Electricity posts, articles, and infographics

Cincinnati Explores 100% Renewable Energy Plan

February 7, 2012 by Jonathan Smith
with 216 views

Cincinnati is working on a new power aggregation deal right now that could lead to the entire city being powered from 100 percent renewable energy sources. The deal, city officials say, could be finalized within the coming months and be in place for consumers by summer 2012. Such a move would make Cincinnati the largest city in the... [read more]

The Dawn of a New Day for Autos

February 7, 2012 by Steve Seidel
with 227 views

A lot has changed in the two years since I made my first visit to the Washington Auto Show. Back then, gas prices averaged $2.68 per gallon and the Nissan LEAF looked like a “car of the future” compared to the other vehicles on the showroom floor. Now, prices at the pump are 25 percent higher, averaging $3.50 per gallon in 2011, and fuel... [read more]

Regulatory Efficiency: A Must for Electricity Infrastructure Renewal

February 7, 2012 by Jim Burpee
with 189 views

We at the Canadian Electricity Association have publicly raised, many times, that our electricity sector faces a complex challenge over the next two decades. In order to meet Canada’s increasing demands for electricity, we must invest in electricity infrastructure. That means renewing, replacing and adding to the generating stations and power lines that power the economy. [read more]

Decarbonizing California requires relying more on electricity, once it's low carbon

February 4, 2012 by Karen Street
with 188 views

A 2006 California law, Assembly Bill 32, obligates the state to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 (30% below business as usual), and to 80% below that level by 2050 (90% below business as usual). How is it to done? A team from UC, Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, and elsewhere examines this... [read more]

Painkillers – the Real Drivers of Innovation for the Electricity Value Chain

February 2, 2012 by Christine Hertzog
with 188 views

One of the largest US-based industry conferences for electricity, gas, and water utilities just wrapped up in San Antonio, Texas. The entire value chain for electricity was well-represented there – you could find products for generation, transmission, distribution, and consumption of electricity. These products modernize the... [read more]

The Value of Government Involvement in Standards Development

February 1, 2012 by Dick DeBlasio
with 92 views

Very early on, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recognized the direct, cause-and-effect linkages among consensus-based standards development, seamless interoperability across the interstate electricity grid and the historic, far-ranging potential benefits of the Smart Grid: By enabling two-way power flow and communications and control... [read more]

Why Google invests in clean energy

February 1, 2012 by Marc Gunther
with 471 views

Last year, Google invested more than $915 million in clean energy projects–solar, wind and transmission. That’s a lot of money, even for Google, which had $38 billion in revenues in 2011. The investments don’t appear to be core to the company’s mission of organizing information, and they have attracted criticism, as well as some... [read more]

How Smartphones Can Help You Make the Right Energy Choices

January 31, 2012 by Carrie Nash
with 326 views

In a recent blog post, Penni McLean-Conner of NSTAR, highlighted the tremendous innovation spurred on by the new EISA standards enacted on January 1. The standards have truly brought about the biggest evolution in the lighting industry since Edison was around. Some of this change has not been so welcomed. In her post... [read more]

Neglecting Heat Efficiency

January 30, 2012 by Benjamin Lack
with 339 views

With all the talk about energy efficiency lately, where does heat efficiency comes into the equation? Do we need to move away from thinking just about electricity in terms of efficiency? [read more]

The Future of Global Climate Policy: Clean Energy Innovation Imperative

January 25, 2012 by Jesse Jenkins
with 399 views

It is time to take stock of our current climate trajectory, and consider what it means for climate policy. In Part 1 of this week long series, we argued that our current climate trajectory means we must 1) redouble efforts to reduce CO2 emissions as quickly as possible, and 2) we must proactively build resilience to the uncertain impacts... [read more]

ExxonMobil aiming to capture growth in US electricity market

January 24, 2012 by Rod Adams
with 226 views

On January 9, 2012, The Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University held a hydrofracking workshop. The organizers invited a number of speakers from both industry and academia to discuss a contentious, but important energy issue from a variety of perspectives. You can read about the workshop on TheGreenGrok on a post titled... [read more]

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader About Your Electricity Data Privacy?

January 23, 2012 by Christine Hertzog
with 222 views

Saturday, January 28 is International Data Privacy Day. It’s a great opportunity to think about new data created as a result of the modernization of our electrical grid into the Smart Grid, and what this means for our privacy. Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) is credited with the quote: “Knowledge is power.” Agreed.... [read more]

Thermoelectric Materials Advance Could Drop the Cost of Waste-Heat Harvesting

January 22, 2012 by Joseph Romm
with 259 views

New research could lead to more cost-effective materials for using waste heat for electricity and cooling – opening up innovation in a new class of waste heat conversion technologies. High-efficiency thermoelectric materials – technologies that allow excess heat to be converted to electricity, and electricity to be converted into... [read more]

Ben Franklin – America’s First Proponent of Energy Efficiency

January 16, 2012 by Christine Hertzog
with 811 views

Ben Franklin, the first American genius, achieved fame and notoriety for his electricity research, which included that famous kite-flying experiment. But did you know that he first described the concept of treating energy efficiency as an energy resource? He memorably stated “A penny saved is a penny earned,” back in the... [read more]

New Year's Resolution: Monitor Your Electricity Usage!

January 6, 2012 by Peter Troast
with 250 views

First of all, Happy New Year! We're all recovering from a relaxing and, for some of us, pretty exciting holiday break, but we're psyched to be back online and amped up to help all of our readers find new, unique, exciting and effective ways to save energy over the coming year, which we hope you'll all be enjoying in cozy, healthy homes.... [read more]