INL among labs presenting to FERC about grid modernization

Representatives from Idaho National Laboratory were among four groups that made presentations last Thursday to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in Washington, D.C., on grid modernization.

For a link to Kev Adjemian's report on energy storage, click here.

Announced in January, the Grid Modernization Initiative is an effort intended to set the United States on a cost-effective path for an integrated, secure, sustainable and reliable electric grid. As described in the Department of Energy's Grid Modernization Multi-Year Program Plan, these projects focus on new concepts, tools, platforms, and technologies to better measure, analyze, predict, and control the grid of the future — one flexible enough to support a competitive national economy and an array of emerging services, while remaining affordable to consumers.

The initiative includes the Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium, a strategic partnership launched in 2014 between DOE and 14 of its national laboratories. This followed a 2012 White House report that said outages caused by severe weather typically cost the U.S. economy between $18 billion and $33 billion a year from lost output and wages, spoiled inventory, delayed production and disruptions to energy distribution.

INL has been designated the lead laboratory on four projects that received DOE funding, and will collaborate with other national laboratories on 11 other projects. Although funding levels are subject to change, the work is expected to amount to roughly $10 million for INL through September 2018.

Thermo King opens Idaho Falls office

Thermo King Intermountain has opened a new shop in Idaho Falls. The company is the authorized distributor for the Thermo King Corp. in Idaho and Utah and has operated as a family business in the two states for over 40 years. with dealerships in Salt Lake City and Boise.

The business is owned by Ben Cluff, and Jim and Tim Pugh. For the past three years, they have had a mobile technician in Idaho Falls, so opening shop was the next logical move, said Lorin Croft, the office manager.   The shop is located just off the freeway and next to Love’s Truck Stop at 7011 South  45th West.

Thermo King sells and services transport refrigeration equipment and auxiliary power units to customers in the trucking and distribution industries. It also installs and services RedDOT off-road air conditioning systems for the agriculture/construction/mining industries – specializing in clean and comfortable cab environments for operators of heavy machinery.

Truck and trailer service and repairs will be part of the offerings that TKI will provide in Idaho Falls. For more information, call (208) 522-3099.

Panera Bread plans May 10 opening

Brandon Rolfe, Panera's new manager

Panera Bread on Hitt Road has planned its grand opening for May 10.

The store is being managed by Brandon Rolfe, an Idaho Falls area native who has managed the IHOP across the road for the past six years.

Rolfe said he knew nothing about St. Louis-based Panera Bread until he heard they were building here, in the old CD World building. Some online investigation prompted him to apply. “It’s been a great company to work for so far,” he said.

The new restaurant will employ roughly 70 people. Regular hours will be 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The company filed paperwork with the city of Idaho Falls in July 2015. This will be the fourth location in Idaho — others are in Boise, Nampa and Chubbuck, and two more are planned, in Twin Falls and Hayden.

“We’ve had great success in Chubbuck and we expect to do as well here,” Rolfe said. “The interest has been unbelievable.”

All the Panera stores in Idaho are company-owned. Worldwide, the split between franchise and company operations is roughly 50-50, a company spokeswoman said. With franchising, the development strategy calls for franchisees to open typically 15 bakery-cafes over a period of 6 years. They must have a proven track record as restaurant operators, net worth of $7.5 million and liquid assets of $3 million.


Panera Bread began on the East Coast in 1981 as Au Bon Pain Co. In 1993, Au Bon Pain purchased Saint Louis Bread Company, a chain of 20 bakery-cafes located in the St. Louis area. In 1999, all of Au Bon Pain's business units were sold except for Panera Bread, and the company was renamed Panera Bread.

In 2007, Panera Bread purchased a majority stake in Paradise Bakery & Café, a Phoenix-based company with more than 70 locations in 10 states, mainly in the west and southwest). The company purchased the balance of Paradise in June 2009. Since then, it has reach a market capitalization of $4.5 billion.

Panera Bread has been recognized as one of Business Week's "100 Hot Growth Companies" and the Wall Street Journal's Shareholder Scorecard in 2006 named it the top performer in the restaurant category for one-, five- and ten-year returns to shareholders.

Syringa building gone, car wash planned

New construction on Hitt Road, where a drive-thru car wash is going in.

Considering the thousands of people who drive by every day it should be common knowledge that the building at 2940 S. 25 East (Hitt Road) that was once home to Syringa is now gone and construction work is taking place on the site.

According to site plans at the city of Idaho Falls Building Department (which can now be viewed online at https://trakit.idahofallsidaho.gov/etrakit3/) this site is to be Car Wash Express another drive-thru car wash owned by Matt Cardon, who built the one at Holmes Avenue and Northgate Mile.

Advertising Federation to hear from BYU-I presentation team

The Idaho Falls Advertising Federation’s Lunch and Learn this month will be Wednesday, April 27, a different day than the usual Thursday but the organizers are promising a program that is worth the disruption to schedule.

The guests will be the 2016 BYU-Idaho National Student Advertising Competition presentation team. The team is presenting its pitch this week at the District XI NSAC in Bozeman. Next week they’ll be on hand to tell how they fared and give the presentation to Ad Fed members.

The program is at 11:30 a.m. at Dixie’s Diner, 2150 Channing Way. Cost is $12  for IFAF members, $15 for non-members, and includes lunch.

For more information, visit https://ifadfed.wordpress.com/.

Tesla files plans for charging station in Idaho Falls

An artist's rendition of a Tesla supercharging station.

I do not know of anyone in Idaho Falls who owns a Tesla, but I have good news for whoever might. Elon Musk’s car company has filed site plans with the City of Idaho Falls Building Department to build a supercharging station at Snake River Landing, just north of MacKenzie River Pizza.

Going back over City Council minutes, it appears that the project was approved Dec. 17, 2015, at the council’s regular meeting.

And if there aren’t a lot of Tesla owners right now, the news is bound to be of interest to people in other parts of the country who plan to visit this summer.

Excluding tax credits, a 2015 Tesla Model S 70D had a base price of just over $76,000, including the $1,200 destination charge. Up one rung of the ladder, the rear­-wheel-­drive Model S 85 started at about $81,000, while the all­-wheel-­drive 85D cost another $5k.

For the high-­horsepower Model S P85D, expect to shell out about $106,000, and with all the options (if you’ve got this kind of money to spend on a car, you probably don’t care, right?) you'll be looking at a luxury electric vehicle of $131,000.

The new Model 3 has a base sticker price of $35,000, and Forbes reported Friday that orders were nearing 400,000. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2017, but much depends on the company getting its 6-million-square-foot battery factory in Nevada built in time. (Link from NPR: A Rare Look Inside The 'Gigafactory' Tesla Hopes Will Revolutionize Energy Use).

Depending on the model, a Tesla can go 215 to 270 miles on a full charge. In Idaho so far, there are charging stations in Boise, Coeur d’Alene and Twin Falls.

To charge an EV at home, the owner has to plug it in before going to bed. That’s because alternating current is being used. At a supercharging station it’s direct current that’s used, but it’s still not as fast as filling the tank and hitting the road. A charging session takes about half ­an ­hour, which is why Tesla puts its stations in locations where there are restaurants and stores nearby.

Last of all, a word of warning. If you own a Nissan Leaf, a Chevrolet Volt or any other EV you will not be able to charge it at a Tesla station. Nor will you be able to charge a Bolt, Chevy’s newest offering, which has a 200-mile range comparable to Tesla’s, a sticker price in the $30,000 range and is available now.

There are a lot of details to be worked out in the standardization of EV equipment. You might be surprised to know that a lot of the groundwork is being done right here in Idaho Falls, at the Idaho National Laboratory. President Obama even gave INL’s work on electric vehicles a shout out earlier this year during his weekly radio address.

Tap-N-Fill plans May opening at Snake River Landing

Lovers of craft beer will have a new watering hole in May, Tap-N-Fill, a new growler-to-go business, which is opening in Snake River Landing.

Owners Susan and Jeff Gardner will open Idaho Falls’ first growler station next door to MacKenzie River Pizza, at 1494 Milligan Road, near the river and the Greenbelt Trail System in Snake River Landing.

They plan to offer a convenient location for beer fans to enjoy a large variety of craft beer straight from the tap for at-home or on-site consumption. Tap-N-Fill customers will be able to purchase a growler, typically a half-gallon container specifically designed for holding draft beer, or refill personal growlers from a selection of more than 40 taps. They will also have ciders, kombucha, taster trays to sample a variety of brews, and hope to offer mead as well.”

Operating hours will be Monday through Saturday from noon until 10 p.m.