If you installed solar panels on your roof and feel aglow with environmental virtue, you may be in for a rude awakening. There’s a good chance someone else has purchased your halo and is wearing it right now. In most states (including California) power generated by rooftop solar panels earns Renewable Energy Certificates, which quantify how … Continue reading »
renewable energy
A modern equation for energy
The global energy landscape continues to change as more and more renewable energy sources and diversified energy systems become a substantial component of the energy infrastructures across the world. Given the onset of these new energy systems, the overarching return of diverse energy sources will become a more and more important factor in the future design … Continue reading »
Energy options: Just say ‘Nein’ to nukes and coal?
On March 11, 2011, I was sitting in a coffee shop in Berlin, dressed appropriately in a black turtleneck and leather jacket, reading about the terrible Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear disaster. The next day I read that the German government was pushing for “Atomausstieg,” which is German for “let’s retire all nuclear generating capacity.” Eighty percent of … Continue reading »
Renewable energy and political geography
The Washington Post had a story over the weekend about the concerted campaign by the fossil fuel industry to rollback state laws favoring renewable energy. This effort was also the subject of an editorial in the Sunday Times. So far, this effort hasn’t gained real legislative traction. The story attributes this failure to the growth of … Continue reading »
It’s time to refocus California’s climate strategy
You know this already, but let’s review: Climate change is a global emissions problem. California produces about 1% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Over the next few decades, the majority of emissions will come from developing countries. If we don’t solve the problem in the developing world, we don’t solve the problem. And lastly, … Continue reading »
What wood smoke has taught me about fighting climate change
While much of the U.S. has been dealing with severe winter weather, California is experiencing a record dry spell. The clear skies have also brought some cold nights and, with them, wood smoke. What I’ve noticed in my neighborhood is that the desire for a cozy wood fire cuts across political lines. And as the … Continue reading »
European partnership could signal a new direction for renewable energy
President Francois Hollande of France announced a new renewable energy partnership between the French and German governments last week. The idea, modeled on the Airbus partnership, would expand cooperation between the governments on renewable energy projects. Airbus, which began in the 1960s, was formed as a joint partnership between primarily between French and German corporations, with Dutch … Continue reading »
Ten energy stories to watch in 2014
In our energy law classes at Cal, we like to start the day by talking about Energy in the News. The media never fails us. Every day, there are multiple energy-related stories of significance touching on resource development, new technologies, policy shifts, jobs, regional politics, prices, international relations, or the environment. Once you start looking … Continue reading »
Duke Energy pleads guilty over eagle deaths at wind farms
In a precedent-setting agreement with the U Fish and Wildlife Service, Duke Energy agreed to pay $1,000,000 in fines related to 160 bird deaths at two wind farms in Wyoming. A subsidiary, Duke Energy Renewables, plead guilty in Wyoming Federal District Court to violations of the Migratory Bird Act, targeted specifically in the deaths of 16 golden eagles since … 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 »
The softer side of hydro
What I understand so far is that we are about to visit a company that develops renewable-energy technology. On the way to an old Navy air station in Alameda, I ask my fellow passengers, “So, what do these guys do, again?” Someone mentions wind; I have assumed solar, but I am a bit taken aback … Continue reading »
Rate-design wars are the sound of utilities taking residential PV seriously
Imagine walking into your supermarket with a bag of zucchini from your garden and saying that you’d like to trade them straight up for an equal quantity of zucchini next month. The store manager would explain that they aren’t in the business of making wholesale purchases at such small scale, and that when they do … Continue reading »
Postcard from Barcelona: Looking at the Catalonian path to sustainability
Flying into Barcelona, it becomes immediately obvious that this is a city with its eye on a sustainable future. Right along the waterfront is a large photovoltaic array, perched on four giant supports. It is emblematic of a broader set of initiatives that, for a short time, placed Spain at the forefront of renewable energy … Continue reading »
Why coal cares about FERC
I’ve written before about how fossil fuel industries have a strong incentive to kill (or at least stop the rise of) renewable energy now, so that it doesn’t become a powerful political force. If renewable energy does become a strong enough political force, then there is a risk that it might provide support for ending … Continue reading »
Marketing solar, part two
Several weeks ago I blogged about a solar quote my family received. The quote suggested that we could spend $12,400 to save $39,500 on our future electricity bills. My post raised two issues about the quote, including that the savings summed over the next 25 years were not discounted and that the company was projecting … Continue reading »
When efficiency is not enough
This past week I attended and had the pleasure to speak and debate at the 2013 World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. This was the sixth such summit, and the third I have attended. The stated goal of the meeting is to: bring together global leaders in policy, technology and business … Continue reading »
Why the GOP should embrace renewable energy and energy efficiency
There’s a lot of discussion these days about how the Republican Party should reposition itself in light of last week’s election results. Support for renewables and energy efficiency would make sense as part of a package of policy adjustments — it would strengthen the Party’s appeal to swing voters, women, and younger voters, with only … Continue reading »
Comments on FHFA’s proposed rule on enterprise writing standards for PACE programs
As we have chronicled earlier on the Legal Planet blog, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)’s court-ordered rulemaking on Enterprise Writing Standards for Property-Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) programs resulted in thousands of public comments in response to the Agency’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) — the overwhelming majority in support of PACE. Today (Sept. … Continue reading »
Fossil fuels’ future role in the electricity system
If you put aside their environmental impacts, fossil fuels are wonderful for generating electricity. They are cheap, reliable, and currently in abundant supply. But the environmental drawbacks are considerable, and the most serious one is their contribution to climate change. To deal with climate change, do we need to adopt an attitude of unremitting hostility … Continue reading »
How much of the grid can be renewable?
How far can we go in converting our power supply to renewable sources? On June 15th, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory provided a partial answer when it released a “Renewable Energy Futures Study.” The team undertaking this analysis was comprised of experts from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as from various national labs, … Continue reading »