Norwegian hydropower stations could be linked to wind farms and serve as giant “batteries” to even out power supply fluctuations, a Scandinavian research organization says.
A major hurdle for renewable energy suppliers is intermittent power production — sometimes too much
One of the big questions about solar power is how to supply sun-driven electricity at times of peak demand. Demand spikes in the early morning, before the sun is high enough to hit solar panels, and in the early evening, when solar panels operate at only at half efficiency in the low light. Cost-effective storage has been a major issue to be solved.
Louisiana’s Public Service Commission (PSC) will vote this Wednesday, April 17th on whether to preserve or dismantle net metering in the state. The vote will answer the central question in the net metering docket (LPSC Docket number: R-31417) – how valuable is the solar energy produced from net-metered solar systems?
Did you read this article in Bloomberg about how rooftop solar is costing California ratepayers billions!!!!??? Then you should know it’s largely horsemalarkey.
What the article doesn’t say is how the utilities arrive at their figures–but based on previous assertions, we think it’s safe to assume the approach is grievously
The results of the 2012 Black & Veatch “Strategic Directions in the U.S. Electric Utility Industry Report” were released recently with plenty of media attention.
Most of the headlines focused on findings surrounding our country’s future with coal (or lack thereof). Only 58 percent of utility executives said
Today we’re celebrating an interim win for California rooftop solar along with our partners at SEIA, IREC and the Sierra Club. Together we have been working to encourage the utility regulators at the California Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to clarify the methodology being used to calculate the cap on the state’s net metering program, that billing
US Congresswoman Michele Bachmann often asks why government should tell us which kind of light bulb to choose. Turns out it’s a question with a trillion dollar answer.
We will save $1.1 trillion through 2035 because of existing energy efficiency mandates for light bulbs
San Jose added more residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems last year than any other city in California, according to the latest PV Solar Report, a quarterly analysis conducted by solar company SunRun.
San Jose’s number of home solar systems in 2011 was up 45.4% from just the year before, a dramatic
Duke Energy has announced its intention to build a large-scale wind farm in Willacy County.
When the 200-megawatt facility comes online, it will generate enough electricity to power roughly 60,000 homes.
Duke Energy’s Los Vientos I wind power project,
Government funding has played a key role in launching the microgrid market, especially at the federal government level. Yet there is, at present, few “microgrid” line items in most federal, state or local government budgets. In the Obama Administration’s ARRA stimulus package, there are categories for “customer-owned systems” and even “microgrids,” but these were never
Electric vehicle charging stations are now popping up at locations scattered across the country. Because of the low penetration rates of EVs and charging equipment during the next year, utilities are generally comfortable that their ability to reliably serve customers won’t be impacted.
This is partly because both categories of
Nissan is on tour promoting its upcoming electric vehicle, the Leaf, in select cities across the U.S. The 5-passenger EV will become available in December 2010, and faces many challenges in fostering a supporting vehicle charging infrastructure and creating consumer-friendly financing options, but thus far they seem to have a well-conceived plan. During an event in Portland this week I spoke with Nissan senior manager for corporate planning Brian Verprauskus about the Leaf launch plans.
Ensuring that consumers will be ready to charge on the day that they bring the vehicle home is a new challenge for Nissan and the other EV manufacturers. Nissan plans to partner with a nationally known company to provide the wall box for plugging in the vehicle and to manage matching vehicle owners with electricians. Nissan will choose a company that has experience going into consumers’ homes, and will likely announce the partner in early 2010. Consumers will need to connect the box to a dedicated circuit for EV charging, which requires carefully managing the process to reduce risk of a customer improperly plugging in a vehicle and causing damage to the vehicle or property. Nissan’s plan is smart because many consumers will need hand holding to understand the issues of EV charging, and a company with adept at customer relations will be key.
How do you force a company that earns money by selling power to reduce its sales? This conflict of interests is what the state of California faced in the 1970s and the result was the formation of the California Public Utilities Corporation (CPUC) an agency that oversees the publicly owned utilities in the state and regulates the amount those utilities can charge. A major goal for the CPUC? Disincentivize the utilities from increasing sales.
Energy use across the United States has grown steadily both on a per capita basis and in total for the last 30 years. California is one of the few states that has been able to control its per-capita energy use over the last few decades. In fact, the per capita utility use curve in California has been almost completely flat since the late ‘70s which many find amazing considering the overwhelming increase in technology in our lives. The way California has done so is as startling as it is strange: beauracratic wisdom.
California, which has often led the nation in emissions reductions and environmental initiatives, is not the standard bearer in producing renewable energy today. If you consider all forms of renewable energy — solar, wind, hydro, and geothermal, then California isn’t at the top in total production, and as a percentage of energy produced, it’s not even in the top five.
Washington, with its longtime investment in hydropower, produced nearly 58 percent more renewable energy from electricity than California, according to 2007 data. In California, 25 percent of all energy produced comes from renewables, which is lower than Idaho (84 percent), Washington (77 percent), Oregon (65 percent), South Dakota (50 percent, Maine (49 percent) and Montana (34 percent). Note that this is electricity generated not consumed. Many of the upper Midwest states actually export energy, while California imports the most energy in the country.