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| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
The hare and the tortoise
Costs for utilities rise faster than politically palatable rate changes can keep up |
Sean Casten |
07 Jul 2008 |
Gristmill |
| This is one for the 'Things No One is Talking About But Should' file. Greenwire has this report ($ub. req'd) from Standard & Poor's noting that the credit risk of our utilities depends in large part on their ability to recover rising fuel costs, and this ability is diminished due to the fact that: High fuel costs translate directly to higher customer rates, but instituting constant and often significant increases is politically and socially unpalatable. Th ... |
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| Topics: economy, electricity grid, energy, gas prices (all these topics) |
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Generate energy locally; recycle whenever possible
A Pollan-esque energy objective in six words ... and then some |
Sean Casten |
23 Apr 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Perhaps the single most important thing we can do to drive up our energy efficiency, lower energy costs, and bolster the overall reliability of our energy infrastructure is to overhaul our electric sector's regulatory model to move generation away from big, remote plants and toward local generation. From solar to CHP, we have a panoply of technologies, fuels, and companies who would participate in such a shift. Less understood is that our regulatory model creates o ... |
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| Topics: electricity grid, energy, energy efficiency, placemaking, urban planning (all these topics) |
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Green buildings wise up
Linking green buildings and the smart grid will spawn a green energy ecosystem |
Patrick Mazza |
14 Apr 2008 |
Gristmill |
| A new energy ecosystem is emerging that connects smart, green buildings with a smart, green grid to optimize energy flows. Since commercial and industrial buildings represent around 40 percent of U.S. energy use, and homes another 30 percent, this represents the most significant opportunity for energy efficiency and mass-scale renewable generation. But creating this new green energy ecosystem means linking what are today heavily 'stovepiped' separate systems within ... |
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| Topics: electricity grid, energy, green building, placemaking (all these topics) |
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Blacking out the wild blue yonder
DOD panel calls out power grid disruption threat |
Patrick Mazza |
31 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Here's another good reason to fix a shaky and outdated power grid, from the Defense Science Board: keeping the Air Force flying during the next terrorist attack. The military focuses much of its efforts on avoiding global petroleum disruptions. But it has not thought much about power grid disruptions that could affect its own bases, the Department of Defense (DOD) group says in a report authored by former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger The board say ... |
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| Topics: national security, energy, electricity grid (all these topics) |
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Smart grid to rock Boulder
City selected for largest U.S. smart grid project |
Patrick Mazza |
18 Mar 2008 |
Gristmill |
| When Xcel Energy announced a few days ago that it had selected Boulder, Colo. as 'the nation's first fully integrated Smart Grid City,' it represented a vitally important step toward creating a low-carbon energy network. Photo: Aidan M. Grey Xcel previously announced its intention to stage the largest and most comprehensive deployment of smart grid technologies in the U.S. ever, and now it says it has targeted Boulder for a several-year effort that will ... |
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| Topics: Colorado, electricity grid, energy (all these topics) |
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When the wind blows
Wind power gets a bad rap after the Texas blackouts |
Sir Oolius |
29 Feb 2008 |
Gristmill |
| The Competitive Enterprise Institute's Iain Murray warns of the dangers of renewables: While we're on the subject of renewables: here's further proof that wind power is no panacaea for the nation's looming electricity crisis. The wind dropped in Texas, and caused blackouts. Indeed, an unexpected demand spike not met by coal-fired power plants wind power caused irreparable harm by unfairly favoring the unwashed masses over 'large industrial customers who are paid to ... |
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| Topics: wind power, electricity grid, energy, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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South Fla. power outage
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David Roberts |
26 Feb 2008 |
Gristmill |
| There's seems to be some confusion out there about exactly what happened in South Florida today, but as far as I can tell, some power lines went out at a substation, which caused a nuclear plant to automatically shut down, which caused power outages for upwards of 3 million people. Nice grid. I liked this headline: "Nuclear plant shutdown stops Florida." Somebody crank Florida back up again! And also? The headline writers at DowJones need to talk to the r ... |
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| Topics: electricity grid, energy, Florida, nuclear power (all these topics) |
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Grid, grid, grid
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David Roberts |
22 Feb 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Tyler Hamilton speak. You listen. |
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| Topics: energy, electricity grid (all these topics) |
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Solar to the electric car: You complete me
The electrification of transportation will also help green the grid |
Adam Browning |
30 Jan 2008 |
Gristmill |
| I promised more on the impact of Project Better Place's electric car plans -- and I deliver with an article here. |
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| Topics: cars, electric vehicles, electricity grid, energy, renewable energy, solar voltaic power (all these topics) |
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Turn on, plug in, drop out
Plug-in hybrids and electric cars: A core climate solution, nationally and globally |
Joseph Romm |
22 Jan 2008 |
Gristmill |
| I have a new article in Salon, "The car of the future is here," about plug-in hybrids. The two central points of the article are: Plug-in hybrids (and electric cars) are an essential climate strategy, enabling renewable power (even intermittent sources like wind) to become a major low-cost transportation fuel. Practical, affordable plug-in hybrids will be here in a few years -- even if we don't get a technology breakthrough in batteries. ( ... |
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| Topics: cars, electric vehicles, electricity grid, energy, hybrids (all these topics) |
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Put a grid on it
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David Roberts |
17 Jan 2008 |
Gristmill |
| Sweet. Xcel Energy is going to spend $100 million creating a grid city, which will serve as a test bed for smart grid techniques and technologies. It will likely be in Colorado, have a population of around 100,000, and be filled with dirty hippies. If that sounds like your town, maybe you should contact Xcel and lobby on your behalf. |
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| Topics: Colorado, electricity grid, energy (all these topics) |
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Taking Heat
California withdraws proposal to potentially override private thermostats |
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16 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 9:55 AM on 16 Jan 2008 Strenuous public objection has forced the California Energy Commission to withdraw a proposal that new buildings in the state have radio-controlled thermostats that would allow utilities to override customers' temperature settings in the case of a power emergency. Some saw the plan as way too Big Brother; energy commission member Arthur Rosenfeld described it as minor private s ... |
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| Topics: California, electricity grid, energy, news (all these topics) |
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A smarter, thriftier grid
Field test documents big consumer savings |
Patrick Mazza |
15 Jan 2008 |
Gristmill |
| A Northwest field test of smart-grid technologies has documented tremendous potential to run a grid that delivers power far more economically by controlling peak demand. The Pacific Northwest GridWise Demonstration Project has just announced the results of their year-long test, which included two pieces: On the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, 112 homes, three onsite generation units and municipal water pumps were equipped with automated systems tha ... |
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| Topics: electricity grid, energy, scientific research (all these topics) |
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Corridor Stop
Green groups sue over DOE's plans for electric transmission corridors |
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11 Jan 2008 |
News |
| Posted at 4:55 PM on 11 Jan 2008 Green groups are suing the Department of Energy over its plans for electric transmission corridors in the U.S. Southwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. The groups say the DOE violated environmental laws by failing to take into account the potential impacts of the high-voltage transmission lines on air quality, wildlife, and habitat; the corridors encompass dozens of state and national ... |
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| Topics: Department of Energy, electricity grid, energy, litigation, news (all these topics) |
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The renewable Janus
Renewables are pulling two directions, nationwide and local |
David Roberts |
23 Dec 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Recently a study found that wind can serve as reliable baseload power. The key is to link wind farms together with a high-speed transmission grid. "This study implies that, if interconnected wind is used on a large scale, a third or more of its energy can be used for reliable electric power, and the remaining intermittent portion can be used for transportation, allowing wind to solve energy, climate and air pollution problems simultaneously," said Arc ... |
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| Topics: energy, renewable energy, wind power, electricity grid (all these topics) |
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The success of solar depends on storage
Storage helps the sun keep shining even on cloudy days |
Kristina & Jason Makansi |
22 Dec 2007 |
Gristmill |
| New project and technology announcements have kept solar energy in the news lately. But, as with wind, the issues of intermittency and the grid still lurk in the shadows. Some still argue that intermittency isn't a problem, or that it can be solved without storage. In a new piece in the Arizona Daily Star, reporter Tom Beal talks about those issues. As we've previously argued here, here, and here, energy storage has a big role to play in enabling sola ... |
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| Topics: Arizona, solar voltaic power, electricity grid, energy (all these topics) |
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Response to Jeremy Carl, part four
Even in the short term, R&E is a better choice than clean coal for developing nations |
David Roberts |
03 Dec 2007 |
Gristmill |
| OK, if you're just joining us in this apparently interminable series, here's where we've been: Jeremy said the power players in China and India (C&I) "care about money, not climate." But if that's true, they're not going to go for clean coal either -- it's more expensive. Happily, I think it's not going to be true for long. Developing countries are going to work to reduce their emissions; they have to. There are indeed compelling reasons to think ... |
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| Topics: climate, coal, electricity grid, energy (all these topics) |
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Be car-ful?
Giving up car-lessness for Rob Lowe's plug-in hybrid |
Alan Durning |
16 Nov 2007 |
Gristmill |
| This essay is part of a series on not owning a car. ----- The weekend before Halloween, my car-less family got a loaner plug-in hybrid-electric car to try. You see, the City of Seattle and some other local public agencies are testing the conversion of some existing hybrids to plug-ins to accelerate the spread of these near-zero-emissions vehicles. As a favor and, perhaps, for some publicity (this post), the city's program manager offered me four days' use of the p ... |
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| Topics: electricity grid, energy, hybrids, cars, electric vehicles, placemaking (all these topics) |
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How to get more distributed generation on the grid
Interview with smart grid expert Steve Pullins, part two |
David Roberts |
13 Nov 2007 |
Gristmill |
| For nearly 30 years, Steve Pullins has worked in and around the utility industry, in capacities ranging from systems engineering to project development to high-level consulting. He currently works at SAIC, where he heads the Modern Grid Initiative for the National Energy Technology Laboratory. I spoke with him at the Discover Brilliant conference in Sep. 2007. He stressed that he was speaking to me as a concerned private citizen, not as a representative of the MGI. Pa ... |
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| Topics: energy, electricity grid (all these topics) |
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What is a smart grid?
Interview with smart grid expert Steve Pullins, part one |
David Roberts |
12 Nov 2007 |
Gristmill |
| For nearly 30 years, Steve Pullins has worked in and around the utility industry, in capacities ranging from systems engineering to project development to high-level consulting. He currently works at SAIC, where he heads the Modern Grid Initiative for the National Energy Technology Laboratory. I spoke with him at the Discover Brilliant conference in Sep. 2007. He stressed that he was speaking to me as a concerned private citizen, not as a representative of the MGI. ... |
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| Topics: electricity grid, energy efficiency, energy (all these topics) |
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What price carbon?
How high a price on carbon is needed to make renewables competitive? |
David Roberts |
07 Nov 2007 |
Gristmill |
| I've argued before that electricity cost comparisons are, in Walt Patterson's memorable phrase, "an artifact of prior decisions otherwise concealed" -- i.e., based on unstated moral, social, and economic assumptions. Most of those assumptions, for reasons of habit, custom, and occasionally pecuniary interest, are weighted toward the traditional way of doing things: a hub-and-spoke electricity grid driven by massive coal, gas, nuclear, and hydro plants. (To ... |
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| Topics: electricity grid, energy, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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Project Better Place
CPR for the electric car |
Adam Browning |
31 Oct 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Project Better Place has a new take on jumpstarting the electrification of transportation: they've raised $200 million (about enough to buy, what, three fuel cell vehicles?) to start building infrastructure for charging and battery exchange stations. That's just a down payment. If you play Internet Nancy Drew for a sec you will quickly find out that Israel Corp, a major investor, also has a stake in oil refineries, and 45 percent of Chery, the Chinese car company t ... |
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| Topics: cars, electricity grid, energy storage, energy, solar voltaic power, electric vehicles, renewable energy (all these topics) |
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Learning to shave
We need a grid as smart as our bombs |
JMG |
29 Oct 2007 |
Gristmill |
| So much talk about new energy supplies ignores the wisdom we supposedly learned in the '70s about "negawatts" being the most efficient, effective, and environmentally friendly source of power around. It's good to see that we might finally make some progress in this direction, learning to shave demand peaks and save a bundle (and open the way for integrating more renewables into the grid):In a yearlong trial run that ended in the spring, 200 or so homes on Washington ... |
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| Topics: electricity grid, energy (all these topics) |
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All you need is <del
Solar thermal company says its generation/storage combo can power the nation |
David Roberts |
23 Sep 2007 |
Gristmill |
| A new design for solar thermal electric generators could bust the technology out of niche status and supply the country's entire electric load, according to ... people who make solar thermal electric generators. ... physicist David Mills, chief scientific officer and founder of Palo Alto, Calif.-based solar-thermal company Ausra, has bigger ideas: concentrating the sun's power to provide all of the electricity needs of the U.S., including a switch to electric cars f ... |
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| Topics: electricity grid, energy, energy storage, solar thermal power (all these topics) |
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Adventures in the smart grid no. 3
Who will lead on advancing smart-grid technologies? |
Patrick Mazza |
21 Sep 2007 |
Gristmill |
| To bring on the amounts of variable wind and solar energy and plug-in vehicles needed to meet our vast energy challenges, we will need a smart grid capable of managing much more complex power flows. Outside of some progressive exemplars, however, don't expect leadership to come from the utility sector. Instead, changes will be forced by new policies and players, including some you might not expect, like big box retailers. Those were my key takeaways from the stell ... |
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| Topics: cars, electricity grid, energy, hybrids (all these topics) |
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