Energy Exchange

What the Water Sector Could Learn from the Electric Side

By Kate Zerrenner / Published: March 3, 2015

Each year, the nation wastes an estimated two trillion gallons, or about 14 to 18 percent, of its treated water through leaks alone. That’s a lot of water – enough to fill over three million Olympic-size swimming pools.

We know smart water meters are a critical component to better understanding our water use, but smart meters are only one part of the equation. What we really need is a smart water system.

A more intelligent system could not only help water providers and people better understand their use and how to adjust their behavior accordingly, but it could make the entire treatment and delivery of water more efficient. Plus, system-wide data could make daily water use and associated cost accessible – not an end-of-the-month billing surprise – enabling residents to make more informed decisions and utilities to waste less water.

Energy and water are connected, but they may need different solutions

The energy sector has learned a lot about the smart grid, and put a great deal of its research into practice. And, compared to the water sector, the electricity sector is pretty far along with its smart meter roll-out and understanding of all the information points across the system. For instance, in Texas, more than 3.5 million smart water meters have been installed, compared with approximately 17 million electric smart meters. But, while much of the smart electric grid findings are valuable in relation to the water sector, there are clear differences. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Energy-Water Nexus / Comments are closed

Sometimes it Takes a Community to Go Solar

By EDF Blogs / Published: March 3, 2015

By: Andrew Barbeau, EDF’s clean energy consultant

You don’t have a south-facing roof. You have too many trees in your yard. You may not be committed to staying in your house for the next ten to fifteen years. Or maybe you rent, or don’t have the upfront money to install.

These may be some of the reasons why you can’t go solar. You are not alone.

In fact, only 22 to 27 percent of residential rooftops are suitable for installing a solar PV system, due to structural, shading, or ownership issues, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. These effects are even more prominent in densely-populated, urban areas, like Chicago, where viable project siting is limited and renters account for more than half (55 percent) of housing.

But in a new utility world of flowing electricity data and layered intelligence, we shouldn’t limit participation in the rapidly growing solar market to those inconvenienced by circumstance. We need to shift our thinking of distributed solar from the individual to the community. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Illinois, Renewable Energy / Tagged Community Solar | Comments are closed

Clean Energy Conferences Roundup: March 2015

By EDF Blogs / Published: March 2, 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 March:

Mar 6-8: Global Clinton Initiative University Meeting (Miami, FL)
Speaker: Miriam Horn, Special Projects

President Clinton and Chelsea Clinton will host the eighth annual Global Clinton Initiative University (CGI U) Meeting at the University of Miami. The meeting will bring together more than 1,000 innovative student leaders to make Commitments to Action in CGI U’s five focus areas: education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation, and public health. Through the CGI University Network, The Resolution Project, and other opportunities, over $900,000 in funding opportunities will be available to select CGI U 2015 students to help them turn their ideas into action.

Posted in Clean Energy, Conference Roundup / Comments are closed

If Time-Variant Electricity Pricing Offers So Many Benefits, Why Don’t We Have More of It?

By Elizabeth B. Stein / Published: March 2, 2015

With time-variant pricing, people can choose to run their dishwashers at times of day when electricity is less expensive.

Today, most residential electricity customers are charged the same price regardless of when the electricity is actually being used. Charging customers a uniform price for electric service looks a bit like buying groceries by the cart instead of by the items purchased (e.g., apples versus filet mignon) – simple, to be sure, but so riddled with inefficiencies that no one would actually propose operating a supermarket that way. A cartful of filet mignon may weigh the same as a cartful of apples, but the value of these items and the cost of bringing them to market is drastically different. Similarly, electricity costs differ depending on the time of day power is produced and delivered.

Time-variant electric pricing addresses this issue by charging customers different prices depending on when electricity is used, reflecting the true costs of producing and delivering electricity. This gives customers greater control over their electricity bills by allowing them to reduce their energy use at higher-cost times. A recent blog post by my colleague, economist Beia Spiller, explained how time-variant electricity pricing can benefit customers, utilities, and the environment, and described several different types of time-variant pricing.

Given its compelling economics, one would think time-variant pricing would be widespread. Part of the reason it’s not is sheer inertia, but there’s more to it than that. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Electricity Pricing, Grid Modernization, Utility Business Models / Comments are closed

Oil and Gas Lobby Says Up Means Down

By Mark Brownstein / Published: February 27, 2015

Marcellus_Shale_Gas_Drilling_Tower_1_crop The Environmental Protection Agency just released the draft of its yearly greenhouse gas emissions inventory. It shows in no uncertain terms that methane emissions from the oil and natural gas sector are going in the wrong direction: Up.

Emissions from this overall sector are up two percent in 2013, which includes emissions from oil (petroleum) systems which were at their highest levels ever since estimates began in 1990 – and up 68 percent since 2005. Emissions from natural gas processing, where impurities are removed to produce pipeline quality gas, are up 38 percent since 2005. From transmission and storage: Up 11 percent.

Yet the industry’s public relations machine says emissions are falling. So what’s the disconnect? Read More »

Posted in General, Methane, Natural Gas / Read 1 Response

Ohio Electricity Regulators Reject Bailout for Uneconomic Power Plants

By John Finnigan / Published: February 27, 2015

Ohio’s clean energy economy celebrated a big win this week. The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) denied American Electric Power Company’s (AEP) request for guaranteed profits to operate its aging, uneconomic coal power plants. EDF, along with many other parties, opposed AEP’s proposal.

EDF applauds the Commission for recognizing AEP’s proposal would not benefit Ohio residents and businesses. These old coal plants cost more to operate than the value of power they generate. Plus, they produce harmful greenhouse gas emissions which, if the plants continue to operate, would make it more difficult for Ohio to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Clean Power Plan, which would set the first-ever limits on carbon emissions from existing power plants.

The Public Utilities Commission’s decision sends a clear message: power companies can no longer rest on their laurels. Clean energy businesses, entrepreneurs, investors, and Ohioans are ready for a new era – one in which utility profits are not placed ahead of Ohio’s best interests.

With gas prices low, an increased use of renewable energy, and weak demand resulting from customer energy efficiency improvements, some utilities like AEP are now burdened by their heavy reliance on coal – and looking to their customers to bail out their uneconomic power plants. Thankfully, yesterday’s decision assures that the market will remain competitive, giving clean energy resources an equal opportunity to compete with legacy fossil fuel plants. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Climate, Ohio / Read 1 Response