In This Issue
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MY YOUNGEST SON ASKED ME IF I WAS GOING to write an editorial comment about our family’s purchase of a Prius. Of course not, I responded. If I snagged a new electric plug-in vehicle, perhaps I would write about that. But the sale of one more Prius, now in its fourth generation, is hardly comment-worthy.However, I have been thinking a lot about game-changing innovations, which is the theme of the...1
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How long will it last?
WHEN ENERGY SECRETARY STEVEN CHU IN MAY suggested using high-powered gamma rays for imaging the blowout preventer in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the seasoned oil engineers at BP were skeptical.Chu is a nuclear scientist, not an engineer -- what could he tell them about diagnosing drilling equipment?After a week, however, as Chu told The Atlantic, the BP experts came back and said he was...2 -
Blowing Away the Old
THE SMART GRID ISN'T SO MUCH AN EVOLUTION AS AN explosion, blowing away the old paradigm even before a coherent new one emerges. Where almost from the beginning, the power infrastructure has assumed one-way transmission from a central source of power to end-users, the emerging model is a system of interactive entities, dynamically connected and governed by highly complex switching and IT...2 -
U.S. Utility Execs Study Japanese Solar InitiativesEDITOR’S NOTE A large group of utility executives and senior managers and energy experts recently toured Japan with the Solar Electric Power Association to study that nation’s push to become a global power in solar electricity. The participants spoke about the highlights of the mission on its concluding day, riding on a bus to Kyoto. The highlights of their comments, edited for style and length,...2
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STATES REGROUP ON RENEWABLE PORTFOLIO STANDARDSA STRUGGLING ECONOMY IS SLOWING states’ progress toward meeting renewable energy portfolio standards even as some states ratchet up solar-specific requirements.The pace at which renewable power generation is being constructed is slowing. In July, the American Wind Energy Association reported a 71 percent drop in U.S. wind farm installations for the second quarter, compared with 2009. The trade...
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CARBON LOOMS LARGEWITH ENERGY COSTS STILL RISING AND energy regulations still in flux, industry regulators find themselves struggling to guide their states’ energy policies during a period of great uncertainty. The nation’s energy future looks more green, but the way to reach that path still lacks clarity. State regulators are focused on controversial issues as they balance the competing interests of utility...
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CALIFORNIA VOTERS REJECT MOVE BY PG&ECALIFORNIANS, FOR GOOD OR BAD, OFTEN decide their own fate by voting on ballot measures ranging from gay marriage to property tax restrictions. The initiative process was originally championed by Governor Hiram Johnson in 1911 as a way to diminish the political reach of corporate interests. That original intent has morphed into a system in which corporations can fund signature gatherers to place...
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THE MOVE TO FLAT MONTHLY FEESTWO YEARS AGO, THE PUBLIC UTILITY Commission of Ohio took a new approach to natural gas rates that consumer advocates say is unfair to customers who use little gas or conserve. The natural gas delivery charge in most areas of the state now is a flat monthly fee – none of the delivery charge is adjusted according to the cubic feet of gas burned.As consumers reduce natural gas use, local delivery...1
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UTILITIES GET READY FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLESTHE SLOW ADOPTION AND ROLLOUT OF plug-in hybrid electronic vehicles has prevented a true assessment of their effect on the electrical grid.While most experts believe the grid can handle the initial onslaught of electric vehicle use, there is definitely a need for more studies, information and trials. As a result, many efforts are under way to better understand the effect of electric...
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Utility and Solar Sector Collaboration Essential
MORE THAN 400 MEGAWATTS OF NEW SOLAR ELECTRIC generation capacity was brought online in the United States in 2009, a 37 percent increase over the previous year. However, this number is dwarfed by the potential of solar energy. According to a 2008 report by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, America’s empty rooftops could generate more than 800 terawatt-hours of electricity annually if...2
