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What does Measurement & Verification mean?

May 16, 2012 by Bruce Thomason
with 48 views
0

M&V protocols vary from each utility to the next. What’s required in TX may not be necessarily required in Massachusetts. M&V plans are customized to each project, based on the scope work of the project, the technology, and the confidence level established by the utility with respect to the anticipated savings for the... [read more]

Why is China Investing $3.7 Billion in Direct Current Transmission Lines?

May 16, 2012 by Nigel Morris
with 397 views
1

In the late 1880′s Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse waged “the War of Currents” , each battling to demonstrate the merits and advantages of Edison’s Direct Current distribution system and Westinghouse’s preffered Alternating Current distribution system.The quite bizarre antics that followed are the stuff of history now (and some... [read more]

A new solution for our plastic waste?

May 16, 2012 by Katherine Friedrich
with 118 views
0

Polyester polyurethane is unappetizing to most living things – including the sea creatures who encounter it in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, where recent news shows insects are starting to lay their eggs on pieces of plastic.What will we do with all the plastic we make – and the oil that we use to make it? Luckily, there are... [read more]

The Opportunities And Pitfalls Of Managing Smart Grid Data

May 16, 2012 by Joseph Romm
with 54 views
0

At the advent of the Internet 30 years ago, having large amounts of personal information accessible on a shared network would have been unthinkable — even if that network would make our lives easier. But we found a way to navigate this privacy minefield with one straightforward idea: Entrust our personal information to certain entities... [read more]

Svinicki nomination at the Senate

May 16, 2012 by Dan Yurman
with 56 views
0

The White House finds itself in the role of supporting a Republican for reappointment to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory CommissionThe pretzel politics of life in Washington took on new twists this month. The White House nominated sitting NRC Commissioner Kristine Svinicki for another term over the objections of Senate Majority Leader Harry... [read more]

Continuing the Dialogue with the White House

May 15, 2012 by Mark Green
with 73 views
0

Takeaways from White House energy and climate adviser Heather Zichal’s appearance at Monday’s hydraulic fracturing workshop in Washington, D.C., hosted by API:Outreach – The oil and natural gas industry agrees with the Zichal and the administration that constructive dialog on energy issues is, well, constructive. Zichal:“I give [API... [read more]

Cleantech A Beacon In The California Gloom

May 15, 2012 by Nino Marchetti
with 192 views
0

image via Next 10

According to the 2012 California Green Innovation Index, compiled by Next 10, the state’s investment in the clean technology is doing more than innovation. It’s also helping California grow its economy and cut emissions after one of the worst recessions in history devastated the housing sector and reduced the real estate tax base of... [read more]

Assessing Arun Majumdar's Legacy at ARPA-E

May 15, 2012 by Clifton Yin
with 209 views
0

Last week saw the unfortunate news that Dr. Arun Majumdar will resign – effective June 9 – from the U.S. Department of Energy, where he has served as the head of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) since October 2009. His departure is a “big hit for energy innovation policy,” ITIF’s Matt Stepp commented (... [read more]

Managing Peaks without Overbuilding the Electric Grid

May 15, 2012 by Christine Hertzog
with 248 views
0

The old wireline Bell telephone system was built for Mother’s Day. The Bell system network planners knew that this one day in May was the mother of all phone call traffic peaks in the USA. They designed their networks for that anticipated capacity. The network planners had an 11th Commandment that influenced their operations: “Thou shalt... [read more]

U.S. Coal Generation Drops 19 Percent In One Year

May 14, 2012 by Joseph Romm
with 321 views
0

Power generation from coal is falling quickly. According to new figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, coal made up 36 percent of U.S. electricity in the first quarter of 2012 — down from 44.6 percent in the first quarter of 2011.That stunning drop, which represented almost a 20 percent decline in coal generation over... [read more]

Clean Tech Headed for Stagnation

May 14, 2012 by Matthew Stepp
with 328 views
18

To be sure, the U.S. clean energy industry has been in a period of rapid growth, largely due to historic federal investments in the research, development, deployment, and manufacture of clean technologies. From 2009 through 2014, the federal government will invest a total of $150 billion, or the equivalent in magnitude to government... [read more]

Conservative Confidential Memo: Wind Power the Next Target

May 14, 2012 by Nathanael Baker
with 317 views
0

Conservative America's fight against the advancement of a new energy economy continues to evolve.  The latest development is a concerted campaign to discredit the wind industry and shift public opinion against the technology.A confidential memo published by The Guardian highlights a proposal crafted by John Droz, a fellow at the... [read more]

Are solar subsidies unnatural but unavoidable?

May 14, 2012 by Alex Chapman
with 175 views
0

Wind energy has become the favourite whipping boy in the renewable energy world. However, solar energy has its critics as well. Wind energy opponents are usually current or prospective neighbours of turbine installations. Solar energy naysayers are typically actual or would-be economists.“Why should we invest in solar photovoltaic... [read more]

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Saudi Arabia to Unleash Solar by Investing $109 Billion

May 14, 2012 by Rhys Clay
with 595 views
4

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest exporter of crude oil plans to install a solar capacity of 41,000 megawatts by 2032. Critics have noted that to achieve this, Saudi Arabia would need to produce and export approximately half of the world’s total annual installed capacity of solar. Can the country achieve this ambitious target? [read more]

Why Storage?

May 14, 2012 by James Greenberger
with 229 views
0

It is not clear that the automotive market alone will provide an advanced battery market of sufficient size and immediacy to attract the necessary capital and innovation. Using a potentially larger market for the deployment of similar batteries in DES systems on the grid to leverage the automotive market, however, would make for a large, combined market. [read more]