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Stillwater Associates LLC Newsletter
 
May 2016 
The May edition of the Stillwater Newsletter starts with an exciting announcement - subscriptions to Stillwater's LCFS Newsletter are available now. Get yours today! Rob Jaques brings us the first article in our "War Stories" series, with The Downside of Paying Consultants for Performance. Finally, we give you a recap of our 2016 Annual Meeting held in April. Lots of interesting ideas came out of that meeting and we can't wait to share them with you.


Stillwater's LCFS Newsletter is now available for purchase through our new website Stillwater Publications. Is your company impacted by California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard? The LCFS is well under way, and it's important that Covered Entities and the companies that support them have the right information to make smart Credit Market decisions. Stillwater's LCFS Newsletter is a powerful tool to use as you navigate the standard. This unique publication offers the latest news and valuable Stillwater analysis of LCFS credit and deficit trends based on CARB data.


We're offering three different subscription levels, each with a free trial for 30 days.
  • Basic Membership - With the Basic Membership, subscribers receive Stillwater's Monthly LCFS Newsletter and have access to the Monthly Archives. The Monthly LCFS Newsletter starts with a review of the monthly credit price trend and the latest LCFS news. In addition, CARB's monthly credit transaction summary is included along with Stillwater's own analysis of credit transaction developments. The final section is the Monthly Highlight, an analysis of recent events in the LCFS that will give subscribers valuable long-term insight into the program.
  • Plus Membership - Plus Membership subscribers receive the Monthly LCFS Newsletter as well as Stillwater's Quarterly LCFS Newsletter. The Quarterly LCFS Newsletter is Stillwater's analysis of the credit and deficit data from the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) LCFS Reporting Tool (LRT). The data analysis provides insight into credit and deficit generation trends, low carbon intensity (CI) fuel use trends, and potential future developments. The highlight of the Quarterly is Stillwater's expert examination of the issues around the LCFS. This analysis delves into specific topics like New Pathways, Advanced Biofuels Penetration, and Interaction with the Renewable Fuel Standard.
  • Premium Membership- In addition to Monthly and Quarterly LCFS Newsletters, Premium Membership subscribers receive Weekly LCFS updates. The Weekly LCFS Newsletter is a snapshot of the current LCFS credit price trend. The Weekly also takes a look at recent news on the LCFS in California, and the progress of LCFS-style adoption in other states and countries.

War Stories: The Downside of Paying Consultants for Performance
Stillwater's "War Stories" are a series of personal accounts from our Associates about life in the trenches of the transportation fuels industry. Whether they be lessons on consulting, life at the big oil corporations, or navigating the boom-and-bust cycle of the energy markets, our War Stories are an entertaining look at our experience.
 
We've all heard the jokes about consultants - "they're the guys who borrow your watch, tell you what time it is, hand you an invoice, and walk off with your watch", and other less family friendly versions. I've been in this industry for a while, and I've experienced several different billing schemes, from a flat weekly rate, to time and materials on an hourly basis, to lump sum projects, as well as several hybrids and variations. Over ten years ago, I was also fortunate enough to manage a five year, multi-million-dollar "gain-share" project with one of the largest transit authorities in the US.

Recap from Stillwater's 2016 Annual Meeting

On April 2nd Stillwater held our 6th Annual Meeting in Irvine, CA. The Annual Meeting originated in 2011 with a handful of people sitting around a kitchen table discussing the future of the company. Since then it's grown to a weekend-long event with 29 attendees, starting with a kick-off party at Stillwater World Headquarters. Associates flew in from all over the country and Canada to share work experiences, collaborate, improve the business, and enjoy each other's company.

 
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Stillwater Associates is a transportation energy consulting firm. We help our clients understand how fuels get from the source to the service station. If your company is in need of expert advice, please let us know.

Sincerely,

David J. Hackett, President
Stillwater Associates LLC