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May 24, 2013
US Oil Boom Shifts Focus to North Dakota Bakken Shale
Responsible production of the newly discovered oil and gas in the Bakken and Three Forks formations can promote energy independence. The US has already seen a reduction of 10% in net oil imports in the last year.[read more]
May 24, 2013
Plug-and-Play Grid Energy Storage Thanks to 1Energy’s Software
energy storage
A host of startups are working on software to optimize on-site energy storage systems to avoid peak demand charges, meet demand response calls, or keep the lights on during emergencies.[read more]
May 24, 2013
Our Energy Use In Numbers [INFOGRAPHIC]
US energy supply
In order to navigate these conversations about sustainable energy and climate change, it helps to have a look at our current consumption patterns. So how much do we consume? And what do we use energy for?[read more]
Can Energy Storage Make Wind and Solar Energy as Reliable as Coal?
Wind and solar power generated 3.5% and about 0.1%, respectively, of US electricity last year. To what extent could more and cheaper storage enable wind and solar to function as the equivalent of high-utilization, baseload generation?[read more]
Bonn: Addressing Climate Change Threats to “Water in the Anthropocene”
climate change and water
Experts from around the world have gathered in Bonn, Germany to “synthesize major global water research achievements in the last decade and help assemble the scientific foundations to articulate a common vision of Earth’s water future."[read more]
Busting Big Oil Myths on the Renewable Fuel Standard: Part I
domestic oil
Anyone with an interest in energy policy knows that a full frontal assault has been launched against the Renewable Fuel Standard. Big Oil has gone on the offensive, spreading myths and misinformation about renewable fuels.[read more]
Climate Change and the Price of Carbon vs. a Price on Carbon [VIDEO]
price of carbon
Instead of charging polluters a fee for dumping their carbon dioxide into our shared atmosphere, we are all paying the cost of the consequences of attempting to store about 30 tons per year in our air.[read more]
Cleanweb: Can IT Lead the Way to a New Energy Future?
power of the Web
The internet cannot climb onto your roof to install a solar panel. But there is a movement afoot where social media, IT, big data and mobile communications could upend how we use limited resources in the future.[read more]
Climate Change: Arctic Ocean Rapidly Acidifying
Arctic Ocean acidification
After three years of ongoing research by an international team of scientists, a study commissioned for a first-ever comprehensive assessment of Arctic Ocean acidification was presented last week.[read more]
Can Solar Energy Keep the Lights On in the UK?
In last week’s Guardian Jeremy Leggett had a post that seems to argue that solar energy is the UK’s best option for keeping the lights on. Well, how about solar?[read more]
Bound by the Chains of Oil: The Need for Energy Innovation
bound by oil prices?
So, when gas prices go up, we all suffer and our economy lags. What we really need are more choices to break the iron-clad grip that oil prices have on our lives and our economy.[read more]
Climate Change Math: More Carbon in Ground than Atmosphere Can Take
There is vastly more carbon in the ground than can safely be put into the atmosphere, whatever temperature limit you think there should be. Policy should seek to ensure the available carbon budget is used as wisely as possible.[read more]
Energy Storage, Meet Energy Markets
new AES energy storage
AES’s new software platform isn’t the first to address the energy storage and energy markets nexus. Projects around the globe are testing value propositions to be derived from storage, as stand-alone or linked to renewable power.[read more]
Sea to Shining Sea: Which US States Use the Most Fossil Fuels?
emissions by state/EIA
A lot of the debate over energy and climate change has focused on changing how people live. But in a lot of ways, where someone lives is as important as how they live.[read more]
China to Ramp Up Energy Efficiency Retrofits
new energy efficient glass
China’s building sector accounts for more than 25 percent of China’s energy use. Improving the efficiency of its buildings, new and old, is a key part of China’s strategy to reduce energy demand.[read more]
New GridSTAR Center: Smart Grid Research, Energy Innovation
Philadelphia's new GridSTAR Center will serve as a "hub for workforce training, building performance testing, energy management research and ‘smart’ microgrid modernization deployments.”[read more]
Solar Energy Industries Association Responds to China Trade Dispute
Solar Energy Industries Association
There is clear evidence that disputes within one segment of the industry affect the entire solar supply chain. What’s more, they cause a ripple effect throughout the economies of the United States, Asia and Europe.[read more]
ExxonMobil’s Tentative Algae Biofuel Adventure
algae biofuel R&D
ExxonMobil has been quietly researching algae biofuel in partnership with California-based Synthetic Genomics Inc. for the past four years, and it just announced a new co-funding agreement last week.[read more]
Taking on the EPA and E15 Testing
EPA approved E15 for the marketplace knowing that automotive and fuels experts were still studying its impacts. Rather than acknowledge approval was premature, EPA and DOE instead attack the research and the researchers.[read more]
Wind Energy and the Myth of Widespread Negative Pricing
wind energy and the grid
Wind only sets the market price if it is the most expensive resource on the system, and that almost never happens because wind has a zero fuel cost. If wind is setting the price, everything else in the area has been turned off.[read more]
Solar and Wind Energy: Value in Restating the Obvious about Renewables
German solar production
This idea, that you build wind farms where it is windy and solar panels where it is sunny is a curiously controversial one. Some would even lobby accusations of you being “anti-renewables” if you put it forward.[read more]
Energy Efficiency Could Cut Wireless Power Demand 90 Percent By 2020
reducing wireless energy demand
The GreenTouch consortium outlines energy efficiency measures that could reduce the net energy consumption of global data and communications networks up to 90% by 2020, compared to 2010 levels.[read more]
Transforming Buildings into Prosumers with the Smart Grid
The Smart Grid will transform roles from consumption to prosumption – producing electricity as well as consuming it. One of the most prominent enablers to engage as prosumers are the buildings where we live and work.[read more]
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What's New on
Scott Edward Anderson is a consultant, blogger, and media commentator who blogs at The Green Skeptic. More »
Christine Hertzog is a consultant, author, and a professional explainer focused on Smart Grid. More »
Gary Hunt Gary is an Executive-in-Residence at Deloitte Investments with extensive experience in the energy & utility industries. More »
Jesse Jenkins is a graduate student and researcher at MIT with expertise in energy technology, policy, and innovation. More »
Jim Pierobon helps trade associations/NGOs, government agencies and companies communicate about cleaner energy solutions. More »
Geoffrey Styles is Managing Director of GSW Strategy Group, LLC and an award-winning blogger. More »
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“Sally Jewell's comment that these discoveries "will help private, nonprofit and government decision makers at all levels make informed decisions about the responsible development of these resources" assumes responsible development of any new fossil fuel sources is a given.That assumption grows more dubious by the day. ”
“I think you're probably right, at least in the US, but I still hold out for some sort of relatively rapid, incremental acceptance. I could see, for example, them becoming prevalent in certain cities where owning a car is more of a hassle. If that were to happen, I could see them ramping up more broadly due to the benefits.I'm also not sure that an autonomous and human-driven mix is ...”