Energy Exchange

One step forward, one step back for Ohio policy to fairly compensate solar customers

By John Finnigan / Published: November 28, 2017

Rooftop solar provides many benefits to the electric grid, like having no fuel costs and increasing electric grid resiliency – the ability to quickly recover from problems.

So how can utilities recognize these benefits and reward people who install solar at their homes and businesses? A popular way is through net metering, which allows customers to send the electricity from their solar panels to the power grid and receive a credit on their electricity bill.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) recently updated the state’s net metering policy, with some positive and some negative changes. Following the lead of the Ohio Environmental Council, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) helped usher in these updates, and we’ll work to make sure solar customers are compensated fully and fairly. Read More »

Also posted in Ohio, Solar Energy / Comments are closed

Clean energy is lowering electric bills in North Carolina – but this solar trade war could reverse that trend

By Dionne Delli-Gatti / Published: November 21, 2017

North Carolina’s in the middle of a clean energy boom, but the looming threat of an international trade war may leave the state’s incredible success story a few chapters short.

Over the last few months, two floundering solar manufacturers petitioned the U.S International Trade Commission (ITC) to take action against foreign competitors. These companies want the United States to levy tariffs on imported solar products because they can’t match the cheaper prices. Recently, the ITC agreed with the companies’ complaint and recommended to President Trump a 30 percent tariff.

President Trump will decide this month what to do – he can follow the ITC recommendation, but, by law, doesn’t have to. He should reject the tariffs, so North Carolina’s clean energy economy can continue to thrive. Read More »

Also posted in North Carolina, Solar Energy / Read 1 Response

New Jersey’s new governor campaigned on a robust clean energy plan. Let’s get started.

By Mary Barber / Published: November 16, 2017

The election of Phil Murphy as New Jersey’s next governor represents an opportunity for the state to adopt technologies that will make our electric grid more efficient and permit the integration of large amounts of renewable energy, as well as provide customers with the ability to better manage their energy use and save money.

The Governor-elect’s agenda includes a robust clean energy plan, including goals to power 1.5 million homes with offshore wind by 2030; add 600 MW of energy storage by 2021, and 2000 MW by 2030; and to increase energy-efficiency investment.

Governor-elect Murphy is well-positioned to achieve his goals, as New Jersey is abuzz with clean energy activity from both the public and private sectors. Here’s a sampling. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Electric Vehicles, Energy Efficiency, Grid Modernization, New Jersey / Comments are closed

Microgrids can help prevent extreme power outages, and cities are taking notice

By EDF Blogs / Published: November 14, 2017

By Ellen Shenette, manager, EDF Climate Corps

This year, the Atlantic basin had eight consecutive storms develop—the first time in 124 years. The storms—and by storms I mean big storms—have had catastrophic effects on families, communities and the economy at large. Millions of people were left powerless, access to clean drinking water was compromised and homes were destroyed. It will take decades for the country to recover from this devastation, and hurricane season is only halfway over.

And as the intensity of these storms increases, so do their price tags. Together, hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, which hit the U.S. earlier this fall, are estimated to cost $150-$200 billion in combined destruction. This is an enormous blow to the economy and to tax payers’ wallets.

To those of us on the east coast, this sounds awfully similar to destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy, which hit New York City and New Jersey hard this time five years ago. That’s why it’s important to ask: could the devastation have been avoided, or at least reduced? Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Grid Modernization, New York / Comments are closed

Data reveals real-time electricity pricing would help nearly all ComEd customers save money

By Dick Munson / Published: November 14, 2017

Over the past few years, Illinois has taken great strides to not only modernize its electric grid, but also to provide people and businesses with access to energy data.

In February, the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) approved the release of anonymous, aggregate energy-use data on a large scale, broken out in half-hour increments, 24 hours a day. Sensing an opportunity to unlock innovation, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the Citizens Utility Board (CUB), Illinois’ utility watchdog, dove into that treasure trove of granular data.

Specifically, we wanted to see how the customers of Illinois’ largest electric utility, ComEd, would have fared under a “real-time pricing” program in which power prices change hourly. Anonymous data from over 300,000 homes revealed several interesting tidbits that we’re sharing in our new whitepaper, The Costs and Benefits of Real-Time Pricing.

Most importantly, the study shows that real-time prices would have saved 97 percent of customers money in 2016 – even if the customers made no changes to how they use electricity. Read More »

Also posted in Clean Energy, Electricity Pricing, General, Illinois / Read 1 Response

New Texas Permian oil and gas flaring report reveals excessive gas waste and major gaps in operator flaring practices

By Colin Leyden / Published: November 14, 2017

As companies flock to West Texas’ Permian Basin to cheaply drill for and extract oil and gas, some operators are flooding the night sky with natural gas flares, polluting the air with unhealthy and climate-altering pollutants, and wasting copious amounts of this important, domestic energy resource.

The Permian Basin, which stretches across 75,000 square miles in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, is in the midst of one of the largest energy booms of the century. An estimated 60-70 billion barrels of recoverable oil is located in the area, which is worth roughly $3.3 trillion at current prices, according to IHS Markit. Oil isn’t the only resource in abundant supply. EIA estimates that operators in the Permian are producing 7.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. But a rush to produce higher value oil has some Permian drillers simply flaring the gas instead of investing in gathering and pipeline infrastructure.

A new EDF flaring report, released this week, has uncovered a wide discrepancy between flaring rates among the top 15 oil and gas producers working in the Texas Permian Basin. Some of the oil and gas producers studied in the report are wasting close to 10 percent of their produced gas due to flaring practices, highlighting the fact that the oil and gas industry continues to struggle to control natural gas waste. Read More »

Also posted in Methane, Natural Gas, Texas / Comments are closed