Energy Exchange

Latino Support Surges for the Environment

By Jorge Madrid / Published: October 12, 2012

California lawmakers take notice: Latino voters want a strong economy AND a clean environment, two things they believe are not mutually exclusive.

A new p oll released by the California League of Conservation Voters finds that an overwhelming 90 percent of Latino voters believe that the state can “protect the environment and create jobs at the same time.” This number mirrors national trends among Latino voters, including a recent national poll by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and the Sierra Club, which found that 90 percent of surveyed voters believe that protecting land and water resources is “critical to the economy.” Read More »

Also posted in California, Clean Energy, Climate, General, State / Comments are closed

Chasing Red Herring On The Wind

By / Published: September 13, 2012

The saying goes that hunters used smoked red herrings to train their dogs, trying to throw them off the scent of the hunt with something that has a much stronger and tempting smell but ultimately wasn’t the real target. This is quite similar to recent discussions about resource adequacy – now that it’s become clear that the EPA isn’t the reason for power plants shutting down, some seem more focused on finding another scapegoat rather than addressing the real problems in the market.

There was a time, not too long ago, when the low marginal costs of technologies like wind and solar power were seen as a good thing. In 2009 the Public Utility Commission (PUC) said “renewable generation has reduced wholesale and retail energy prices during some periods and has been instrumental in moderating price increases during periods in which the cost of natural gas was increasing.” Back then, this was seen as a good thing because there was a need for a moderating influence on high natural gas prices at the time.

Times have changed though, and lately PUC commissioners have taken to blaming wind energy for their current troubles, even when their own paid experts tell them otherwise. In a Senate Natural Resources hearing last week, PUC Chairman Nelson stated that “the market distortions caused by renewable energy incentives are one of the primary causes, I believe, of our current resource adequacy issues.”

The problem with this claim is that it isn’t supported by the facts, and most industry experts agree that the real problem (if you want to call low energy prices a problem) is a combination of a market structure in need of reform and consistently low natural gas prices. In the Brattle Group’s report on resource adequacy issues in ERCOT they make a pretty strong case that gas, not wind, is responsible for setting the bulk of market prices. Perhaps the best way to look at it is this chart showing how electric rates lined up with gas prices over the last decade. Read More »

Also posted in Texas / Comments are closed

America’s Military Renewables Plan Fast-Tracked And Mission Critical

By EDF Blogs / Published: August 23, 2012

By: Jillian Jordan, EDF Energy Marketing & Communications Intern

This months’ announcement from the White House calling for green energy bids and its plan to fast-track wind and solar projects delivered a clear message that renewable energy is something the American military – and its government – whole-heartily believes in. The federal government’s Renewable Energy Partnership Plan (Plan), headed by the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of the Interior (DOI), is pushing new project development on and near numerous military installations to the tune of $7 billion dollars.

Even more compelling is the fact that clean energy is now considered part of America’s national security plan by key political figures and the DoD. The White House’s Heather Zichal, Deputy Assistant for Energy and Climate Change, has commended this strategic move towards clean energy and endorsed the Plan as “operationally necessary, financially prudent and mission critical.”

So mission critical, in fact, that the Army has planned the incorporation of renewables as a high-priority tactic for saving lives. Military convoys have long been known to be one of the most dangerous operations, costing more lives than many other career fields in the armed forces. When supplies like gasoline run out, transportation troops are assigned the duty of delivering them through hostile territory. For every 24 fuel resupply missions, one American life is lost – which constitutes one out of every eight deaths in Iraq. Using clean energy actually saves lives for today’s military. The less fossil fuel used and the less dependent we are on oil, the less convoy trips are needed for refueling and to run diesel generators that power military tents, therefore minimizing the risk for American troops.

The alternative energy infrastructure projects under the Plan will create jobs favoring local economies, produce about 7,200 megawatts of energy and utilize millions of acres of public lands and offshore areas that are best suited for wind and solar projects, all while meeting the goals of the federal Energy Policy Act of 2005. Under the Act, the military has voluntary plans for 25% of its energy produced by clean sources by 2025.

“Developing renewable energy is the right thing to do for national security, as well as for the environment and our economy,” Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta said. “Renewable energy projects built on these lands will provide reliable, local sources of power for military installations; allow for a continued energy supply if the commercial power grid gets disrupted; and will help lower utility costs.”

In addition to becoming independent from the national grid, utility costs have been upwards of $4 billion annually and the task force assigned to the Plan is determined to lower the DoD’s energy bill and curtail energy usage. But, above all, the goal is to maintain the military’s ability to remain powered during mission-critical times. Conditions of the Plan offer an added safety net in the event of a massive blackout or, for a worst-case-scenario attack on America’s power grid.

Preliminary site evaluation began with DOI’s Smart from the Start initiative under Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. Pilot projects are currently underway in Arizona, California, Nevada and Wyoming, with more fast-tracked proposals to be announced in the next few weeks. The Renewable Energy Partnership Plan signed between the two agencies would allow the military to purchase power produced from homegrown, renewable energy sources, which could lead to a reduction in clean energy costs and an overall boost to the alternative energy sector.

Of the DOI’s 28 million acres, 16 million of which were designated for defense, 13 million that are rich in resources and ideal for wind, solar and geothermal power generation. “Our nation’s military lands hold great renewable energy potential, and this partnership will help ensure that we’re tapping into these resources with a smart and focused approach to power our military, reduce energy costs, and grow our nation’s energy independence,” Salazar said.

Also posted in Washington, DC / Read 5 Responses

European Power From U.S. Forests: Two New Reports Offer Pathways To Sustainability

By Will McDow / Published: July 12, 2012

European utilities are using trees grown in the United States to make electricity. Well, not the whole tree. But lots of the tree is used to make the little wood pellets that are then shipped across the ocean, mostly to the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Denmark and Belgium. It is these wood pellets that are burned with coal or in stand alone biomass boilers to produce energy. This video explains the journey from forestlands to power plants.

Why is Europe able to make electricity from U.S. trees when domestic utilities are cancelling wood biomass projects? Answer: Europe has a strong renewable energy policy.

The EU Renewable Energy Directive passed in 2009 sets a target for EU member countries to collectively achieve 20% of energy from renewable sources by 2020. Many utilities are increasing the use of biomass as a low-cost means of producing renewable energy. But Europe doesn’t have enough forest or agricultural land to meet the increasing demand. To fill that gap, European utilities are importing wood pellets – a form of chipped and compressed wood – from North America and increasingly from the Southern United States. The growing demand for U.S. wood biomass is raising questions about the sustainability of the country’s forest resources.

Two reports from Environmental Defense Fund, in conjunction with colleagues at Pinchot Institute and University of Toronto, examine economic, environmental and public health impacts from the expanding wood pellet market. European Power from U.S. Forests documents how the EU policy is shaping the transatlantic trade in wood biomass. For the U.S. export market to benefit from the large potential capacity for pellet production, producers in the U.S. will need to meet or exceed EU sustainability standards. Some type of forest management or pellet supply chain is likely to be required.

Pathways to Sustainability evaluates the programs and practices that fall under the EU biomass requirements for wood pellets, concluding that few of the pathways completely meet the standards. EDF proposes a new approach to recognize the various ways landowners and biomass producers on both sides of the Atlantic can meet their environmental objectives.

Sustainability will remain a pivotal issue as EU member countries, the European Commission and various stakeholders seek to harmonize sustainability requirements. European bioenergy companies often view biomass sustainability as the largest unquantified risk in their supply chains. Developing sustainable pathways sooner, rather than later, will reduce economic risk and encourage market development for wood pellets in the U.S. and Europe.

A webinar will be held July 17, 2012 at 12 pm EST. Please join Will McDow (EDF), Brian Kittler (Pinchot Institute) and Jamie Joudrey (University of Toronto) for a discussion of E.U. policies, the growing demand for wood pellet exports and options to meet Europe’s sustainability requirements.

Also posted in North Carolina / Comments are closed

Latest Brattle Group Report Points To Solar Power To Lessen Energy Crunch In Texas

By / Published: June 21, 2012

Is there a way for Texas to keep the lights on in the face of our energy crunch and manage to save electric customers some money at the same time? According to a new report from Brattle Group, solar power needs to be a big part of the answer if the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) plans to reduce the financial impact of their decisions on consumers. Fresh on the heels of their report detailing changes that could be made by ERCOT to keep our electric grid reliable, comes a new report from The Brattle Group showing the important role solar power can play in solving our long-term energy problems.

The difference between the reports is really focused on whether short-term fixes to help build new fossil-fueled power plants are enough, or if Texas should be looking at long-term solutions for the whole market (not just power companies, but customers too). The report couldn’t be more timely either: over the past few years, Texas has relied on the few forward thinking municipal utilities like San Antonio’s CPS, El Paso Electric and Austin Energy to attract solar companies to the state. Until now, the approach has worked. Because of those three cities, as recently as last year, the Solar Foundation ranked Texas #7 for solar jobs in the country and #9 for solar installations but as solar markets continue to grow throughout the U.S., Texas may be left behind.

The market is changing quickly. With panel prices declining 47 percent over the last year, many other states have entered the solar market – which means Texas can no longer rely on a few utilities to keep the state on the solar industry’s radar. In fact, according to the latest report from GTM Research, Texas has fallen from a ranking of #9 in the nation for new solar installations to #15.

As the Brattle Group’s new report shows, the importance of this shift relates not only to growing jobs in Texas, but also to the state’s ability to provide homeowners and businesses with reliable electricity. As we come off of the warmest spring on record in Texas, with triple digit temperatures making us all thankful for our air conditioners, reliable electricity will remain a critical issue. The new rules proposed by the PUC will help companies build new power plants, but these rules cannot focus solely on power companies. As the Brattle Report shows, we can meet the energy crunch head-on with policies that help Texans invest in solar to meet our growing energy demand in a way that relies less on water to operate.

Also posted in Texas / Read 1 Response

Postcard From Mark Brownstein In Sderot, Israel

By Mark Brownstein / Published: June 20, 2012

(Credit: www.allnumis.com)

“Remember, when you hear the siren, you have 15 seconds to find cover.” Such is life in the southern Israel town of Sderot only a few kilometers away from the Gaza Strip. Fortunately, for my tour, today’s rocket attacks fell on the outskirts of town and did not affect our visit. Israelis often point to such events as the reason why environmental issues are often not very high on the public policy agenda. How hard is it to spend any time thinking about global warming, when there are more tangible and immediate threats confronting you?

And yet, global warming is having an immediate and tangible impact here as well. Our visit to Sderot came after a tour of Israel’s largest desalination plant located in the neighboring town of Ashkelon on Israel’s Mediterranean coast. Israel is chronically short of water, consuming 2 billion cubic meters of water per year where the nation’s natural hydrology is capable of producing, on average, 1.2 billion cubic meters per year, according to Abraham Tenne, head of the Desalination Division of the Israel Water Authority. Mr. Tenne was blunt in reporting the facts. The Israel Water Authority expects average rainfall to decline by 15 percent by 2040, while Israel’s population is expected to continue to grow by 1.7 percent each year. The drought of 2008, where rainfall was only 65 percent of the current average, was a powerful reminder that today’s water situation is bad, and unchecked, it will only get worse.

Mr. Tenne is understandably proud of the building or upgrades to Israel’s three desalination facilities, which are key to solving the problem, but he is quick to remind us that, as important as this technology is to Israel’s future, it is a last resort. Israel’s consumption of 2 billion cubic meters of water by a population of roughly 8 million stands in sharp contrast to Arizona’s consumption of 8 billion cubic meters of water by a population of roughly 7 million. He visited Arizona last year for an international water conference where he was asked to speak on desalination, and was shocked to see flood irrigation – the practice of watering crops by flooding the field – commonly practiced. He contrasts this with Israel, where drip irrigation is standard practice for 95 percent of all agricultural production, and where the amount of water used is precisely controlled by technology that monitors the moisture at the root of the plant, delivering only what is required to maintain healthy growth. He then tells us about London, which just inaugurated its first desalination plant, while doing little to fix the local water system where 40 percent of the water flowing through the system is lost to leaks. And then, for the second time in two days, I hear of smart grid technology being deployed in Israel to pinpoint leaks.

Although recent discoveries of significant natural gas reserves off the Israeli coast suggest that Israel may be able to completely wean itself off coal, over 35 percent of the nation’s installed electric generation capacity comes from coal-fired power plants, including one right next door to the Ashkelon desalination plant we visited today. But even when the desalination process is driven by natural gas-fired power plants, as this facility is (it generates its own electricity and actually sells some excess production back to the grid) the fact of the matter is that Israel’s total water system – not just desalination, but the pumps necessary to move water around the country – consumers 6 percent of the total electricity produced in Israel. Thus, the battle to conserve water is also a battle to save energy, which in turn is a battle to avoid carbon emissions that contribute to global warming, and make Israel’s water situation worse.

We are spending tomorrow with some of Israel’s leading experts in solar energy, but already I am wondering why a nation so obviously blessed with ample, strong sunlight, seems to have so little invested in deploying solar power. Solar hot water heaters have been required here since 1980, and as my friend, and EDF consultant, Roger Duncan, often reminds me, solar hot water heating is often the most overlooked cost-effective solar technology, but given Israel’s pressing challenge of finding both secure and sustainable supplies of electricity, the government’s policy of 10 percent renewable energy by 2020 seems incredibly modest. A nation with the determination and technological prowess to erect the world’s most sophisticated missile defense system surely should be able to do better and tomorrow will be about finding out why not.

Also posted in Grid Modernization, Natural Gas / Comments are closed