Energy Exchange

What a Difference a Day Makes! The Value of Real-Time Electricity Data

By Gavin Purchas / Published: September 11, 2014

Source: gato-gato-gato

Imagine you’re trying to lose weight. If you step on the scale once a month, how can you possibly know how each of your daily decisions affects the number? Weighing yourself every day would be a step up, giving you a much clearer picture of the effects of each day’s choices. Now imagine the potential results if you could access real-time data – if you were able to see just how many calories were in each food you picked up, as well how much energy you were exerting at any given moment.

Thanks to a meta-analysis on behalf of the American Council for an Energy Efficiency Economy (ACEEE), we can now see that access to this kind of granular, real-time data on electricity use leads to significant household electricity savings.

Survey highlights importance of timeliness and granularity

The ACEEE survey aggregates multiple studies designed to evaluate the effectiveness of different types of electricity customer feedback from the past 20 years, including 61 trials from around the world: 33 from the U.S., 13 from Europe, 9 from Canada, and 3 others. Such a diverse pool allows us to draw important conclusions about consumer energy use habits while controlling for variations in culture, climate, and energy use patterns. The results are displayed in the graph below. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Clean Power Plan, Climate, Electricity Pricing, General, Grid Modernization, Utility Business Models / Comments are closed

Utility 2.0: New York Electricity Market Should Allow Third Parties to Compete

By John Finnigan / Published: September 8, 2014

Source: Tendril

The New York Public Service Commission (Commission) has embarked on the landmark Reforming Energy Vision (REV) proceeding to design a new business model for electric utilities. Today’s business model allows utilities to earn revenues based on how much money they spend to supply and deliver electricity. Under the new model, utilities will earn revenues based on the value of services they deliver to customers and the environment.

Currently, utilities dominate the electricity service market, limiting customer access to the full range of products and services otherwise available in a truly open market. One focus of the proceeding is to remove the barriers preventing third parties, such as retail electric suppliers, solar energy companies, or smart meter providers, from fully participating in the energy market. Allowing full participation by third parties would lead to increased innovation and fuel the development of new products and services. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Demand Response, Electricity Pricing, Grid Modernization, New York, Utility Business Models / Read 1 Response

California Clean Energy Bill Could Open Door for Homeowners and Small Businesses

By Rachel Neil / Published: September 8, 2014

Source: Flickr/constellationenergy

Governor Brown has the opportunity to make energy-saving upgrades possible for families and small business owners by signing Assembly Bill 1883 (Nancy Skinner- Berkeley). This bill would significantly lower the cost of Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), a tool which enables property owners to take advantage of energy efficiency and rooftop solar PV for their homes or buildings with no money down, allowing them to pay off the investment over time through their property tax bill.

AB 1883 would streamline the PACE process and drive down the fixed transactional costs associated with commercial projects. Lowering these transaction costs is especially important for small businesses because high transaction costs can reduce the economic viability of the smaller energy upgrades that small business typically need. AB 1883 also incorporates new options for financing rooftop solar PV through PACE, which will enable a greater number of homeowners and small businesses to qualify for cost-saving solar PV contracts. Read More »

Also posted in California, Clean Energy, Climate, Energy Financing, Grid Modernization, Renewable Energy / Comments are closed

Clean Power Plan to Reward Texas, not Wyoming Coal-Backers

By Jim Marston / Published: September 2, 2014

Source: Aurora Lights

Chronicle readers would be forgiven if they opened their papers last weekend and thought it was 2005. That’s because the Koch brothers-funded Texas Public Policy Foundation published an editorial that echoed the pro-coal rhetoric we heard nearly 10 years ago when then-TXU wanted to build new power plants across Texas that would burn Wyoming coal.

Sure, this weekend’s piece had a different news hook – the new Clean Power Plan that will require Texas to reduce carbon emissions from power plants like every other state. But TPPF’s conclusion was the same: better, cleaner technology is bad and coal is king. As Yogi Berra would have said, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.”

Texas is the number one carbon emitter in the U.S. and power plants, together, are the largest emitters. Our state represents close to 10 percent of the entire nation’s carbon emissions. The Clean Power Plan will simply require Texas to adhere to the rules all other states have to follow. I love Texas more than the average person, but I don’t think we should get special treatment simply because some of our energy companies doubled-down on fossil fuels. And I certainly don’t think we should rely on Wyoming coal when Texas is the nation’s energy powerhouse. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Clean Power Plan, Climate, Renewable Energy / Read 1 Response

U.S. Lags on Energy Efficiency, but Creative Communications can Help

By Kate Zerrenner / Published: August 28, 2014

This post was co-written by Catherine Ittner, Communications Intern, and Catherine Nisson, Clean Energy Research Intern.

Source: energyhog.org

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) recently released the second edition of its International Energy Efficiency Scorecard, ranking the energy efficiency efforts of the world’s 16 largest economies. The report assigns each country a score based on three primary sectors responsible for energy use: buildings, transportation, and industry. So where did the land of the free fall on the index? Disappointingly, the U.S. ranks number 13, ahead of only Russia, Brazil, and Mexico. The international champion for the second time this summer: Germany.

ACEEE concedes the demand for energy has been declining in the U.S. since 2007, and progress is most likely due to increasingly energy-efficient appliances and buildings, as well as the local and state policies that encourage their use. But, clearly, there is significant room for improvement and much of that may lie in behavioral changes and everyday tweaks people can make to conserve energy.

With recent energy efficiency initiatives going nowhere on Capitol Hill, another means of encouraging the efficient use of energy without legislation is to take the message straight to the people. Cue creative communications campaigns that can play a role in bumping the U.S. closer to the top of the International Energy Efficiency Scorecard. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy / Comments are closed

EPA’s Clean Power Plan: Texas’ Last Stand or Last Hope?

By Marita Mirzatuny / Published: August 27, 2014

Source: North Texas Renewable Energy Group

August has been an eventful month here in Texas. And, no, I’m not referring to news about Governor Rick Perry, rather some of his appointees. The Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC), Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), Railroad Commissioners (RRC) Barry Smitherman and Christy Craddick, and State Representative Jason Isaac held a joint session to discuss the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new Clean Power Plan (CPP).

The CPP will limit – for the first time ever – carbon emissions for existing power plants. Texas, the number one polluter in the country, needs to cut 195 billion pounds of carbon in the next 18 years, according to a Texas Tribune analysis. However, EPA suggests Texas could easily meet its goal through a combination of actions: making coal plants more efficient, using more natural gas plants, increasing the use of renewable resources, and expanding energy efficiency.

Texas has a choice: either roll up some sleeves and double down on the state’s clean energy leadership, creating jobs and wealth, or continue to play petty politics to buy the fossil fuel industry more time. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Clean Power Plan, Demand Response, Renewable Energy, Texas / Comments are closed