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

February 4, 2012 by Karen Street
with 166 views
7

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]

PACE Solar Financing Shows Signs of Life

January 31, 2012 by Chip Gaul
with 191 views
0

 Communities and homeowners have more reason to be optimistic about solar financing. In the summer of 2010, the Federal Housing Financial Authority (FHFA), which is the regulatory arm of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, unilaterally wiped out PACE financing programs that were just gaining fruition in communities (... [read more]

Super Hot Salt: The Newest Energy Storage Innovation?

January 31, 2012 by Joseph Romm
with 705 views
1

 Policymakers and energy industry experts often talk about clean energy as though it isn’t reliable. In fact, while an MIT study recently found the existing grid would probably be up to the challenge of absorbing clean energy, intermittency does present a real challenge that renewables must address to get to high levels of... [read more]

Oil Companies Invest in Fossil Fuels Fifty Times More Than In Alternatives

December 14, 2011 by Simon Mui
with 281 views
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Trend would be shifted with California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard NRDC has long supported efforts by companies to invest in cleaner technologies. We have started tracking oil industry investments in renewable fuels such as advanced biofuels, down to the company level. In a new analysis, NRDC compares those investments to traditional... [read more]

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Harnessing the Power of the Sun for Oil Production

November 15, 2011 by Des King
with 1,211 views
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Coalinga, a small town in California’s Central Valley, is home to the past, present and future of energy. The town was originally called Coaling Station A, and served as a coaling station for the railroads in the late 19th century. The name was later shortened to Coalinga. Coalinga sits on the aptly named Coalinga Oil Field – one of the largest in California. The oil field was discovered in 1887 and is one of the nation’s oldest producing oil fields. And last month, Coalinga gained another distinction – home to the world’s largest solar-to-steam enhanced oil recovery project. [read more]

Gas Taxes v. CAFE Regulations

August 9, 2011 by Michael Giberson
with 367 views
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Most of the current 18.4 cents per gallon federal gasoline tax is set to expire at the end of September, and there are some indications that it may become the occasion for the next big political fight in Congress. See Politico and Platts for background. Grover Nordquist, of Americans for Tax Reform, says a vote to keep the current... [read more]

Could California Suffer The EU-ETS Problem?

August 1, 2011 by David Hone
with 357 views
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The EU Emissions Trading System is suffering a decline in fortune. The price has been relatively low since the onset of the financial crisis, driven in part by a decline in industrial activity linked to the recession, but also to continuous overlaying of policy by both Member States and the Commission. With California now setting up its own cap-and-trade system could it also go the way of the EU ETS? [read more]

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Utility Integrated Solar Power Grew 100% in 2010

June 22, 2011 by Reginald Norris
with 452 views
1

Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) has released its latest report which showed that U.S. electric utility providers are including more and more solar power generation in their portfolios and much of this increases is happening outside of California. (Click here for the Executive Summary of the report)The Solar Electric Power... [read more]

EJ Lawsuit Against Implementation of California’s AB 32 Climate Policy Wrongheaded

May 23, 2011 by Robert Stavins
with 233 views
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On May 20th, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith ruled that the California Air Resources Board had not adequately explained its choice of a market-based mechanism –  a cap-and-trade system  — to achieve approximately 20 percent of targeted emissions reductions by 2020 under Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming... [read more]

The Top 10 Solar States

May 18, 2011 by Reginald Norris
with 831 views
2

The New York Times recently published its top 10 solar states in the United States for 2010, ranking states based on installed solar power capacity. Most people will not be surprised to see a number of western states on the list but they might be surprised to see so many eastern states making noise on the list as well.To begin,... [read more]

California PUC Proposes Energy Data Privacy Rules

May 10, 2011 by Christine Hertzog
with 499 views
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The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued a proposed decision regarding the privacy and security of electricity usage data on May 6.  This proposal sets the stage for how consumer consumption data is managed by the three investor-owned utilities (IOUs) in California – Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California... [read more]

BrightSource Energy Files $250 Million IPO

April 26, 2011 by Nathanael Baker
with 817 views
7

BrightSource Energy, Inc. a utility-scale solar developer, has filed a US$250 million initial public offering (IPO).The California-based solar thermal developer has several intriguing qualities; however, these are saddled along with a few areas of concern.  BrightSource sports a significant list of powerful investors and... [read more]

STUDY: California Homeowners Recoup Their Investment in PV

April 26, 2011 by Michael Giberson
with 144 views
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A study by Ben Hoen, Ryan Wiser and Peter Cappers of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Mark Thayer at San Diego State University finds that, on average, the sales price of homes with PV systems is boosted enough to cover the homeowner’s own investment in the solar power system. One might, as the Berkeley Labs’ press... [read more]

Gas Taxes and Price Divergence

April 25, 2011 by Geoffrey Styles
with 328 views
2

Rising gasoline prices got my attention pretty forcefully this weekend when I filled up our rental car in South San Francisco, at the end of a short holiday trip to California. I expected to pay a bit more than usual near the SFO airport, but $4.439 per gallon for unleaded regular was a jolt, because prices in Northern Virginia, where I... [read more]

Making Good on California's New 33% RPS

April 24, 2011 by Arno Harris
with 446 views
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With the signing last week of California's 33% RPS, Governor Brown ensured California will continue to lead the country as a market for renewable electricity. The bill does a lot to fix the issues that might have slowed demand in the state for renewables. Now it's up to the industry to make it work. The new law raises the RPS target to... [read more]