Energy Exchange

Energy From The Sea: Closer Than You Think

By EDF Blogs / Published: June 12, 2013

This commentary, authored by Rod Fujita, originally appeared on EDF Voices. 

The ocean absorbs energy from the sun, stores it, and then releases it slowly.  Sounds like a prescription for meeting the world’s energy needs, since the ocean is the largest feature of our planet.  But can ocean energy be tapped in a way that doesn’t create more problems than it solves?

That’s the promise behind a recently announced deal between Lockheed Martin and Reignwood Group, a resort developer based in Beijing. The two companies will develop a 10-megawatt power plant using ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) technology in waters off southern China’s Hainan Island. Construction is expected to be completed in 2017.

The process

Scientists have long been interested in the potential for generating energy from the difference in temperature between warm surface waters and deep water.  When this difference is large – for example, in tropical locations with narrow continental shelves – the warm water can be used to convert a liquid (like ammonia) into steam.  The steam drives a turbine, producing electricity, and then is recondensed into a liquid using cold water pumped up from the deep ocean so that the cycle can be repeated.

Benefits

The OTEC process can produce a number of benefits in addition to clean electricity.  The large volumes of cold water pumped through the system can be used to cool buildings, saving on air conditioning (and associated greenhouse gas emissions from this major energy consumer).  Lots of freshwater condenses on the cold water pipes, especially in humid tropical environments – so much that it can become a viable supplement to local water supplies or even the major water source for local communities. Read More »

Posted in Renewable Energy / Comments are closed

EDF Energy Innovation Series Feature #20: Renewable Energy Financing From Mosaic

By Jim Marston / Published: June 3, 2013

EDF’s Energy Innovation Series highlights innovations across a broad range of energy categories, including smart grid and renewable energy technologies, energy efficiency financing and progressive utilities, to name a few. This Series helps illustrate that cost-effective, clean energy solutions are available now and imperative to lowering our dependence on fossil fuels.

Find more information on this featured innovation here.

Mosaic’s “crowd-investing” concept gives people the opportunity to invest in a clean, low-carbon energy economy

Over the last decade, web-based crowd funding has grown from a clever way for fans to fund their favorite artist to a multimillion dollar funding option for just about anyone with a new widget.  For as little as a few bucks, anyone can help a friend or stranger get a good idea to market, and you might even get one of the first CDs or gadgets that come off the line.

But crowdfunding isn’t really an investment.

Source: Mosaic

Oakland-based Mosaic wants to do for renewable energy investing what crowdfunding sites have done for entrepreneurs. But rather than just offering a chance to help, Mosaic offers a piece of the profit.  Think of it as a renewable energy Kickstarter with a kickback.

“We connect individuals and institutions with high quality solar project investments,” said Billy Parish, president and founder of Mosaic. “The fastest way to grow the clean energy economy is to allow more people to benefit from it.” Read More »

Also posted in Energy Innovation / Comments are closed

Environmental Accomplishments And Missed Opportunities From The 83rd Texas Legislative Session

By EDF Blogs / Published: May 31, 2013

This blog post is co-authored by Marita Mirzatuny and Kate Zerrenner.

In addition to passing tax cuts and making pecan pie the official state pie of Texas, the 83rd Legislature heard numerous energy-related bills.  As a solution to our Texas Energy Crunch efforts, EDF supported 13 bills that would have provided relief to Texas’ resource adequacy problems; in other words, the issues Texas faces as a result of increasing energy demand, scorching temperatures and a record drought.  Among those bills (which we review on page 13 of our ‘State of the Texas Energy Crunch’ report) are a few, highlighted below, that made some – albeit not enough – progress.

Energy Legislation

A big success this session was the passage of Senate Bill (SB) 385 by Chairman John Carona.  SB 385, or the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) bill, clears some of the hurdles that prohibit commercial and industrial properties from taking advantage of new financing for energy improvements.  PACE allows property owners to pay for water and energy efficiency upgrades or renewable energy improvements with loans, which are then repaid through an annual charge on their property tax bill.  For more on this legislation, please see our recent blog post covering PACE in Texas.

Chairman Carona’s demand response bill, SB 1351, passed and was referred to State Affairs in the House.  Demand response (DR) initiatives allow customers to voluntarily reduce peak electricity use and receive a payment for doing so in response to a signal from their utilities.  Additionally, Chairman Rafael Anchía introduced the companion bill, House Bill (HB) 2194.  HB 2194 allows for customer, or demand-side resources (DSR), from “residential, commercial, and industrial customers to participate in all energy markets” and specifies that DSR “must be designed and implemented in a manner to increase market efficiency, competition, and customer benefits.” This bill clears the way for demand response, renewable energy, and energy efficiency to become important players in the market.

SB 1280, by Senator Kirk Watson, passed out of the Business and Commerce Committee with a seven to two vote.  This bill, regarding Texas’ reserve margin for the electric grid, requires that power regions (such as the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT) estimate the available generation at any given time, the expected peak demand (demand at the hottest part of the day when the most energy is being used) and the amount of reserve energy needed to ensure a reliable electricity supply.  SB 1280 also directs the use of voluntary load participation programs (think demand response) with at least 20 percent of peak energy demand coming from each of the residential, commercial and industrial sectors.

Senator José Rodríguez’s net metering bill, SB 1239, successfully passed out of the Business and Commerce committee.  Texas is one of only seven states where customers are not guaranteed fair compensation for the electricity they provide to the grid.  SB 1239 clarifies that all retail electric providers, municipal utilities and cooperatives must buy back extra electricity from residential customers along with churches and schools at a reasonable, market-based value.  For example, Los Angeles implemented the largest solar buyback program in the nation earlier this year, paying customers 17 cents a kilowatt hour for excess energy produced.

In the House, HB 303 by Representative Eddie Rodriguez called for a new renewable energy goal – to supply 35 percent of energy demand with clean energy by 2020, with at least two percent coming from solar.  This marks an important precedent for the clean energy standards introduced in state legislatures around the country.  Additionally, Representative Rafael Anchía authored HB 2196, a bill that addresses payments to customers for renewable energy and other demand-side contributions to the electric grid.

While it’s great that some of the bills gained some traction, only SB 385 made its way to the Governor’s desk.  With a hotter than average summer approaching, possibly worse than 2011, electric reliability is not a guarantee and these bills would have provided solutions to help address our energy issues.  Already Texas is receiving national attention for our impeding energy shortages.

Source: www.lavacacountytaxpayers.org

Water Legislation

At the last minute, the House and Senate, after much back door negotiating and out front wrangling, approved a plan to fund the State Water Plan.  HB 4, by Chairman Allan Ritter, set up two funding accounts to pay for water projects.  These accounts must be approved by voters, because the bills would amend Texas’ Constitution to allow the plan to be initially funded with a portion of the Rainy Day Fund. Read More »

Also posted in Demand Response, Energy Efficiency, Texas / Comments are closed

Texas Legislature Update: Chapter 313 And Texas Wind Production

By Marita Mirzatuny / Published: May 16, 2013

Source: Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center

This week, the Texas Senate will likely debate House Bill (HB) 3390, introduced by Representative Harvey Hilderbran and sponsored by Senator Bob Deuell.  This bill, which passed in the House and out of the Economic Development Senate Committee on May 14th, reauthorizes Chapter 313 of the Texas Tax Code – commonly known as the Texas Economic Development Act.  Chapter 313 is an economic development program that allows companies to apply for a temporary reduction in property taxes in exchange for a major capital investment commitment.

Chapter 313 has helped put Texans to work and grow rural economies.  Wind energy is among the industries that take advantage of this program and, in the process, has attracted around $24 billion in wind energy investments to 56 counties throughout the lone star state – $15 billion of which was a direct result of Chapter 313.  Wind energy projects create new jobs and employ meteorologists, surveyors, structural engineers, assembly workers, electrical workers, construction workers, lawyers, bankers, technicians and local service jobs associated with increased growth.

However, Chapter 313 is set to expire in 2014. If the Texas Senate does not renew this crucial bill as is (with renewable energy projects included), then the state stands to lose its competitive advantage in attracting wind and solar development to the state – potentially losing projects to the 34 other states offering clean energy incentives.  Some states don’t impose a property tax on wind projects at all.

Furthermore, including renewables in Chapter 313 helps growing school districts’ tax bases, which benefit from the substantial investment that wind energy projects bring to their communities.  The expected 30+ year life span of these projects makes them lucrative municipal assets.  Additionally, landowners in rural Texas receive lease payments for each turbine installed on their property.  These infusions of capital help farmers and ranchers support their land, particularly during times of extreme drought.  95 percent of land used for wind turbines can still be used for agricultural purposes, allowing farmers and ranchers to benefit from a second harvest – of wind.

Read More »

Also posted in Texas / Read 5 Responses

Cream Cheese And Time-Of-Use Electricity Pricing

By Jamie Fine / Published: May 7, 2013

This commentary was originally posted on EDF’s California Dream 2.0 blog.

“The cream cheese just fell off the roof of the car,” my 7-year old daughter said as I turned into my driveway after a trip to the grocery store. Right now you might be asking yourself, “What does this have to do with time-of-use pricing?” Allow me to explain.

We live in Alameda, CA, where plastic bags are prohibited and stores must charge for a paper bag. Alas, I had forgotten to bring a reusable one. To teach my children a lesson and avoid the public scorn (not so much the $0.05 per bag), I carried our groceries and asked the kids to lend their hands. And yes, I put the cream cheese on the roof of the car to free a hand to unlock it.

Once home, I realized that, in addition to almost losing my cream cheese, I’d been making potentially risky tradeoffs. After all, exiting the supermarket with full hands prevented me from holding my children’s hands while crossing a busy – and dangerous – parking lot.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not lamenting the ban on plastic shopping bags. I think it makes perfect sense, but it takes time to start making the adjustment and the risk tradeoffs aren’t always obvious.

This scenario– making adjustments that may seem inconvenient and a bit scary, but are well worth the effort– plays out in other areas of life as well. Particularly in rethinking how Americans use and pay for electricity.

Source: Union Atlantic Electricity

Most of us don’t think about how the time of day affects the cost of serving us power. In California, we aim to change that by moving to Time-of-Use (TOU) pricing – which will make electricity more expensive during times of peak, or high, energy demand and cheaper off-peak. In fact, just yesterday, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) recommended moving all residential customers to time-of-use rates by 2018 in an effort to give customers more control over energy costs.

EDF believes that TOU pricing will be best for people and the environment, just as banning plastic shopping bags effectively reduces their environmental impact. This approach can encourage conservation and reduce peak energy use while providing customers with more choices that can ultimately lower their monthly bills. Switching to TOU electricity pricing may feel to some like being thrust into a busy parking lot with an armload of groceries and two children to monitor. When should I use my dishwasher? Do I need to reset my air conditioner? Well, yes and no. You can choose to do nothing, or you can exercise a choice you don’t have with our current pricing structure: shifting energy use to times of lower electricity prices. It’s quite doable.

Read More »

Also posted in California, General, Grid Modernization, Utility Business Models / Comments are closed

The Oil And Gas Industry’s Assault On Renewable Energy

By Jim Marston / Published: April 29, 2013

This commentary was originally posted on our EDF Voices blog.

Source: ali_pk/flickr

Renewable energy enjoyed a record year in 2012 – the U.S. wind industry surpassed 50,000 megawatts of electrical power generation capacity and solar proved once again to be the fastest growing energy source in the United States. That’s a milestone worth celebrating, since greater use of clean, homegrown energy resources creates jobs, cuts foreign oil imports, stabilizes prices, makes our system more resilient and reduces harmful pollution. The list of benefits is vast. So who could possibly be upset?

Well, some utilities that own old and often dirty fossil fuel power plants are upset that renewables are making it harder for their older, polluting units to stay in business. Then there are oil and gas industry association leaders like American Petroleum Institute (API) president Jack Gerard, who often talk about wanting a “level playing field” – implying that policies promoting renewable energy are unfair to fossil fuels.

Don’t be fooled. Renewable investments pale in comparison to the amount of money poured into fossil fuel companies since 1918 to fatten their bottom lines and crowd out competition. Fossil fuels have received around 75 times more subsidies than clean energy. Up to 2011 (adjusted for inflation), the oil and gas industry received $446.96 billion in cumulative energy subsidies from 1994 to 2009, whereas renewable energy sources received just $5.93 billion. An industry that has been enjoying federal tax subsidies for over a century has no standing to argue for a level playing field.

Heavily subsidized fossil fuels may have made sense 100 years ago, when we were racing to build the energy infrastructure of the last century. But today we’re racing to build the clean energy infrastructure of the new century — and we need to support a new set of industries. And we’re making real progress.

So it is no surprise that we are seeing a well-funded, industry-backed effort to roll back the policies that have been so successful in developing and deploying renewables. Take, for example, the latest assault on a series of state laws around the country that have increased the amount of clean, renewable energy these states produce.

Front Groups do the Dirty Work for Oil and Gas Industry

So far, 29 states have implemented Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) programs that require increased production of energy from renewable sources such as solar, wind, geothermal and biomass. They’ve been adopted in red states and blue – from California to Texas to Maine – through democratic processes and with popular support. RPS programs have helped jumpstart an industry that is spurring economic development, creating American jobs, boosting energy independence and cutting our carbon footprint.

A Bloomberg article released last week details how the oil and gas industry, through some self-described free market organizations that they fund, are trying to engineer a legislative massacre of these policies in more than a dozen states.

The groups may sound familiar: American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which is currently pushing legislation around the country that would mandate the teaching of climate change denial in public school systems, and The Heartland Institute, which ran a billboard campaign last year comparing global warming “admitters” to Osama bin Laden and Charles Manson. Both have long opposed sensible energy policies. And their funders will sound familiar, too: the oil, gas and coal industries and their owners like the Koch Brothers.

Read More »

Also posted in Climate, Energy Efficiency / Tagged , , , , | Comments are closed