epri posts, articles, and infographics

Enlightenment and Renaissance: Which Should Come First for Nuclear

January 13, 2012 by Meredith Angwin
with 210 views

Several months ago I blogged about an engineering presentation at Dartmouth. Dr. Swartz presented a talk with the provocative title: If Vermont Yankee Had an Accident Like Fukushima.Swartz concluded that the "worried well" would be the major problem after any type of nuclear accident. Civilians would not receive radiation at a dose... [read more]

Reducing Nuclear Operational & Capital Costs By Improved Technology

December 1, 2011 by Rod Adams
with 144 views

I received a link from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to a fascinating video about their recent efforts to develop CoSecTM, a new resin technology that is more effective at capturing cobalt-60. Most of the radiation doses that nuclear workers receive come from this single isotope. One possible cost savings aspect... [read more]

A Tale of Two Earths – The Future of the EU-ETS

October 10, 2011 by David Hone
with 381 views

With the forward supply-demand picture of the EU ETS looking long and the prospect of low prices for the foreseeable future, what steps might be taken to address this? Certainly if nothing is done, the trading system will not drive the development of technologies such as carbon capture and storage, critical for the much deeper reductions to come in the 2020s and beyond. [read more]

Smart Grids Will Revolutionize Cities

September 6, 2011 by Warren Karlenzig
with 1,733 views

The internet, distributed renewable energy, electric vehicles and energy management are ready to coalesce: the impact on cities and our lives will be profound. The US-China Green Energy Conference (sponsored by the US-China Green Energy Council) held Friday in the Silicon Valley took a deep bi-national dive into what smart grids... [read more]

Electric Vehicles, the New Frontier?

July 28, 2011 by Sheila Oliva
with 552 views

Last Thursday the U.S. space shuttle touched down for the last time, and a part of history came to an end. N.C. Senator Fletcher Hartsell, Jr., reflected that morning that “It’s sad to think we might have lost our vision a bit [in the space program]. But, when you look at the area [of electric vehicles], it says we might be finding it... [read more]

It’s All Connected – How the EV Will Integrate into Your Life

July 25, 2011 by Sheila Oliva
with 342 views

In the words of Mike Rowand, Duke Energy, “The electric vehicle (EV) is not just a question of connecting a car to a power grid. It is about connecting it to the customer; connecting it to the continuous development of the technology surrounding EVs; and, finally, connecting it to our society’s governmental and regulatory policies.”And... [read more]

The Energy Storage Hand Gets More Interesting

July 25, 2011 by Christine Hertzog
with 967 views

The cards dealt to the energy storage industry are looking better now than in the past. Here are three of them, all played because of the growing presence of Smart Grid technologies that enable solutions and policies that encourage energy storage markets. One wild card is also listed here, and it could have significant influence over the... [read more]

Smart Grids Will Cut Carbon Emissions By Over 50%

June 3, 2011 by David Thorpe
with 975 views

The coming conversion of the world's electricity networks to the so-called 'smart grid' (I don't think it means it becomes self-aware - at least I hope not) will cause the grid to decarbonise itself by over 50% in America. The exact amount elsewhere will depend on many other factors, but be at least as great. This is good news for... [read more]

Recognizing the Energy Security Value of Storage on the Grid

May 16, 2011 by James Greenberger
with 360 views

Many of the benefits of storage are national in scope and do not, and never will, enter into the cost/benefit analysis that utilities and state regulators make in deciding on energy storage investments. The energy security benefits of storage are, however, very real. Federal energy policy must find a way to recognize those benefits and to share them with the utilities and local ratepayers that are being asked to invest in energy storage systems. If the energy security benefits of storage could be recognized and shared, the $700-750 per kilowatt hour value attributed to storage by EPRI could turn out to be much higher, and the 14 gigawatt market much closer, than assumed. [read more]

EPRI White Paper Surveys The Electrical Energy Storage Field

May 6, 2011 by Michael Giberson
with 521 views

The Electric Power Research Institute has just published “Electricity Energy Storage Technology Options: A White Paper Primer on Applications, Costs and Benefits.” I haven’t read the report – including appendices it is 170 pages long – but the news release claims: “Study results indicate that the total U.S. energy storage market could be... [read more]

A Wave of the Future: Linking National and Intl Climate Change Policies

March 31, 2011 by Robert Stavins
with 361 views

The latest rage in Washington policy discussions these days (that’s relevant to climate change) is renewed interest in renewable electricity standards, this time in the form of so-called “clean energy standards.” I’ve written about this policy approach recently at this blog (Renewable Energy Standards: Less Effective, More Costly,... [read more]

Smart Energy Investment and the Smart Grid

January 23, 2011 by James Greenberger
with 1,523 views

By Невідомий (Інтернет) [FAL], via Wikimedia Commons

Next Tuesday in his State of the Union address, President Obama will call for increased government investment in infrastructure, education and research. But before the U.S. Treasury starts writing checks, there is much to be learned from the experience of the last two years. Federal dollars for energy infrastructure really are limited and must be spent wisely and strategically. Federal investment in energy infrastructure must be driven by rational, cost-effective and attainable goals, not by sound bites and special interests. Smart Grid investments are a case in point. [read more]

Study| Electric Cars Show “Great Promise” in Fight Against Global Warming

January 21, 2010 by Osha Davidson
with 663 views

Kyocera's employee parking lot, San Diego. The solar panels on the roofs generates power to charge plug-in cars during the work day. Photo by Envision Solar. A new study by Environment America finds that electric vehicles (EVs) could do a lot to fight global warming and clean up the urban smog that contributes to respiratory and heart... [read more]

A vision for a holistic and smart grid with high benefits to...

December 3, 2009 by LIOS Technology
with 186 views

A vision for a holistic and smart grid with high benefits to society - paper at T&D Asia 2009 / Smart Grid Bangkok by Dr. Stephen Lee, EPRI In the wake of restructuring and market liberalization, electric generation and transmission companies have encountered new problems in their decision and investment processes. In the hope of... [read more]

Pitchfork-wielding mobs encircle smart meters

November 28, 2009 by Big Gav
with 166 views

The Register has an article on the controversy surrounding one smart meter rollout in California - Pitchfork-wielding mobs encircle smart meters.A push by California's electricity provider to modernize its power grid is turning into a public relations disaster, as allegations mount that it's responsible for stratospheric overcharges.At... [read more]