| Headline |
Author |
Published |
Section |
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 ... |
|
| Topics: electricity grid, energy, renewable energy, wind power (all these topics) |
|
|
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 ... |
|
| Topics: energy, renewable energy, wind power, electricity grid (all these topics) |
|
|
Energy storage in the field
American Electric Power to install large battery banks to store wind energy |
David Roberts |
11 Sep 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Sweet. A utility called American Electric Power is going to set up a huge bank of batteries to store wind power. The short write-up in the NYT is both exciting, in that it's good to see storage moving to the deployment phase, and sobering, in that it highlights the limitations of current battery technology. Here's the setup: The batteries can each deliver one megawatt of power -- enough to run a medium-size shopping center -- for a little more than seven hours. Re ... |
|
| Topics: electricity grid, energy, renewable energy, wind power (all these topics) |
|
|
Economist stuff
|
David Roberts |
02 Aug 2007 |
Gristmill |
| Two short articles of interest in The Economist. One describes the nascent attempts to conceive and build a network of high-voltage DC power lines across Europe, which would enable wind and solar to play the role of baseload power. The other is about compressed-air storage. This is nifty, but confusing: Meanwhile, General Compression, a small firm based in Attleboro, Massachusetts, is taking another approach. Its windmill compresses air directly. This has the adva ... |
|
| Topics: electricity grid, energy, renewable energy, wind power (all these topics) |
|
|
Solar energy, volatility, and the grid
No surprises here, please |
Kristina & Jason Makansi |
01 Aug 2007 |
Gristmill |
| The electricity grid doesn't like surprises. Sudden voltage spikes or sags do not a healthy grid make. So proponents of large-scale solar and wind are working to create tools to smooth over volatility issues, so these generating resources can be integrated seamlessly onto the grid. If we're going to be in a position to rely on more solar and wind power and use these to replace significant amounts of power generated from coal, the grid planning and dispat ... |
|
| Topics: electricity grid, energy, renewable energy, solar voltaic power, wind power (all these topics) |
|
|
Adventures in the smart grid no. 2: Demand response
Information is power |
Patrick Mazza |
27 Jul 2007 |
Gristmill |
| The day is sweltering, air conditioners are cranked up, and the power grid is straining to meet demand. Today is a 'needle peak' day -- on the annual power demand chart, it shows up as a spike. Out of the year's 8,760 hours, needle peaks will occupy 200 hours or less. An extreme day like this is why the grid maintains roughly twice as much power generating and transmission capacity as it uses on an average day. Even though power plants and lines are idle most of the ye ... |
|
| Topics: electricity grid, energy, energy at home, energy efficiency, fossil fuels, renewable energy, wind power (all these topics) |
|
|
©2008. Grist Magazine, Inc. All rights reserved. Gloom and doom with a sense of humor®.