Energy Exchange

Clean Energy Conferences Roundup: May 2015

By EDF Blogs / Published: May 1, 2015

Each 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 May:

May 5: Smart Money For Sustainable Cities (New York City, NY)
Speaker: Mary Barber, New Jersey Director, Clean Energy

Learn from experts on today’s leading edges of green financing, including topics such as greening municipal and corporate bonds, greening utilities, and building investor confidence. Get a jump start on the latest developments in renewable energy and efficiency projects at several scales. This event is free and open to the public.

Posted in Clean Energy, Conference Roundup / Read 1 Response

Hitting Those Clean Energy Notes

By Larissa Koehler / Published: March 24, 2015

San Onofre Nuclear Generating Stations (SONGS) Photo source: Flickr/Jason Hickey

Editor’s note: This post was updated April 9, 2015.

When the door to one power plant closes, a window to more clean energy solutions opens.

It may seem logical that once a power plant closes, another one needs to be built to replace it – after all, we need to make up for its potential energy generation with more natural gas or nuclear-powered energy, right? San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) is certainly trying to convince Californians this is true. Trouble is, EDF and other environmental groups, along with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), aren’t buying it. And you shouldn’t either.

This story begins in 2013, when the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Stations (SONGS) permanently closed, shutting down a nuclear power plant with a capacity of 2,200 megawatts (MW) and sparking a debate about how to replace this lost power source. When first determining how to proceed in the wake of the SONGS closure, the CPUC decided SDG&E could buy between 500 to 800 megawatts (MW) of new energy resources by 2022. Further, at least 200 MW of this power had to – and all of it could – be met with preferred resources like energy efficiency, renewable energy, energy storage, and demand response (an energy conservation tool that pays people to save energy when the electric grid is stressed). Read More »

Posted in California, Clean Energy, Electricity Pricing, Energy Efficiency / Read 2 Responses

New York’s ‘Reforming the Energy Vision’ Just Got a Little Bit Clearer

By Elizabeth B. Stein / Published: March 12, 2015

Nearly a year ago, the New York Public Service Commission (Commission) initiated a groundbreaking effort, called ‘Reforming the Energy Vision’ (REV), to overhaul the longstanding electric utility business model. In the months since starting the REV proceeding, the Commission has sought advice from Department of Public Service staff, industry stakeholders, and environmental non-profits, among others, quietly refining its vision while largely refraining from big pronouncements about the progress of the proceeding.

That changed late last month when the Commission issued its ‘Track 1’ order establishing the ‘vision’ component of the REV proceeding. We are now starting to get a better sense of what sort of future electric marketplace the Commission anticipates and what role utility companies would play in this new marketplace. We can also begin to assess the extent to which this new marketplace will lead to the improved environmental outcomes stated as a goal of this proceeding. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, General, Grid Modernization, New York, Utility Business Models / Read 1 Response

Think Texas Energy is all about the Oil? Think Again.

By Jim Marston / Published: February 19, 2015

Technology is making clean energy competitive with coal for the first time in history, and that’s a game changer.

In 1999, we pushed to get the first renewable energy mandate passed in the country – in Texas of all places. There were all sorts of concerns at the time that wind could not be integrated into the system, or that it would be too expensive. Time has proven otherwise.

Yes, Texas has plenty of oil and gas, but we also have a lot of sun and wind. Those early investments in renewables paid off and today the Lone Star State is the top wind energy-producing state in the nation.

As such, I believe we’re helping to drive investments in wind across the United States. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Renewable Energy, Texas / Comments are closed

2014: A Positive Sign of What’s to come for Clean Energy

By Cheryl Roberto / Published: January 8, 2015

The New Year is a time for reflection, beginning with a look back on the previous 12 months and all that they brought. A quick scan of the U.S. climate and energy news in 2014 will tell you it was a very big year.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the first-ever limits on carbon pollution from power plants, the U.S. and China struck a historic climate deal, and Tesla broke ground in Nevada on the largest advanced automotive-battery factory in the world – a move that’s expected to slash the cost of lithium ion batteries by a third. At the same time that these important national and international advancements were grabbing headlines, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and our partners were working together to incrementally transform the U.S. electricity system by rewriting outdated regulations, spurring energy services markets, and modernizing our century-old electric grid.

The U.S. is on the verge of a revolution in the way we make, move, and use energy. And, having spent years working on governmental and regulatory matters related to our power system and lessening its impact on the environment, I can honestly say there has never been a more exciting time to be in this field. Here are a few of the moments that were near and dear to our hearts over the past year, developments I see as a sure signal 2015 will be another epic year for clean energy. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Demand Response, Energy Efficiency, Energy Financing, Grid Modernization, Illinois, Investor Confidence Project, New Jersey, New York, Renewable Energy, Texas, Utility Business Models / Tagged Energy Storage | Read 3 Responses

Clean Energy Conferences Roundup: January 2015

By EDF Blogs / Published: January 5, 2015

Top clean energy conferences featuring EDF experts in January:

Jan 26-27: Net Metering 2.0 and Utility Solar Rates, Anaheim, CA
Speaker: Jamie Fine, Senior Economist

Net metering was a simple and appropriate rate mechanism when the solar industry was in its infancy and consumer-installed PV panels were relatively uncommon. But as policies and incentives enticed increasing numbers of home owners and businesses to adopt solar, the growing penetration of these resources onto the grid has resulted in some uncomfortable balancing acts among utilities, customers, regulators, solar providers, and other stakeholders important to the process. The objective of this conference is to explore rate structures that facilitate meeting solar development goals for consumer adoption, while striking an optimum balance among all solar development stakeholders, including utilities, and their business models.

Posted in Clean Energy, Conference Roundup / Comments are closed