Energy Exchange

Live in Illinois? Your Energy Data May be Easier for You to Access than Ever Before

By EDF Blogs / Published: March 30, 2016

ashwin-shankar-pecan-street-2015-35 (2)By: David Kolata, Executive Director of Citizens Utility Board, and Andrew Barbeau, President of The Accelerate Group, LLC, and senior clean energy consultant to EDF

Knowledge is power – especially when it comes to electricity. And as Illinois’ biggest electric utility installs four million new digital, advanced meters across the state, people are on the brink of obtaining the intelligence they need to maximize the benefits of this smart grid technology.

The Citizens Utility Board (CUB) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) have brokered an agreement with Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) that could catapult Illinois to the national forefront in providing households with real-time data on their electricity use. The deal is part of the “Open Data Access Framework” for protecting, collecting, and sharing energy-use data, which has recently gained ground but is still awaiting final approval from the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC).

About two years after CUB and EDF asked the ICC to institute the framework, we’re pleased ComEd has embraced using the national “Green Button Connect” standard for third-party data access. We hope this watershed agreement leads to a surge in innovations that help people reap the full savings potential of the smart grid. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Data Access, Illinois / Tagged | Comments are closed

Clean Energy Conference Roundup: March 2016

By EDF Blogs / Published: March 3, 2016

rp_conference-300x200.jpgEach month, the Energy Exchange rounds up a list of top clean energy conferences around the country. Our list includes conferences at which experts from the EDF Clean Energy Program will be speaking, plus additional events that we think our readers may benefit from marking on their calendars.

Top clean energy conferences featuring EDF experts in March:

March 9: Clean Power Plan or What Next? Symposium & Workshop (Houston, TX)

Speaker: John Hall, Texas State Director, Clean Energy

  • Join a group of high level executives for a discussion on the issues arising from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan and its regional impact.

March 16-17: California’s Distributed Energy Future 2016  (San Francisco, CA)

Speaker: Jamie Fine, Senior Economist, U.S. Climate and Energy

  • As distributed energy gains steam in California, state regulators, policymakers, utilities, and distributed energy resource providers are shaping the rules, regulations, and markets that will ensure the transition is speedy and smooth. Greentech Media is partnering with More Than Smart to host actionable conversations on the future of electricity in an innovative state.

March 16: 2016 Building Energy Summit® (Washington, DC)

Speaker: Ellen Bell, Manager, Midwest Clean Energy

  • Building owners, energy experts, and technology pioneers will come together at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC to address the business and social drivers for more energy efficient buildings. Ellen will participate in a discussion on how to analyze portfolio data for energy saving opportunities, how to prioritize initiatives based on payback, and how to align your efforts with a corporate environmental policy. Read More »
Posted in California, Conference Roundup, New York, Texas, Washington, DC / Tagged | Read 2 Responses

Paying Attention to “Orphan” Wells Pays Off

By EDF Blogs / Published: February 26, 2016

By David Lyon and Adam Peltzabandoned well

There are at more than 1.5 million inactive oil and gas wells in the U.S. that remain uncapped and, in some cases, unsafe. Some are temporarily dormant, while others are fully depleted but not yet properly sealed, continuing to emit residual pollution from the days when they were active. Many are what the industry calls “orphans,” with no financially solvent owner in sight to take the responsibility for them. Long seen as a water protection issue, a new study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters now shows that properly plugging unused wells can also reduce emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane.

The study looks at orphaned and plugged wells in four oil and gas producing regions of the country – Colorado’s Denver-Julesburg Basin; Ohio’s Appalachian Basin; Wyoming’s Powder River Basin; and Utah’s Uinta Basin. It is part of a series of 16 major studies organized by Environmental Defense Fund to better understand the scale and scope of oil and gas methane emissions. Read More »

Posted in General, Methane, Natural Gas / Comments are closed

After the Aliso Disaster: Less Gas Storage, More Clean Energy Through Increased Market Efficiency

By EDF Blogs / Published: February 22, 2016

By: Mark Brownstein & Tim O’Connor4157619250_29ac89191b_o

The nearly four-month disaster at the Aliso Canyon storage facility owned by Southern California Gas Company has spurred widespread calls to close the sprawling underground reservoir, and cast intense scrutiny on the 13 other similar facilities around California. But others, including Governor Jerry Brown and key state agencies, say the facilities may be needed to keep the electric grid running reliably.

Ironically, one reason for dependence on this fossil fuel is California’s renewable energy boom.

As things currently stand, there aren’t enough responsive resources on the grid to simultaneously manage the large daily swings in consumer electricity demand typical in California and swings in renewable energy output due to variations in time of day and weather.

A more robust grid in combination with innovative energy storage and energy management technology will eventually reduce these swings, but may take decades to fully deploy.  Until then, fast-acting gas-fired generation is necessary for balancing system operations. This has become a rallying cry for SoCalGas and the rest of California’s oil and gas industry in the wake of Aliso Canyon. Read More »

Posted in Aliso Canyon, California, General, Methane, Natural Gas / Read 2 Responses

Why The Surprise Supreme Court Decision Won’t Thwart The Clean Power Plan

By EDF Blogs / Published: February 11, 2016

By: Keith Gaby

In a surprise procedural decision on Feb. 9, the U.S. Supreme Court put the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan on pause while a lower court reviews it.

The Court did not weigh in on the merits of the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan, and didn’t explain its reasoning, so we don’t know the legal basis for this unusual decision.

But we do know that the court has repeatedly upheld the EPA’s authority – in fact, its responsibility – to limit climate pollution under the Clean Air Act.

So we remain confident that the Clean Power Plan rests on a solid legal foundation, as states, power companies, legal experts and air pollution control officials nationwide have already recognized.

This is why states should stay on course and continue to invest in cleaner energy sources.

Posted in Clean Power Plan / Read 1 Response

Clean Energy Conference Roundup: February 2016

By EDF Blogs / Published: January 30, 2016

rp_conference-300x200.jpgEach month, the Energy Exchange rounds up a list of top clean energy conferences around the country. Our list includes conferences at which experts from the EDF Clean Energy Program will be speaking, plus additional events that we think our readers may benefit from marking on their calendars.

Top clean energy conferences featuring EDF experts in February:

February 3-5: Energy, Utility & Environment Conference (San Diego, CA)
Speaker: John Finnigan, Lead Attorney, U.S. Climate and Energy

  • The 19th annual energy, utility, and environment conference will feature more than 500 presentations by experts in tracks that include battery and energy storage, climate management, smart grid and risk management, energy policy and efficiency, renewable energy, the Clean Power Plan, permits and compliance, and many more. More than 2,000 attendees will network at 8 lunches, receptions, and breaks held in a 200-business exhibit area.

February 16-19: UT Energy Week (Austin, TX)
Speaker: Jim Marston, Vice President, U.S. Climate and Energy

  • During this second annual event, experts in academia, industry, government, and the non-profit world will take a fresh look at some of the most vital energy issues facing society. Full-day programs include the role of natural gas and renewables in reforming the Mexican power sector (Feb. 16); energy and society (Feb. 17); utilities and the grid (Feb. 18); and challenges in the oil and gas industry (Feb. 19). Read More »
Posted in Conference Roundup / Comments are closed