Poll: More Americans say they prioritize alternative energy to fossil fuels - FuelFix (blog)

Public Prioritizes Development of Alternative Energy SourcesHOUSTON â€" A new survey shows vastly more Americans think the country should prioritize developing alternative energy sources over expanding fossil fuel production.

Survey respondents favored developing alternative energy sources like wind, solar and hydrogen over coal, oil and natural gas by a 60 percent to 30 percent margin.

The Pew Research Center conducted the survey of 1,507 adults earlier this month.

The survey broke out the results by gender, race, age, education level, income, and political affiliation.

Republicans were the only demographic group that had more members who preferred expanding fossil fuels.

Adults younger than 30 most heavily favored alternative fuels, with 74 percent of them picking that option over fossil fuels.

Still, when asked about specific policies, respondents favored several pro-oil policies. The majority of Americans favor expanded offshore drilling in U.S. waters as well as increased drilling on federally-owned lands.

A previous survey in November, however, showed that Americans oppose the increased use of hydraulic fracturing by a 47 percent-41 percent margin.

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Myths vs. facts on renewable energy - The Detroit News

DetroitNews 12:02 a.m. EST December 29, 2014

In its December 16 editorial, "Don't shield windmills," The Detroit News regurgitates several myths and misunderstandings about renewable energy. Gov. Rick Snyder has said that updating Michigan's energy policy will be a top priority in early 2015 and it's important to clear the air ahead of what is sure to be a robust debate.

Renewable energy is affordable.

Michigan's clean energy policy has been highly successful. Since its implementation in 2008, the costs of renewable energy generation have been cut in half. Driven by advances in technology, private-sector competition and economies of scale, wind and solar are today far cheaper than coal and in some cases less expensive than natural gas. Much like the price of flat screen TVs and computers have come down over the years, the cost of renewable energy is likely to continue to decline.

Recent Michigan wind contracts are coming in at $45-$50 per megawatt hour. And the Lansing Board and Water and Light recently received bids to purchase solar power as low as $65 per megawatt hour. This compares to Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) estimates of coal at $133 per megawatt hour and $70 per megawatt hour for natural gas.

It is important to clear up another point: Michigan does not subsidize renewable energy. Clean energy, including wind and solar, receives no subsidies from the state of Michigan.

Wind and other renewable energy sources can be integrated into Michigan's energy mix in a way that reduces costs while maintaining reliability. Twenty nine other states get substantially more of their energy from renewable sources than Michigan, all without any decrease in reliability. This includes our Midwest neighbor Iowa, which gets more than 25 percent of its energy from wind.

In 2013, Gov. Snyder's administration concluded that Michigan could cost-effectively obtain 30 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2035 without impacting reliability.

Scientists at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that wind energy can actually improve overall grid reliability.

Michigan's renewable energy unlocked more than $2.2 billion in renewable energy investment from 2009-2013, according to the MPSC. This growth in advanced energy has spurred new market opportunities for Michigan manufacturers, with manufacturing connected to advanced energy contributing $7.2 billion annually to the Michigan economy. Increasing our use of renewable energy could add an additional $6.7 billion to the state's economy over the next 10 years, according to a study commissioned by the Michigan Conservative Energy Forum.

Michigan is a top five state nationally each of the past two quarters for job creation related to advanced energy.

A Michigan advanced energy employment survey found that Michigan advanced energy firms remain optimistic, with 72 percent of companies expecting to hire more workers in 2015.

The Snyder administration has done extensive work to review Michigan's energy policy. Snyder named passing a new energy policy one of his top priorities for early 2015. With several 50-year old coal plants slated for closure over the next few years, the time is ripe for Michigan to transition to energy that is more efficient, affordable, reliable and clean.

Dan Scripps, president,

Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council

Read or Share this story: http://detne.ws/1BjuJst

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The Renewable Energy Alternative for ASEAN - EconomyWatch.com

Is it Time for Renewable Energy for ASEAN?

Despite the 2011 Fukushima disaster, nuclear remains a viable alternative energy source due to its mature technology and its capacity to produce a stable power supply. By contrast, perfecting renewable energy technologies and their intermittent power-generating characteristics make them appear less reliable.

However, the nuclear option has been considered but not implemented for decades, and meanwhile more recent renewable energy sources have already made inroads in the region. In 2011, renewable energy power sources, particularly hydropower and geothermal plants, made up about 15 per cent of total power generated in the ASEAN region. This was the third-largest amount after gas-fired and coal-powered power plants. Nuclear power projects to enter the region’s energy mix only after 2023, assuming that Vietnam successfully commissions nuclear plants.

Although countries in the region have set higher targets for renewables’ share in their national energy mix, overall the use of renewables in the region is still limited relative to their potential. In Southeast Asia, wind and tidal energy are largely untapped, with the huge solar potential in the region remaining underdeveloped.

As mechanisms of power generation from renewables are different from those of conventional energy sources, adopting renewable energy into existing national energy systems is indeed a challenging undertaking. Renewable energy developments are capital intensive and are far less economically competitive than the dominant fossil fuel-based energy sources.

In addition, renewable energy sources are often located in remote areas, rendering their connection to main power grids a significant technical hurdle. Cumbersome administrative processes arising from overlapping and uncoordinated regulations between relevant authorities further hinder renewable energy penetration. Limited access to financing and insufficient financial incentives dissuades investors from participating in renewable energy development in the region.

Apart from technical and financial barriers, renewables also have a completely different set of environmental and socioeconomic costs. Although hydropower has fuelled the power trade in the Greater Mekong Subregion and helped Thailand and Vietnam meet their rapidly growing demand for energy, hydropower dams have displaced communities, undermined the quality and quantity of the water supply, and continue to disrupt the livelihood of people living in the Mekong River Basin. In the Philippines and Indonesia, land acquisitions for geothermal developments meet strong opposition from local populations.

Realising the multiple challenges facing its member states in getting renewable energy on board, ASEAN has come up with a number of supporting initiatives. The ASEAN Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation (APAEC) 2010â€"15 envisions a collective target for renewable energy of 15 per cent of total power capacity by 2015. To this end, ASEAN has spelled out action plans directed towards enhancing awareness of renewable energy, and preparing the region as a renewable energy hub.

The ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) in cooperation with German Development Cooperation (GIZ) conducted a study to investigate the opportunities and challenges of renewable energy development in Southeast Asia. The resulting report noted that ASEAN member states currently stand at different stages of renewable energy market development with different sets of challenges. Thailand is the most advanced, followed by Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

ASEAN cooperation with GIZ has also resulted in an online platform that facilitates the sharing of information, best practice, and progress updates among ASEAN member states. Such a platform is very useful to monitor renewable energy development in each country, although countries in the region need to become more proactive in supplying relevant information to the system.

Commendable initiatives taken by ASEAN need support from strong commitments by member states. As renewable energy is a relatively new form of energy source, governments need to establish investors’ trust in its profitability and people’s trust in its utility and reliability. Efforts to create a conducive environment for the renewable energy market are only a part of the equation, as public buy-in is equally important for supporting governments’ substantial spending on renewable energy and the ensuing infrastructure changes that come with it.

Creating an enabling environment for renewable energy investments by implementing policies, enacting reliable regulations, and simplifying administrative processes needs to take place at a national level.

When it comes to cooperation, governments need to identify priorities. The regional level has various recommendations.  There are three collaborative initiatives that countries should undertake to help accelerate renewable energy development.

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Texas Instruments builds an alternative energy for the Internet of Things - Computerworld

The Internet of Things is nothing without batteries and plugs. But it's possible to build a sensor network that uses harvested energy that comes from changes in temperature, vibrations, wind and light, as Texas Instruments (TI) will demonstrate at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.
The idea of harvesting power has a long history and there are many applications of it today. However, big solar panels or large sensors that can capture energy from vibrations, heat and light are impractical in many Internet of Things sensor applications, which are tiny in size.
ti system diagram energy
Texas Instruments
The diagram shows how Texas Instrument's wireless sensor network would work.

TI said it has developed electronics capable of taking small amounts of power generated by harvested sources and turning them into a useful power source. This means that the sensors used to collect the energy can be small as well.
All these ambient energy sources, such as the difference in temperature in a pipe carrying hot water and the outside air, can generate 300 to 400 millivolts, which isn't enough to power anything. TI has built an "ultra-low powered" DC-to-DC switching converter that can boost this power to 3 to 5 volts, which is sufficient to charge a battery, according to Niranjan Pathare, senior marketing development manager at TI.
To power wearables, the company has demonstrated drawing energy from the human body by using harvesters the size of wristwatch straps, Pathare said. It has worked with vibration collectors, for instance, about the same size as a key.
It's possible that a smartwatch could use two harvested power sources, light and heat, from the body. These sources may not gather enough power to keep a smartwatch continuously operating without action by the user to charge it, but it may give the user's device a lot more battery life.
"Obviously, the longer you can make that [battery] last the happier the consumer is going to be with its performance," said William Cooper, a TI product marketing engineer.
The technology has many applications in industrial and home environments. If a device or sensor isn't connected to a power network, it will need a battery. Vendors will say that these batteries have the potential of lasting for years since they are only transmitting small amounts of data. But, still, who wants to worry about a battery?
Of the work done by Texas Instruments, Steve Ohr, an analyst at Gartner, said, "they have the parts that will take this micro-power input and actually make some useful voltage and current that could power something."
Ohr said there's a lot of work that needs to be done before this technology finds its way to the market in uses such as powering a smartwatch, specifically in improving the sensors that collect energy.
"You really need a big surface area to generate a very small amount of electricity," Ohr said, and it will take more work on the materials used to make the sensors before they are ready for the wearable market, in particular.
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Gas prices continue to drop in US


CAMARILLO, Calif. (AP) â€" A national survey of gas prices reports that the average cost of U.S. regular grade gas dropped 13 cents per gallon in the last two weeks.

Industry analyst Trilby Lundberg said Sunday that the average for regular grade gas is $2.94 per gallon, while midgrade averages $3.18 and premium $3.34. Retail diesel averages $3.64.
Lundberg said the price has dropped 78 cents per gallon since its peak in May.

She said the drop has been driven by a decrease in the price of crude oil. She forecasts that will come to an end now unless oil prices drop further.

In the Lower 48 states, San Francisco had the highest average price at $3.27 per gallon, while Memphis, Tennessee, had the lowest average at $2.65.
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Canada keeps hope after attacks, Turkey needs to talk with neighbors, Zambia must work with diaspora, Japan's push to increase green energy, and the problems in Jerusalem

The Globe and Mail / Toronto
After a string of attacks, hope remains in Canada

“One Canadian soldier murdered by a vehicle turned into a weapon ... [then] another gunned down at the War Memorial in Ottawa...,” states an editorial about recent attacks targeting Canadian military. “There will be questions about whether our laws need to change. There will be questions about whether Canada needs to change. And yet, we kind of like Canada the way it is.... Any changes made, from security at public buildings to a long-standing system of laws that criminalize action but not thought, should be done only for the benefit of millions of law-abiding Canadians â€" and not as a panicky reaction to a ... small number of men....”

Hurriyet Daily News / Istanbul, Turkey
Turkey should moderate peaceful dialogue between neighbors

Recommended: How about this Canada quiz, eh?

“The history of the Middle East in the post-colonial era has been one of wars and conflicts with long-standing regional antagonisms and rivalries that show no signs of abating. The answers to the challenge that wars and conflicts pose cannot emerge from unilateral approaches, but through processes of wider consultation and cooperation among regional and international actors...,” writes Dlawer Ala’Aldeen from Erbil, capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government. “Through dialogue and engagement, Turkey can recruit plenty of support for shaping the Middle East via promoting de-radicalization, nation-building and good governance.... Of course, shaping the future of the region via dialogue and engagement is a slow process, but it is never too late to begin a thousand-mile journey with the first step.” 

The Post / Lusaka, Zambia
Zambia must work with its people who live abroad

“[A]ny government that ignores its citizens in the diaspora does so at its own peril.... Diasporas can and, in many cases, do play an important role in the economic development of their countries of origin or ancestry. Beyond sending remittances, diasporas can also promote trade and foreign direct investment, create businesses and spur entrepreneurship and transfer new knowledge and skills. While we continue to see our nationals abroad as a loss, more and more [it is] recognised that an engaged diaspora can be an asset...,” states an editorial. “Zambians in the diaspora are a vital element to our country’s development and ...  they have the knowledge and skill and they need to be put to good use by any government in power.”

The Japan Times / Tokyo
Increase green energy production and end reliance on nuclear power

“The sudden decisions by five power companies to stop purchasing electricity from renewable energy sources under a feed-in-tariff (FIT) system have forced the government to start reviewing the system itself....   [A] more important thing than tinkering with the FIT system [is] improving the power grid and the related technological basis so that the share of green electricity will greatly increase...,” states an editorial. “Green electricity, except large-scale hydraulic power, accounted for a mere 2.2 percent of total electricity generated in Japan in 2013. This volume is too small.... Japan should make concrete efforts to greatly increase the percentage of green energy by setting ... clearly defined goals while aiming [to end] reliance on nuclear power.” 

Haaretz / Tel Aviv
Jerusalem at the heart of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians

“[A] vehicle attack in Jerusalem ... brought the wave of violence that has afflicted the city for the last three months to new heights.... [T]he problems in Jerusalem won’t be solved by employing more force or beefing up law enforcement...,” states an editorial. “The roots of the violence lie in the despair and fear felt by Palestinian residents of the city.... [T]he ongoing neglect of Palestinian neighborhoods on one hand and the government’s encouragement of the spread of Jewish settlements in the heart of those same neighborhoods on the other [form] the swamp from which violence and terror grow.... What is needed is a political horizon that would include discussion of one of the core issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict â€" namely, the status of the city of Jerusalem.”

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S.Africa, China sign nuclear power agreement

Johannesburg (AFP) - South Africa has signed a nuclear energy cooperation agreement with China as the government looks to expand the critical power supply system, officials said Friday.

Pretoria said the agreement was a "preparatory phase for a possible utilisation of Chinese nuclear technology in South Africa".

The energy ministry said in a statement that the government had committed to expanding nuclear power generation by an additional 9.6 gigawatts by 2030.

The country has already signed similar agreements with Russia and France, potentially putting firms Rosatom and Areva in line for the development of nuclear reactors worth billions of dollars.

South Africa currently has only one nuclear plant, located outside Cape Town, and the country relies heavily on coal-fired power stations for electricity generation.

Power supply has come under severe strain in Africa's second biggest economy as the state-owned electricity producer Eskom battles to meet rising demand, often resulting in blackouts.

Electricity constraints have been blamed for limiting economic growth and productivity.

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Climate Listening Project Gets Across The EPA Clean Power Plan

Clean Power Cutting carbon pollution from power plants (mosaic-blog.s3.amazonaws.com)

Published on November 8th, 2014 | by Sandy Dechert

November 8th, 2014 by  

A thoughtful North Carolina nonprofit has devised a very effective and immediate way to display climate change on a local and personal level. The video below describes its program, The Climate Listening Project.

The project is a new collaborative storytelling effort spearheaded by the Western North Carolina Alliance to connect conversations about local climate impacts and human efforts to cope. Its basic premise: Communities will bear the brunt of climate impacts across the world, and resilience to climate impacts starts at the community level.

Climate Listening Project planners believe that sharing concerns about climate change, climate impacts seen in daily life, and ideas for how to address these can help us all prepare ourselves to face climate change. A community can improve its climate resilience by sharing experiences and knowledge of its unique surroundings.

Western North Carolina is a region known for its outstanding natural beauty. And our economy is very dependent on a stable climate. From the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Blue Ridge Parkway, to our agriculture and fishing and our adventure recreation industry, this community (like all others) relies on healthy and healthy natural surroundings and stable climate.

In western North Carolina, like an increasing number of other self-determined regions, individuals, businesses, and groups are developing community-based resilience efforts: a lively green tech sector, a craft beer industry, and farm-to-table restaurants. The WNCA believes its community can depend on its greatest resourceâ€"peopleâ€"to face the impacts and create solutions.

The recent midterm elections have downcast much of the nation about prospects for environmental safety and improvement and have provided more fuel for harmful climate change denial. However, more important at this moment than political agony is unity over one of the most significant federal efforts to date to reduce climate pollution at its source.

That’s the Clean Power Plan. As the Climate Listening Project points out, the plan will help cut needless carbon pollution by approximately 30% from 2005 levels. It will also reduce air pollutants that make people sick by over 25%. We do have limits in place for arsenic, mercury, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and soot that power plants can emit.

National limits on carbon pollution levels from power plants are needed now because these facilities put out more carbon dioxide emissions (about one-third of the domestic total) than any other industry in the country. While the United States has limits in place for the level of arsenic, mercury, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particle pollution, there are currently no national limits on carbon pollution levels. The EPA plan is a sensible first step to reduce the poisonous effects of  traditional energy-producing fossil fuels.

Cutting carbon pollution from power plants (mosaic-blog.s3.amazonaws.com)

The time for public comments on this crucial environment rule draws to a close on December 1. The deadline is the last chance for the people to register their support of cleaner air and a less murky climate future for the US and the world. Link here for more about this history-making initiative.

And do some climate listening in your own community like this group in western North Carolina. The Western North Carolina Alliance has been empowering citizens to be advocates for livable communities for more than 30 years. It has twice prevented destructive logging in the Asheville Watershed, first in 1990 and again in 2004, and has recently teamed with 80 Asheville area businesses to urge Duke Energy to retire its coal-fired power plant.

We’re honored to live in a region that is home to the world’s leading climate scientists and educators. People right here in Western North Carolina have received the Nobel Peace Prize for their work on climate. This area is also where a director of one of the world’s top global climate think tanks calls home: NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center.

To learn more about the climate storytelling project, view and read some of the WNC Climate Listening Project stories on Facebook. Share your own stories on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram with the hashtag #MyClimateStory. Also, check out the many resources available to states here.

And on the national scale, it seems that EPA needs all the support it can muster to slow and reverse the damage done by indiscriminate and careless burning of fossil fuels. Those who can help in this effort should offer support and constructive comments on the new Clean Power Plan by December 1, 2014. More information here.

Keep up to date with all the hottest cleantech news by subscribing to our (free) cleantech newsletter, or keep an eye on sector-specific news by getting our (also free) solar energy newsletter, electric vehicle newsletter, or wind energy newsletter.

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About the Author

covers environmental, health, renewable and conventional energy, and climate change news. She's worked for groundbreaking environmental consultants and a Fortune 100 health care firm, writes two top-level blogs on Examiner.com, ranked #2 on ONPP's 2011 Top 50 blogs on Women's Health, and attributes her modest success to an "indelible habit of poking around to satisfy my own curiosity."



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Korea’s LG Chem Begins Construction On Chinese EV Battery Plant

Batteries image

Published on November 8th, 2014 | by James Ayre

November 8th, 2014 by  

Korea’s largest manufacturer of high-end batteries, LG Chem, recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of its new EV-battery manufacturing plant in Nanjing, China.

The plant is being constructed in China in order to help meet the growing needs of the exploding Chinese market. Once completed, the Nanjing battery plant will possess an annual production capacity of over 100,000 EV battery units a year.

image

Tentative agreements are already in place for the plant to supply batteries to prominent Chinese automakers like SAIC Motor Corp and Qoros.

Among those present at the recent groundbreaking ceremony â€" and showing the importance of the plant to the local industry/community â€" were the Mayor of Nanjing, Miao Rui Lin; the vice mayor, Luo Qun; and the President of the Energy Solution Company at LG Chem, YS Kwon.

The development of the battery is the result of a joint venture set up in August between LG Chem and a pair of Chinese state-run companies â€" the Nanjing Zijin Technology Incubation Special Park Construction Development Co, and the Nanjing New Industrial Investment Group. LG Chem currently owns roughly half of the joint venture â€" with the other half (or so) owned by the two state-run Chinese partners.


 

Reportedly, LG Chem is investing several hundred million dollars worth of financing into the development of the factory. With the expectation being that the battery plant will generate around 1 trillion won in revenue by the year 2020.

Interesting to see China looking to Korea for further development in the country. With the future of China’s EV market being something of a mystery â€" will it explode in the coming years? muddle along? slowly grow? â€" foreign investment could potentially be something that tips the scales in the direction of an explosion.

Much, obviously, depends upon the government’s actions though â€" if the leadership of China wanted to, it could make substantial changes more or less anytime that it wanted to. The effects of said changes could of course be hard to predict though.

Related: Top EV Battery Manufacturers (Sales Report)

Image Credit: LG Chem

Keep up to date with all the hottest cleantech news by subscribing to our (free) cleantech newsletter, or keep an eye on sector-specific news by getting our (also free) solar energy newsletter, electric vehicle newsletter, or wind energy newsletter.

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About the Author

's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy. You can follow his work on Google+.



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China Investing $1 Billion Into Russian Solar Energy Industry

Clean Power Image Credit: Russian Flag via Flickr CC

Published on November 7th, 2014 | by James Ayre

November 7th, 2014 by  

Image Credit: Russian Flag via Flickr CCChina will be investing somewhere around $1 billion into the Russian solar power industry over the next few years, according to recent reports.

A subsidiary of the country’s Amur Sirius â€" “Solar Systems” â€" is currently in the process of developing a solar PV panel production facility in Russia’s Tatarstan Republic. The development of that project (amongst others) constitutes what is probably a large enough investment to make China’s Solar Systems the “largest private investor” in the Russian solar power industry â€" investing around $1 billion in total.

The $1 billion estimate was provided by the company’s head of investment and finance, Olga Bykova, in an interview with Vedomosti.

Solar Systems won a contract for the development of 175 MW worth of new solar energy capacity in three different Russian regions back in July 2014. According to statements made previously by the company, the plan is for that capacity to all be up and running by 2016â€"2018.

The development of that capacity is expected to cost somewhere around $450 million. Given that the company is aiming to win further contracts beyond that one, it decided to build the solar PV panel plant in Tatarstan â€" in order to meet Russia’s legal requirement that solar power plants built in the country utilize domestically produced equipment. Once completed, that factory will have a production capacity of about 100 MW worth of solar panels a year.


 

Solar Systems is planning to select its financial/technological partners by the end of 2014, according to Bykova.

“We are considering six applications from both Chinese and European companies,” she stated. “We are negotiating with a wide range of investors, including funds and banks, but it’s too early to talk about concrete results.”

Among those in negotiations are ING, IFC, and Sberbank. The company is also, reportedly, considering/planning to take out a loan (or loans) in China for the development of the projects.

$1 billion is a very substantial investment, but it’s not really all that surprising. Russia and China have been strengthening their ties across a wide number of different industries in the wake of EU/American sanctions against Russia â€" even together considering the construction of a new tran-Siberian railroad route that would cut travel time between the two countries’ primary population centers significantly.

And when you consider the fact that China currently possesses huge reserves of American currency, the move makes even more sense â€" with the the US dollar recently on something of a surge, and its long-term prospects as an international currency looking in some ways shaky, especially so. Why not use some of these reserves strengthening ties with your neighbors while it’s still the dominant currency?

Image Credit: Russian Flag via Flickr CC

Keep up to date with all the hottest cleantech news by subscribing to our (free) cleantech newsletter, or keep an eye on sector-specific news by getting our (also free) solar energy newsletter, electric vehicle newsletter, or wind energy newsletter.

Tags: , , , , ,


About the Author

's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy. You can follow his work on Google+.



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Spirae Launches the Operating System for Distributed Energy

“An inverter next to a PV array is a very capable machine. We underutilize these assets for the most part.”

The grid edge is a wild and wooly frontier. Rooftop solar PV, behind-the-meter batteries, energy-smart buildings and other forms of distributed, customer-owned energy assets represent a significant problem for centrally controlled, one-way power grid operations. They’re also a huge resource -- if they can be aggregated and managed in a way that brings their positive qualities to the forefront.

But to do that, someone’s got to organize them in ways that allow for fast, easy and reliable integration on the IT side. On Wednesday, grid technology provider Spirae launched its Wave platform, aimed at providing just this kind of capability.

The Fort Collins, Colo.-based company says its combination of software and hardware can collect, monitor, manage and control any number of distributed energy assets, from the microgrid level all the way up to utility-wide distributed energy resource management system (DERMS).

“With all of these distributed assets, the tendency is to treat them as one-off devices,” Sunil Cherian, CEO of Spirae, said during the Wednesday unveiling of the Wave platform at the Verge conference in San Francisco. “We need to get past that model and get to virtualization of assets.” In other words, Spirae is hoping to create an “operating system” for distributed energy, much as your PC or smartphone OS manages subsystems, applications and peripheral devices today.

That’s a non-trivial task, as the engineers say. But Spirae, has been doing this kind of integration work for a diverse set of customers since its 2002 founding, including utility pilot projects in Colorado and Denmark, microgrids for the U.S. Navy, billionaire Richard Branson’s Caribbean island, and most recently, a full-scale implementation with San Diego Gas & Electric.

“We’ve taken our several years of experience, the pain and suffering we’ve been through, to design this system,” he said. That includes building massive libraries of all the different makes and models of solar inverters, generators, load control devices and grid gear that makes up a DER ecosystem. It also includes prebuilt applications and user interfaces to allow everyone from repair technicians to distribution grid operators to organize and manage multiple assets, whether individually or in “groups” that represent a specific set of values for the system at large.

“What we’re doing is merging that software layer that manages all that DER, so nothing upstream has to worry about how to talk to this battery inverter or this generator” and so on, Cherian said in an interview after his on-stage presentation. Here’s a diagram of how Spirae’s Wave platform puts the pieces together:

At the bottom of the chart are Spirae’s Energy Resource Managers (ERMs), the devices that integrate disparate DER endpoints at the local level. Spirae demonstrated its ERM with a “pop-up microgrid” -- a mix of biofuel generators, an EV charging station, a Stem battery, and the circuit powering a section of the Palace Hotel in downtown San Francisco. CTO Oliver Pacific showed off how the “Wave Commander,” a unit combining off-the-shelf computing hardware and Spirae’s control software, could translate equipment protocols like Modbus and DNP3 into Internet Protocol.

From there, groups of assets are hosted and managed by Control Area Managers (CAM), which aggregate these locally controlled “nodes” of DERs into what it calls "dynamic portfolios” of assets. “From the grid’s point of view, it doesn’t care if it’s talking to an inverter or a building management system,” Cherian said. At the same time, Spirae builds in specialized features, such as four-quadrant metering for active and reactive power, that are important for grid operators, he noted.

To tie it all together with system-wide operations, Spirae connects all its CAMs into a Distribution Network Manager, which stores the full representation of the DER portfolio, the moment-to-moment connectivity to different pieces of the system, and what capabilities the aggregated assets can provide at any one time.

Then, to make it all useful to the humans using it, Spirae’s Wave Application Manager allows for a whole host of “Wave Apps” to be applied to this portfolio-wide view. Wave comes with its own set of apps that automatically organize DERs into useful categories, but it invites customers to build their own apps as well, using standard programming languages that make this task a lot easier than finding specialists who can write code for specialized grid gear, he said.

“What they do with it will vary,” he said. “They could use it for voltage optimization, for example. They could use it for peak load management. They could use it for market participation.” In any of these cases, “If you just have the focus on your business logic -- 'I want to create 5 megawatts to participate in the market' -- and that’s quick and easy to do, you can take marginally higher levels of risk; if you’re wrong, you can recalibrate and redeploy,” he said.

Pioneering a new approach

This model stands in stark contrast to the way most microgrids or DERMS are configured today, which typically involves a lot of time and money spent on integration, Cherian observed. Those costs can add up to around one-fifth of the total cost of a typical microgrid system, he said. With Wave, “you could bring that down into the high single digits -- and our objective is to bring it down to 5 percent,” he said.

Beyond that, there’s the matter of laying the groundwork for adding all the new distributed energy resources that are coming on-line, Cherian said. The hardware being deployed on the grid today is “smarter than any of the things that came before it,” he said. “An inverter next to a PV array is a very capable machine. We underutilize these assets, for the most part.” As more and more of these assets become a de facto part of a utility’s grid, “you have to have something here to facilitate this, otherwise you’ll be stuck with platforms that won’t scale,” Cherian said.

Conversely, utilities armed with Wave can use it to help pick the optimal combination of DER assets at different locations on the grid, according to Cherian. “Almost every project we do has that kind of consideration,” he said, since careful planning and optimization should come before customers start spending money on DER systems. This is also something that states like California, New York and Hawaii are going to start requiring their utilities to incorporate into distribution grid planning in future years."

Spirae Wave is now being deployed on-site via dedicated hardware, Cherian said. But the company is also working with customers like Leidos (formerly SAIC) and NRG Energy on a cloud-hosted platform, he added. “They have their own business logic and business intelligence that they don’t want to share with anyone,” he said. “They want to drop that on top, and manage DER almost as a commodity.”

Spirae is also looking at the ability to embed its Wave software in distributed intelligent devices, such as Cisco’s Linux-enabled IOx routers, he said. “We are working with some of our utility customers to standardize on equipment like that,” he said, though that’s still a few years out.

GTM Research’s recent report, DER Management Systems 2014: Technology, Deployments and Market Size, highlights Spirae as one of the leaders in a field that includes a long list of technology providers, all working from different locations in the broader customer-to-grid operator paradigm.

"Spirae is a great example of a microgrid control vendor that has expanded its offerings into the wider utility-scale DERMS market,” GTM Research analyst and report author Omar Saadeh noted. "Expect heightened interest from similar vendors as utilities address the increased adoption of distributed resources in their territories." GTM Research estimates that annual North American DERMS spending will more than double to approximately $110 million by 2018.

There’s no doubt that the distributed energy revolution is driving utilities toward technology solutions that can help them manage these grid edge resources in a cost-effective manner. At the same time, new models are emerging that could allow non-utility actors to play a role, whether as aggregators of thousands of individual solar, energy storage and demand response-enabled homes or businesses, or as providers of what Cherian called “microgrids-as-a-service” for big corporate or government clients.

“This is the type of tool that could unlock those possibilities,” he said.

greentech mediaGreentech Media (GTM) produces industry-leading news, research, and conferences in the business-to-business greentech market. Our coverage areas include solar, smart grid, energy efficiency, wind, and other non-incumbent energy markets. For more information, visit: greentechmedia.com , follow us on twitter: @greentechmedia, or like us on Facebook: facebook.com/greentechmedia.

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New Nanomaterial Could be a Major Breakthrough for Concentrated Solar Power

concentrated, solar, power, csp, nanoparticle, material, paint, ucsd, sunshot, energy

Concentrated solar power (CSP) is set to become much more efficient â€" a team of researchers at UC San Diego just developed a new nanomaterial that could enable CSP plants to absorb and convert more than 90 percent of captured sunlight. It’s a significant boost that’s being hailed as a breakthrough for solar power.

concentrated, solar, power, csp, nanoparticle, material, paint, ucsd, sunshot, energy

Current CSP plants are made up of mirrors that focus sunlight on a tower painted with a black material that maximizes sunlight capture, but degrades quickly and requires maintenance every year. Through the US Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative, UCSD researchers have developed a new light-absorbing material that’s made up of special particles ranging in size from 10 nanometers to 10 micrometers. The new material can be spray painted onto surfaces, forming a ‘multiscale’ surface that can withstand temperatures up to 1,292 degrees F and can last for years, even when exposed to air and humidity. Perhaps most importantly, this new material can absorb about 90 to 95 percent of light with very little heat loss.

Related: World’s Largest Concentrated Solar Power Plant Switches On in Abu Dhabi

CSP plants currently produce about 3.5 gigawatts of electricity worldwide, but according to researchers that number could go up to as much as 20 GW in the not too distant future, thanks to this new technology. The new material will also help cut costs and maintenance on CSPs, making it a truly revolutionary new material for solar energy gathering.

Via Jetson Green, Gizmag

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BMW Only Trails Tesla In % of Car Sales That Are Electric (Charts)

Cars Electric Car Leaders US

Published on November 7th, 2014 | by Zachary Shahan

November 7th, 2014 by Zachary Shahan 

EV Obsession.

With Nissan being the world leader in electric car sales, and its CEO amd Chairman (Carlos Ghosn) being bullish on electric car sales for years, we often put it and Tesla at the top when it comes to electric car leadership. However, new data show that BMW is perhaps now #2 behind Tesla.

Looking at the past three months (August, September, and October), when BMW was producing more of the BMW i3 thanks to good consumer demand in the US, the BMW i3 accounted for almost 5% (4.93%) of BMW’s US car sales (as well as 3.85% of all BMW US sales).

BMW i3 sales

Electric cars on the whole account for less than 1% of US car sales. Nissan has this year seen 2.1% of its car sales coming from the Nissan LEAF. Ford has seen 0.9% of its car sales coming from plug-in models (the Ford Fusion Energi, Ford C-Max Energi, and Ford Focus Electric). And GM has seen 0.7% of its sales come from plug-in cars. Of course, 100% of Tesla sales come from 100% electric cars.


 

Clearly, aside from Tesla, BMW is a step above the others. Even if you include the first three months of BMW i3 sales in the US, when things were just getting rolling, and as you can see in the chart above, sales were much lower than in the last three months, the i3 accounted for 2.3% of BMW car sales, as Green Car Reports.

Interestingly, Tesla’s Chief Designer, Jerome Guillen, recently said in an interview that, aside from Tesla, he is probably most impressed in BMW’s electric vehicle program.

Here’s a look at more BMW numbers, from BMW via Green Car Congress: “In October, the i3 outsold the 1/2 Series (672 units); the Z4 (198 units); and the 6 Series (740 units). The 3/4 Series is still dominant in US sales, with 13,621 units in October, followed by the 5 Series, with 4,914 units.”

Worldwide, BMW sold over 10,000 BMW i3 EVs in the first three quarters of 2014, as well as 341 BMW i8 PHEVs from June through September. Worldwide, the BMW i3 and BMW i8 only represent 0.8% of its car sales.

Source: EV Obsession. Reprinted with permission.

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About the Author

spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as the director/chief editor. Otherwise, he's probably enthusiastically fulfilling his duties as the director/editor of Solar Love, EV Obsession, Planetsave, or Bikocity. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and wind energy expert. If you would like him to speak at a related conference or event, connect with him via social media. You can connect with Zach on any popular social networking site you like. Links to all of his main social media profiles are on ZacharyShahan.com.



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New Nanoparticle Material Could be a Major Breakthrough for Concentrated Solar Power

concentrated, solar, power, csp, nanoparticle, material, paint, ucsd, sunshot, energy

Renewable energy is the power of the future and solar power technology just had a huge development that could see concentrated solar power (CSP) become much more efficient. While traditional photovoltaic solar panels turn sunlight directly into electricity, concentrated solar power first turns sunlight to heat and then to energy â€" and the key to both processes is the efficiency of the panels when converting sun rays to electricity. A team of researchers at UC San Diego (UCSD) recently came up with a nanoparticle material that may let CSP plants absorb and convert more than 90 percent of captured sunlight â€" a significant boost that’s being hailed as a breakthrough for solar power.


concentrated, solar, power, csp, nanoparticle, material, paint, ucsd, sunshot, energy

Current CSP plants are made up of mirrors that focus sunlight on a tower painted with a black material that maximizes sunlight capture, but degrades quickly and requires maintenance every year. Through the US Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative, UCSD researchers have developed a new light-absorbing material that’s made up of special particles ranging in size from 10 nanometers to 10 micrometers. The new material can be spray painted onto surfaces, forming a ‘multiscale’ surface that can withstand temperatures up to 1,292 degrees F and can last for years, even when exposed to air and humidity. Perhaps most importantly, this new material can absorb about 90 to 95 percent of light with very little heat loss.

Related: World’s Largest Concentrated Solar Power Plant Switches On in Abu Dhabi

CSP plants currently produce about 3.5 gigawatts of electricity worldwide, but according to researchers that number could go up to as much as 20 GW in the not too distant future, thanks to this new technology. The new material will also help cut costs and maintenance on CSPs, making it a truly revolutionary new material for solar energy gathering.

Via Jetson Green, Gizmag

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Germany To Dump Coal?

Air Quality berlin

Published on November 7th, 2014 | by Jake Richardson

November 7th, 2014 by  

Germany is looking into cutting its use of coal power, at the same time that it is cutting out nuclear. If it does, there could be a ripple effect because Germany is a major player in the European energy market. A Berlin-based journalist said that Germany’s emphasis on renewables is already impacting electricity markets in Poland and the Czech Republic. (Denmark is also exploring how it might go coal-free, but even sooner.)

berlin

“The conservative government of Chancellor Angela Merkel last week issued a discussion paper proposing to implement the strictest controls on coal fired generation yet to be seen in Europe, and to redesign its energy system around renewables, which will account for around two thirds of supply within two decades,” Giles Parkinson reports.

Currently about 45% of Germany’s electricity comes from burning coal. However, it was reported recently that new coal plants will not be financed there. About 24% came from solar and wind last year, but that amount could expand to 45% by 2025, if targets are met.

Leading utility Vattenfall is examining the possibility of dropping its lignite-powered plants in Eastern Germany. About 10% of Germany’s electricity is generated by this handful of coal plants, which also produce an estimated 60 million tons of CO2 annually.

Germany may also look into importing more natural gas from Russia, which already supplies about 38% of Germany’s natural gas. Over 30% of its oil and about 25% of its coal also comes from Russia.

Of course, Germany is also a top nuclear power generator, but this status is going to change because of the shift away from that form of energy. It might be confounding to some to think of limiting coal and nuclear at the same time, but consider this: “60% of the lost nuclear capacity was replaced by renewable energy in a single year.”

Solar power costs have dropped dramatically in the last six years, and will surely continue to decrease. Solar power technology will also likely improve, meaning it will generate more electricity. Germany has already hit over 70% of its electricity production from renewables on occasion.

One advantage of solar and wind power is that it doesn’t take as long to construct these kinds of renewable plants. Energy storage for renewables is not close to catching up to renewable electricity production, but it does seem to be picking up some steam, so to speak.

The decision to dump coal is not the easiest one to make, but Germany has been a world leader in renewables, so it seems only logical for fossil fuels to be phased out. The speed at which the German government is moving on its energy transition is very impressive. Another issue is how much money Germany will save over time by reducing energy imports.

Image Credit: A. Savin, Wiki Commons

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Hello, I have been writing online for some time, and enjoy the outdoors. If you like, you can follow me on Google Plus.



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China Evolving to Coal Consumption Peak and Strong Climate Commitments

Working on international climate change issues over the years I’ve seen the debate shift profoundly in several ways. One of the key shifts is the perception that countries like China aren’t doing anything on climate change â€" a relic of the debate almost two decades ago â€" to a new reality â€" that China is taking serious action and is clearly on the brink of even more major action. This shift will be front and center next week when President Obama will hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Both countries are poised for stronger actions to address climate change. 

JS pic1.jpg

credit: ansoncfit

 As I discussed during a Brookings Institution panel on U.S.-China Cooperation on Climate Change and the Environment,  the evolving debate in China over air pollution, coal consumption, and climate action has shifted dramatically in recent years (see here for my full remarks). 

 Over 2 years ago NRDC set out on a major new effort to help China address the environmental and health impacts of its heavy dependence on coal. We launched the China Coal Consumption Cap Plan and Policy Research project in October 2013. The project brings together over 20 leading government think-tanks, research institutes, and industry associations in China to develop a comprehensive roadmap for establishing and implementing a national coal consumption cap target and policy to peak coal consumption in China by 2020 and help it achieve its environmental protection, climate change, and sustainable economic development goals. I’ll be joining our team in China for a major international workshop in China the week of November 17th to release some preliminary findings from this effort.  

China has put in place major efforts on energy efficiency and renewable energy. Yet, its continued reliance on coal remains its major energy and climate challenge â€" especially in recent years when large swathes of China have been frequently blanketed with severe smog, posing a grave threat to public health.  The public and government’s growing understanding of how severe China’s air pollution has become â€" often referred to as China’s “Airpocalypse” â€" has led China’s President Xi Jinping to call for an “Energy Revolution”. The country has taken several steps to address this air pollution challenge. Currently, nearly one-third of China’s provinces and provincial-level cities have set provincial-level coal consumption targets to either reduce or cap their coal consumption by 2017. China has also begun to implement a number of new tools to address its air pollution.

As a result, there is a growing recognition that a national coal consumption peak is both achievable and desirable.  Chinese officials are seriously considering a mandatory, nationwide coal consumption cap target and policy in the next Five Year Plan (to run from 2016-2020) because of the recognition that in order for China to address its severe environmental challenges, it must address China’s core energy problem: its longtime overdependence on coal as its primary energy source and the resulting pollution. The debate has shifted from “will coal consumption peak in China” to “by which date and at what level will it peak, and what tools will the government put in place to achieve this”?

There are some intriguing trends emerging in China this year that make peaking coal consumption in the next five year plan seem like an increasingly achievable goal. China’s coal consumption in the first three-quarters of 2014 was 1-2% lowerthan the same period in 2013, the first time coal consumption has fallen this century, even as its GDP continued to grow at 7.4%. Even as power demand has continued to grow, coal fired power generation is slowing, and iron and steel and cement sector consumption of coal has also slowed down. So we may be seeing the beginning of a decoupling of coal and economic growth, as heavy industry becomes less important than services as a driver of growth, and alternative sources of energy begin to outpace coal.

In fact, the China’s National Energy Agency is currently considering the energy targets for the 13th Five-Year Plan, and news reports have reported that it is considering a cap on coal consumption in the next Five Year Plan and a target to reduce coal’s share of primary energy to 60% by 2020. They are also reportedly considering targets to grow wind to 200 GW (twice the target of the 12th FYP) and solar to 100 GW (5 times the goal of the 11th FYP) by 2020. These represent ambitious goals to decisively shift China’s energy use to a lower carbon path.

This debate matters for China and the World as we go into a next major round of international climate commitments. What the US and China do on climate change is the single most important outstanding issue to ensure that the new climate agreement in Paris next year puts the world on a solid path to safeguard our children and grandchildren from a world that isn’t devastated by climate change.

China has confirmed that it will present its proposed next round of national climate targets by early next year as a key input into the Paris agreement. So the next couple of months are critical. At the September Climate Summit, China provided the first official hints of what we might expect when they stated: “We will announce post-2020 actions on climate change…which will bring about marked progress in reducing carbon-intensity, increasing the share of non-fossil fuels and raising forest stock, as well as the peaking of CO2 emissions as early as possible.” China’s carbon emissions peak has moved from theory to practice.

Since coal is a major source of China’s carbon emissions, a national coal consumption cap policy that peaks coal consumption by 2020, and an ambitious implementation plan to achieve this, will help ensure that China’s CO2 emissions peak no later than 2025.

We are confident that China can meet these coal consumption control and CO2 objectives as it continues to develop its economy in a more balanced way, while addressing its air pollution and climate change challenges, serving as a model for other countries to develop in a more climate-friendly way.

Authored by:

Jake Schmidt

I'm the international climate policy director at Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). Before I joined NRDC, I was at the Center for Clean Air Policy for eight years where I was director of international programs. Over that timeframe I was involved in climate policy development at various levels--state, US national, Europe, developing countries, and international negotiations. I've been ...

See complete profile

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US: State, federal role in electric utilities' labor issues should be reexamined

Power outages have never been more costly. Electricity is critical to communication, transportation, commerce and national security systems, and wide-spread or prolonged outages have the potential to threaten public safety and cause millions, even billions, of dollars in damages.

"It doesn't seem that dire until a storm hits, or somebody makes a mistake, and then you are risking a blackout," said Inara Scott, an assistant professor in the College of Business at Oregon State University.

"You have to consider the magnitude of the potential harm to the public. Without power, you can't pump gas. Cell phones may not work. Water systems are threatened. These are big problems."

That's why it may be time to re-examine the role of public utility commissions and the effect of the National Labor Relations Act in labor disputes regarding electric utilities, Scott suggests in a new study.

Public utility commissions have more authority than some existing court decisions suggest, but they tend to take a conservative approach and there is a strong presumption that they can't get involved, Scott said. Modifying the NLRA to more clearly define the states' powers might be needed to change that mindset, she said. The changes would affect both sides -- labor and management -- equally, she said.

"The current law does not reflect the times," Scott said. "The courts need to look at these cases differently, because the role of electricity in our lives has changed."

Many public utility commissions have concluded, based largely on court decisions under the NLRA, that they're prohibited from intervening in labor disputes even when public safety is threatened, Scott said. PUCs are the state agencies that regulate public utilities.

That interpretation of the federal law does not reflect the critical role electricity plays in people's lives and livelihoods today, said Scott, whose study of the issue was published this week in the "Energy Law Journal."

"If workers strike or are locked out of their jobs during a labor dispute, a utility might operate just fine, or there could be a major problem," said Scott, an attorney who spent 10 years practicing energy and regulatory law before joining the OSU faculty.

"The problems caused by an electrical outage are not easy to predict and the consequences can be severe," said Scott, whose research focuses on the transformation of utility systems, clean energy, energy efficiency and utility regulation.

Scott began studying the National Labor Relations Act and the role of public utility commissions in labor disputes involving electric utilities after following a 2012 labor dispute involving Consolidated Edison of New York.

Con Edison management locked out more than 8,000 employees after labor negotiations broke down. Union members warned the move would leave the utility with inadequate safety monitoring, deferred maintenance and threats of unsafe conditions.

But the state's public utility commission, the only regulatory agency with authority to oversee the safety and operation of Con Edison's system, announced that it lacked jurisdiction to end the lockout or get involved in the negotiations.

As the lockout wore on and severe summer weather threatened the power grid, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo urged the New York Public Service Commission to get more involved.

The dispute was ultimately settled but the case underscored the high stakes of labor disputes involving electric utilities, as well as the potential danger to public safety and the need for clarification of the authority of state public utility commissions, Scott said.

Scott's study was supported by OSU.

Further information: http://business.oregonstate.edu/biblio/keeping-lights-examining-and-re-imagining-nlra-preemption-time-electric-necessity

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Oregon State University. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

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Environmental Standards Will Help Reduce Consumer Electricity Bills

John Moore, Senior Attorney â€" The Sustainable FERC Project, Chicago

Medium-Coal-Pile-resized.jpgThe electric power industry is changing, driven by many factors. Leading the way are quintessential marketplace factors like fuel price changes and the emergence of new technologies. Another factor in the mix is the implementation of long-overdue pollution standards that are essential to protect public health and prevent dangerous climate change.

But some in the power industry are pushing a narrative that blames the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for every change happening to them. Don’t fall for it.

A case in point is a recent Bloomberg article that largely blames environmental standards for forcing many coal plants to close, in turn causing higher electricity prices across the country. Let’s look at the facts.

Most of these old and dirty coal plants were driven off the cliff by the marketplace â€" cheaper power from newer natural gas plants, wind and solar, and cheaper energy savings through investments in efficiency.

Some coal plants teetering on the brink of economic failure could be pushed over the edge by the need to comply with pollution standards to address the harms caused by those plants’ soot, smog, mercury, and carbon footprint. But that’s a far cry from the blame-EPA storyline in Bloomberg’s article.

Looking ahead, the surest way for power companies to provide their consumers with affordable and clean electricity will be to adopt strategies that emphasize energy efficiency (consuming less energy) and renewable resources like wind and solar power (with zero fuel cost and carbon emissions).

Trimming fat from the grid

One telling statistic in the Bloomberg article: most of the power plants slated to close by the end of 2015 ran an average of only 38 percent of the time! That’s because they were expensive to run and weren’t needed to satisfy consumer demand. As the nation’s electric grid operators have confirmed, nearly all of those plants can be closed without triggering electricity service reliability concerns.

It’s especially odd to see some plants’ current problems blamed on standards to reduce their pollution that won’t take effect for another half-decade. With proper planning, there’s no reason for future carbon emissions standards to cause power shortages.

Power prices matter, but people pay bills, not prices

The main focus of the Bloomberg report is on power prices. The story harkens back to high power prices seen during last winter’s Polar Vortex. No question, power prices spiked for a few days last winter, when many regions of the country experienced extreme cold and hit all-time records for winter electricity demand. Many coal and gas plants struggled with mechanical and fuel supply issues â€" and some plant owners needed to pay much more than normal for the fuels to meet peak power demand. Grid operators are now taking steps to avoid these problems in time for next winter. Notably, wind power and demand response (paying customers to shift or reduce their electricity use) helped to alleviate grid strain and prevent blackouts during the Polar Vortex.

Looking to the future, the Bloomberg article quotes Phil Moeller, one of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) commissioners, for the proposition that prices are certain to rise in the next couple of years. Even if he is right in the short term about power rates/prices, customers pay bills, not prices. If we adopt smart policies to optimize our energy use, overall customer electricity bills can decrease even if the price per kilowatt-hour goes up.

Energy efficiency - more bang for the buck

How? Your electric bill depends on two factors: how much each kilowatt-hour costs, and how many kilowatt-hours you use. By using energy more efficiently â€" by adopting more efficient appliances, lighting, heating and cooling systems, insulating homes, etc. â€" customers can cut how many kilowatt-hours they need, and their total bills can go down. Power companies and their regulators have the opportunity â€" and the responsibility â€" to make this happen.

ferc-slide-.jpgUsing energy smarter will help consumers by lowering energy consumption while costing less than half as much as building new power plants. Because EPA’s Clean Power Plan proposal calls for states to be credited for energy efficiency improvements in all sectors of the economy, EPA expects that electricity bills will drop as a result -- by about 8 percent. For the average customer, that represents an annual savings of about $100.

Wind and solar energy â€" freedom from fuel costs

For power that is consumed, wind and solar energy will have a critical role in reducing prices because they have no fuel costs. Power plants in many areas of the country are “dispatched” continuously throughout the day to meet demand, from least cost to most expensive to operate. All plants running at any given time are paid the “market clearing price,” pegged at the cost of the most expensive plant on the system at that time. For coal- and gas-burning plants, fuel costs account for up to 90 percent of the wholesale price of electric power. As more renewable energy comes onto the grid, it will reduce the demand for more expensive fossil power, which in turn lowers the market clearing price for all power plants and saves consumers money.

The “free fuel” savings can be very large. In Texas, wind energy saved consumers $736 million in 2013. The savings will only get better as we integrate more wind and solar power into the electricity mix. At least 15 studies by power grid operators, states, and academic experts have found wind energy drives electricity prices down while cutting carbon pollution. A study earlier this year by the nation’s largest grid operator reports that generating 30 percent of the total electricity in its region with renewable energy would save consumers up to 30 percent, even after factoring in more transmission lines necessary to bring power to consumers. Carbon dioxide emissions also fell 41 percent.

The triumph of common sense

Energy efficiency â€" cheaper than new power plants. Renewable energy â€" zero fuel costs and dependable power. No carbon or toxic pollution from these cleaner resources. Strong environmental standards and affordable clean energy technologies are both climate and consumer-friendly and point the way to a more reliable and sustainable electricity future.

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