The Principal Solar Institute will present a complimentary webinar on the role of energy storage on the grid, and how storage is able to augment the solar industry.

The one-hour webinar will be Wednesday, Oct. 8, beginning at 3 p.m. Eastern time.

On its website, PSI says that solar energy continues to blaze a path forward for renewables, and installations are rapidly expanding around the globe – at both the grid and distributed scales. This represents a major shift in the way we generate and consume electricity every day, and the increased penetration of renewables is creating new challenges.

Both photovoltaic and solar thermal benefit immensely from the addition of energy storage technologies – allowing renewables to be dispatchable, on-demand resources. Energy storage technology is rapidly advancing as the solution to challenges created by intermittency and distributed generation, PSI says.

Register for the webinar.

ABB will present a free webinar on electric grid asset management techniques. The webinar will be Tuesday, Sept. 30, beginning at 11 a.m. Eastern time.

Transitioning from costly asset time-based maintenance to condition- based maintenance has been a long term goal of many utility organizations, ABB says on its website. The difficulty lies in the creation of a solution that can interpret SCADA data, historical data and other back office data to model an asset’s behavior with the ability to:

• Prioritize maintenance tasks
• Compare asset performance to maintenance activities… and
• Identify the criticality of an asset

ABB says this webinar will help participants discover how to construct a solution, which data is needed, and the skill sets required.

Register for the webinar.

Above the Law and Clio present a free on-demand webinar aimed at helping lawyers improve their accounting management.

On its website, Above the Law says that, for most attorneys, time spent managing the books is a necessary evil at best. Yet it is undeniably a crucial aspect of running a successful practice.

This webinar is designed to help participants learn what it takes to streamline your accounting and get the most out of your time.

This webinar covers:

● The basics of accounting for lawyers
● How legal accounting differs from regular accounting
● Report and reconciliation issues surrounding trust accounts
● How to pick and integrate the best accounting tools for your practice
● Steps to prepare your tax return for your firm’s income

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Mayer Brown will present a complimentary webinar that will address 10 of the most critical issues currently facing companies that are contracting for services.

The webinar will be Wednesday, Oct. 1, beginning at 11 a.m. Central time.

The 10 issues to be addressed are:

• Negotiating efficiently and effectively
• The challenges in applying traditional dragnet provisions
• Integrating contracts across service providers
• The double-edged sword of short term deals
• Allocating IP rights when outsourcing based on supplier technology
• Securing “big data” rights and services
• Retaining the right to protect your business
• Minimizing risk, cost and surprise on exit
• Governance and follow-through (and follow-through, follow-through, follow-through)
• Resolving disputes while preserving (or even building) the relationship

Register for the webinar.

Baker Tilly has posted an on-demand webinar on strategies and approaches to participating in and performing continuous monitoring of active construction projects.

The complimentary webinar discusses risky areas of the construction process including change order control, pricing, and scope, as well as progress reporting, project controls, contract accounting, business ethics compliance, document compliance, and design, plan, and specifications compliance.

On its website, Baker Tilly says the goal of the webinar is to learn new ideas to help integrate construction auditing techniques into your audit plan such that they become a routine part of your organization’s control oversight process.

Panelists are Tony Ollmann, Director, Baker Tilly, and Erik Schuchardt, manager.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Risk & Insurance magazine has posted a free on-demand webinar on unbundling workers’ compensation managed care services can make a lot of sense for some employers.

Meeting the demands of a changing environment is a constant challenge whether you are — considering unbundling — have recently unbundled — or want to gauge the effectiveness of your unbundled program, the magazine says on its website.

Limited risk management resources, the complexities of data management and transparency, and increased medical costs are combining to push claims executives to improve their approach. Not doing so is to risk bad outcomes, not only for injured workers but for corporate bottom lines.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Biodiesel Magazine has posted online its recent webinar that discussed how a biodiesel operation could be saving money and increasing throughput.Methes Energies Canada Inc. sponsored the event.

On its website, Biodiesel Magazine says that the biodiesel technology landscape has evolved significantly over the past decade. Changing market dynamics, environmental and government incentives to use more waste, and industry maturation have all contributed to more efficient processing of low-cost materials.

During periods of policy uncertainty, however, the lowest-cost producers employing innovation and new processing techniques stand a better chance of surviving—and profiting—through tough times.

This webinar hears from innovators in the technology space on how your biodiesel operation could be saving money and increasing throughput.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

The Energy Collective offers the audio portion of a webinar that discusses the regulatory ecosystem and points out gaps, challenges, and opportunities for innovations in achieving the objectives of making the nation’s electric grid reliable and resilient.

On its website, the Energy Collective says that derechos, superstorms, human error and deliberate cyber attacks can disable vast swaths of our electrical grid and expose communities to crippling economic and social impacts. We have a number of technologies and business models that can help address grid weaknesses, but are our federal and state policies prepared to help or hinder these innovations?

Presenters are Raiford Smith, Director of Smart Grid Emerging Technology for Duke Energy; Chris Kotting, Executive Director of the Energy Information Standards Alliance (EIS Alliance) and Co-Founder of ThinkSmartGrid; and moderator Christine Hertzog, a consultant, author, and a professional explainer focused on Smart Grid technologies and solutions.

Listen to the webinar audio.

The Law Office of Jaia Thomas will present a free webinar on obtaining the proper clearances and licenses for film and digital productions.

The hour-long webinar will be Monday, Sept. 29, beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

The webinar will discuss music clearance:  Participants will learn the step-by-step process for clearing music and obtaining Synchronization Licenses and Master Use Licenses.

I also will cover clips and photography clearance: Participants will learn the legal requirements for using photographs, magazine covers and book covers. Participants will also learn about negotiating tactics and the various types of agreements required for clearing pre-existing film and television clips.

The webinar will also address whether you must clear all third-party labels, logs and trademarks for use in your project. All participants will receive a sample Licensing Request Letter.

Register for the webinar.

Avvo has posted a free on-demand webinar on how to optimize a law firm’s website for mobile search and will discuss the world of mobile websites.

On its website, Avvo says it is almost impossible to buy a phone that is not “smart” today. Google estimates that in 2015 mobile devices will surpass desktop computers for accessing the Internet. We are going to cover eveything you need to know about mobile.

In this webinar, Jabez LeBret, best-selling legal technology author and co-founder of the law firm marketing agency GNGF, shows how to optimize for mobile search and discuss the world of mobile websites.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

The Clean Energy Solutions Center, in partnership with United Nations Foundation’s Energy Access Practitioner Network, will host a free webinar to showcase work under way in pay-as-you-go energy technologies and business models that Practitioner Network members are testing and scaling.

This webinar is part of the broader work that the UN Foundation is undertaking on energy access within the UN and the World Bank’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative.

The webinar will be Tuesday, Sept. 16, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time.

The speakers in this session will showcase their respective organizations’ approach to pay-as-you-go models, discuss and contrast specific geographic contexts, and share their respective challenges and successes to provide collective best practices. Practitioner Network members will present on their organizations’ work in this area.

Their brief presentations will be followed by a discussion among the panelists, moderated by Jacob Winiecki, Energy Sector Specialist, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP). The webinar will conclude with an interactive question-and-answer session with webinar participants.

Register for the webinar.

Onvia has posted an on-demand webinar designed to provide an in-depth look at the latest trends in state and local cloud solutions and hear expert advice on how to win contracts.

On its website, Onvia says the webinar discusses what the term “cloud” means to agencies and vendors, why cloud is top of mind for government agencies, trends happening in the public sector at all agency levels, the types of vendors winning awards (and you’ll view actual projects and capital improvement plans), expert advice on understanding the cloud procurement process, what you need to know in advance and what the keys to success are, and  how you can win business in the cloud market.

Onvia tracks, analyzes and reports the spending of tens of thousands of federal, state and local government agencies, giving companies a single source for conducting open, intelligent and efficient business with government.

Along with providing an exclusive suite of integrated business tools for a wide variety of industries, Onvia offers DemandStar, the automated system that streamlines agency procurement processes.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP presents a complimentary webinar, “Asserting Patents and Responding to Threats in the Age of State Anti-Troll Legislation.” The one-hour webinar will take place on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014, at 11 a.m. CDT.

Patent law is a subject of exclusive federal jurisdiction, but many states have recently passed laws attempting to restrict patent demand letters. These laws are not strictly limited to “patent trolls,” although aggressive enforcement tactics are their raison d’être, the firm says.

Eighteen states have now signed acts into law defining what must be included in a cease and desist, royalty demand, or license offer letter if it relates to patents. Illinois recently joined this group of states with its Public Law 98-1119. Almost a dozen other states and Congress are considering similar legislation. As a result, patent holders have new considerations to take into account when they want to enforce their patents. Accused infringers have some extra rights and tactics, but those vary from state to state. In addition, the courts have begun to weigh in on these new laws—both at the state and federal levels.

This webinar will cover:

• Review state laws restricting patent demand letters (including a reference chart)
• Summarize how these laws interact with federal exclusive jurisdiction over patent law
• Evaluate strategic implications of these state laws, when sending or receiving patent assertion letters

Speakers will be Fitch Even attorneys Edward E. Clair and David A. Gosse. Ed has a diverse intellectual property law practice covering all aspects of IP creation, management, enforcement, and licensing. Dave’s practice includes invention and patentability analysis, patent drafting and prosecution, and a special focus on IP litigation.

CLE will be available in Illinois, California and Nebraska. Other states may also grant CLE upon attendee request to the appropriate state agency.

There is no fee to attend, but please note registration is required.

Register for the webinar.

Vichara Technologies will host a free webinar titled “Managing Financial Risk and Regulation with Big Data” focusing on how Big Data is being used in capital markets to manage financial risk and regulatory compliance.

The webinar will be Sept. 18 at 11 a.m. Eastern time.

Michael How, CTO at Vichara Technologies, will be the presenter for the webinar. He will highlight some of the success stories of Vichara’s clients and describe how Big Data is evolving in capital markets to uncover unique opportunities and manage risks.

Leveraging HP Vertica’s big data analytics platform, Vichara has designed software solutions to manage complex structured finance products’ risk and valuations. Using these solutions, Vichara’s clients:

• Analyse historical performance of loans using multiple billion row mortgage datasets
• Evaluate a multi billion dollar retail loan portfolio to meet regulatory requirements
• Develop and validate predictive models to analyse risks in Mortgage Backed Securities and validate accuracy of the models

Register for the webinar.

A webinar on the future of U.S. energy security hosted by the Energy Security Initiative (ESI) at Brookings Institution is now available on-demand at the Brookings website.

This event was the launch of ESI’s new report, “Changing Markets: Economic Opportunities from Lifting the U.S. Ban on Crude Oil Exports,” which looks at the economic and national security impacts of allowing U.S. crude oil exports based on a macroeconomic study contracted from National Economic Research Associates (NERA) Economic Consulting.

On its website, Brookings says that as unconventional oil and natural gas production in the United States skyrockets amidst increasing energy instability around the globe, the role of the United States in the global energy security landscape is changing. Countries such as China, India and Japan have looked to diversify their energy supply, offering a potential market for U.S. oil and gas exports. In the United States, intense debate has emerged around a decades-old ban on crude oil exports, with policymakers looking to balance the potential economic and security benefits of allowing free trade for crude oil with concerns about the role of fossil fuels in U.S. climate change mitigation.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Corporation Service Company will present a free webinar about how legal departments are going paperless, realizing efficiencies and tracking key dates by utilizing a cloud-based solution.

The one-hour webinar will be Tuesday, Sept. 23, beginning at 1 p.m. Central time.

On its website, the company says this complimentary session will cover online security and availability, how to receive, file, organize, search, and track down contracts and associated documents, real-world legal department challenges and best practices they employed, and brief demonstration of CSC’s award-winning Contract Management solution, including how to reduce risk and allow for real-time collaboration within role-based permission sets.

Register for the webinar.

Meeting Professionals International has posted a free on-demand webinar on contract negotiations involving meeting planning.

On its website, MPI says contract negotiations can be a daunting and somewhat overwhelming process.  This webinar will take you through the common clauses of an event contract in working with meeting facilities as well as things to look out for, clarification on wording, and tips on how to make the entire process something to look forward to instead of fearing.

Objectives in the webinar include advice on how to learn what to ask for within your contract and how to get it through compromise, how to review what is negotiable and the relation to your meeting objectives, and how to review  the top confusing clauses and better understanding of them.

Watch the webinar.

A complimentary webinar planned by EnergyCAP will explore the emergence of sustainability strategy in business, government, and education and how it relates to energy efficiency and conservation.

The 30-minute webinar will be Tuesday, Sept. 23, at 4 p.m. Eastern time.

The webinar will cover the basics of sustainability planning, and the importance of linking energy efficiency and conservation efforts to an overall sustainability strategy.

Erik Foley of the Dais Consulting Group, a business consultancy focused on high performance sustainability strategy, will lead the presentation. He also is Director of Sustainability Planning and Operations at Penn State’s Sustainability Institute, where he recently wrote the Sustainability Planning Guidebook.

Register for the webinar.

Growing Mexican gas demand will provide a key outlet for burgeoning Texas production and will compete with flows heading to the premium Southwest and SoCal markets.

Platts has posted a complimentary webinar on the subject.

On its website, Platts says that LNG imports into constrained southern Mexican markets will eventually be displaced by increasing Mexican production and US imports. Find out what is driving natural gas demand in Mexico, where gas in the US will be displaced and how infrastructure will be built to accommodate this developing market in this complimentary webinar.

Speakers are analyst Ross Wyeno and senior analyst Jim Kahler of Bentek Energy.

Platts says the webinar covers:

• Texas production growth
• Future of Mexican Energy reform and creation of a “free” market
• LNG imports serving constrained markets
• Mexican Power demand growth
• Pipeline infrastructure build out and growing US exports

Watch the on-demand webinar.