010 completion of the phase-out of T12 magnetic ballasts.
Department of Agriculture to Issue $1.2 Billion in Loans to Rural Electric Coops
U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that 37 rural utilities and cooperatives in 20 states have been selected to receive guaranteed loans that will benefit more than 60,000 rural electric cooperative consumers by financing the construction and repair of almost 7,000 miles of distribution and transmissions lines. The $1.2 billion in funding is being awarded through USDA Rural Development’s Electric Program.
Click here and see if any rural electric utility cooperatives in your market area are receiving any of this loan money.
San Francisco Posts Online Directory to Approved Electrical Products
It comes as no surprise that the City of San Francisco would want to purchase products that can make its facilities and projects as green as possible. Here’s a link to the lighting products included in the “SF Approved List,” a directory of green products the city recently posted online. The SF Approved List is the result of legislation passed in 2005 rthat requires city staff to buy from an approved list of “environmentally preferable” or green products.