The future of a clean electricity grid will require more decentralization based on clean technology, like solar and energy storage. Large industrial customers are investing in these technologies and also signing up to moderate their electricity demand in response to larger grid needs (i.e. reducing usage when electricity becomes expensive and dirty to produce). Smaller … Continue reading »
electricity
You have the right to generate your own electricity
Do people have the right to generate electricity for their own use and still remain connected to the grid? Of course they do. You see it every day. Without prior registration or a background check, anyone can go into a hardware store and buy a diesel generator. Homeowners and businesses can install rooftop solar photovoltaics … Continue reading »
For energy (and water) conservation, moral suasion is no substitute for getting the prices right
My office light switch recently acquired a little sticker that politely reminds me to turn it off when I leave. And over the past year, an edgy Lawn dude and an amicable Bear have been urging Californians to cut back on water use in order to meet our drought-stricken state’s water restrictions (which have to … Continue reading »
Electric-utility reinvention: ‘The grid is always greener …’
It seems to be an undeniable part of human nature. When we consider making changes – whether it has to do with the place where we live, the business we are in, or the partner we choose – we tend to compare the flaws of the thing we know to the ideal version of the … Continue reading »
One university’s attempt to reduce energy waste at work
If you work outside your home, chances are you don’t pay (directly) for the energy you use at work. At my place of work, the UC Berkeley campus, most employees never see – let alone pay – their energy bills. Of course, there are plenty of pro-social reasons to be conscientious about my energy consumption … Continue reading »
Good energy reading for the beach?
I used to spend the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve with my in-laws in Portland, Ore. A couple years ago, it snowed for two days straight, and the city shut down. My brother-in-law has taken it upon himself to find a warm-weather holiday destination for the family ever since. As I head for the … Continue reading »
Why the phrase ‘energy leapfrogging’ is misleading
I have seen a number of blog posts, panel discussions and news articles that extol the idea of energy leapfrogging. A recent Business Week column on India described, “leapfrogging the nation’s ailing power-distribution infrastructure with solar-powered local networks — the same way mobile-phones have enabled people in poor, remote places to bypass landlines.” The dramatic … Continue reading »
Good electricity grids make good neighbors
In the poem “Mending Wall,” Robert Frost asserted that “good fences make good neighbors.” World history is replete with foreign policy built around physical walls, from Emperor Hadrian, to the Great Wall of China, to the Berlin Wall, the wall between Palestine and Israeli, to the US-Mexico border. Containment and isolation have often been the cornerstones … Continue reading »
Peak electricity pricing can save you money
Here in California, summer weather is quickly approaching and once again parts of the state are facing potential electricity shortages. This year the biggest concern is in Southern California due primarily to the continued outage at the San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station (SONGS). If there are shortages, they are likely to occur on the hottest … Continue reading »
Measuring the economic costs of electricity outages
There’s nothing like a power outage to make you appreciate just how much you depend on reliable electricity. According to the numbers from the Energy Information Administration, as of Saturday, Nov. 3, nearly 2.5 million people in Sandy’s path were still without power. Economists and policy makers have tried to measure the value of having … Continue reading »