Energy Exchange

The Clean Economy is an Opportunity for US Latinos

By Jorge Madrid / Published: September 14, 2012

(Excerpt from original post on Fox News Latino on 9/13/12)

Economy and jobs are the top issue on Latino voters’ minds, according to the 2012 “Latino Decisions Poll,” a theme that will be featured prominently in this week’s Hispanic Heritage events in DC.

It’s all the more reason to discuss a powerful engine of opportunity in this country called the clean “green” economy – it is here, it is real, and it is one of the few bright spots in an economy desperate for a comeback.

In 2010, I wrote “Green Can Grow Latino Business,” arguing that the clean economy will create new demand for goods and services, new supply chains and niche markets, and opportunities to create new business models and reinvent old ones. Read More »

Posted in California, Clean Energy, State / Tagged green jobs | 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 »

Posted in Renewable Energy, Texas / Comments are closed

EDF Energy Innovation Series Feature #11: Battery Switch Model For Electric Vehicles From Better Place

By Jim Marston / Published: September 13, 2012

Throughout 2012, EDF’s Energy Innovation Series will highlight around 20 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 will demonstrate that cost-effective, clean energy solutions are available now and imperative to lowering our dependence on fossil fuels.

For more information on this featured innovation, please view this video on Better Place’s battery switch model for electric vehicles.

When it comes to refueling gas-powered cars, drivers around the world have about 100 years of practice: when you run low on fuel, you look for a gas station. With electric vehicles (EVs) beginning to enter the market, auto manufacturers, grid operators and customers are searching for ways to ease the transition from gas to electricity.

Better Place, a venture-backed company founded in Silicon Valley, is building charging stations in several countries to serve EV customers, and has designed an innovative approach that may well become the “gas station” of the future. Rather than refill your battery, Better Place’s automated service stations swap it out.

Better Place’s battery switch stations – which could be described as a mixture of a drive-through car wash and a Jiffy Lube service station – can extract and replace an electric car’s battery in a matter of minutes, without requiring the driver to get out of the car. To complement the switch stations, Better Place also builds a network of standard charging stations to regularly “top off” the battery when the car is parked.

Source: Better Place

“The switching concept makes sense for several reasons,” said John Proctor, Director of Global communications at Better Place. “Battery switch enables us to address the relatively high cost and limited driving range of EVs. Better Place buys the battery, removing that burden and worry for drivers, and enables them to quickly switch a battery for a fully charged one to overcome concerns about EVs having enough charge for longer trips.”

Some plug-in models, like the Chevy Volt, have gas powered range extenders that give the car the per-charge range of most gas-powered cars. But many models are powered purely by electricity. Enabling those cars to compete with comparable gas-powered models on cost and convenience is the aim of Better Place around the globe. Read More »

Posted in California, Electric Vehicles, Energy Innovation, Grid Modernization / Tagged EV | Read 2 Responses

Why EDF Is Working On Natural Gas

By Mark Brownstein / Published: September 10, 2012

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is often called upon by those opposed to natural gas development to support a ban or moratorium on drilling. They argue that fighting for tough regulations, as EDF is doing, helps ensure that natural gas development will take place. Some of our friends in the environmental community have questioned why we are working on natural gas at all. They suggest that we should simply oppose natural gas development, and focus solely on championing energy efficiency and renewables. We understand these concerns, and respect the people who share them. And for that reason, we want to be as clear as we can be as to why EDF is so deeply involved in championing strong regulation of natural gas.

Our view on natural gas is shaped by three basic facts. First, hydraulic fracturing is already a common practice in the oil and gas industry. Over 90 percent of new onshore oil and gas development taking place in the United States today involves some form of hydraulic fracturing, and shale gas accounts for a rapidly increasing percentage of total natural gas production—from 16% in 2009 to more than 30% today. In short, hydraulic fracturing is not going away any time soon.

Second, this fight is about much more than the role that natural gas may play in the future of electricity supply in the United States. Natural gas is currently playing an important role in driving out old coal plants, and we are glad to see these coal plants go. On balance, we think substituting natural gas for coal can provide net environmental value, including a lower greenhouse gas footprint. We are involved in an ambitious study to measure methane leakage across the value chain, and we’re advocating for leak reduction in order to maximize natural gas’ potential carbon benefit. We share the community’s concern that we not lose sight of the importance of energy efficiency and renewables, and are working hard to see that these options become preferred alternatives to natural gas over time.

But even if we were able to eliminate demand for natural gas-fired electricity, our economy would still depend heavily on this resource. Roughly two-thirds of natural gas produced in the U.S. is used as a feedstock for chemicals, pharmaceuticals and fertilizer, and for direct heating and cooling. Natural gas is entrenched in our economy, and championing renewables and energy efficiency alone is not enough to address the environmental impacts associated with producing it.

Third, current natural gas production practices impose unacceptable impacts on air, water, landscapes and communities. These impacts include exposure to toxic chemicals and potential groundwater contamination (due to faulty well construction or unsafe disposal of drilling wastewater), harmful local and regional air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions from unnecessary fugitive methane emissions and negative effects on communities and ecosystems. Whatever economic and environmental benefits natural gas may provide should never take precedence over or compromise the public’s right to clean water and clean air. Read More »

Posted in Natural Gas, New York / Tagged fracking | Read 53 Responses

Shut Down The Texas Government (Power)!

By Marita Mirzatuny / Published: September 7, 2012

Source: Jon Rogers

These days it seems “shutting down” the government is a popular rallying cry in Texas. So, why not do it…er…or at least shut down the electricity when it’s not being used!?

As many of us enjoy the shortened work week due to the Labor Day holiday on Monday, I thought it would be a good time to look into what kind of demand response (DR) government buildings can participate in during holiday and seasonal closings.

We have discussed the benefits of both residential and commercial DR and governments can represent large or small entities depending on their size. The Texas Facilities Commission (TFC), responsible for “planning, providing and managing facilities for more than one hundred state agencies in over 290 cities throughout Texas,” has a current inventory totaling “24 million square feet of leased and state-owned properties.” Of that, offices make up about 6 million square feet across eight different cities.

These state agencies annually “consume over $200 million in electricity, which is procured and billed on thousands of separate accounts through various providers. In an effort to reduce these expenditures, the Office of Energy Management (OEM) is looking at ways to aggregate the State’s electrical load into fewer accounts, perhaps into just one. This strategic initiative could take advantage of negotiation opportunities, economies of scale, consolidation of facility loads and load scheduling resulting in the TFC saving thousands of dollars a year on electricity alone.”

Furthermore, the “OEM is taking a more expansive look at its resources, including purchasing, producing and distributing, and actual consumption. For example, it recently proposed aggregating the States electrical load to benefit from economies of scale, wholesale rates, reduced peak demand charges, and to acquire a more sophisticated rate structure and is currently studying the possibility of incorporating combined heat and power in its production.”

The TFC is also working with the General Land Office (GLO) to aggregate smaller state agency accounts to provide volume discounts for these accounts. Currently, smaller state agencies procure gas supplies from the local gas companies or in amounts from the GLO that do not render the economies of scale capable with the aggregate consumption with the TFC. By aggregating these smaller amounts, the TFC gets a better deal for the buildings under the TFC’s control and the other agencies. Read More »

Posted in Demand Response, Texas / Comments are closed

California’s Legislative Session Ends With An Important Step Forward for AB 32 – The Stage is Now Set for a Carbon Price and Wise Investment of Permit Auction Proceeds

By Tim O'Connor / Published: September 6, 2012

Like most legislative sessions in California’s recent history, the session that ended last Friday at midnight included a flurry of activity up until the final minute. For California’s AB 32 though, Friday’s closing moments were not just exciting, they were groundbreaking for climate policy.

After nearly 2 years of deliberation – the Legislature charted a clear path toward full implementation of the state’s landmark cap-and-trade regulation by resolving a contentious debate over whether and how to wisely invest the proceeds of the regulation’s permit auction. That debate, whether cap-and-trade should raise money in a greenhouse gas (GHG) permit auction process, was brought back to life when a letter from 56 prominent economists to Governor Brown urging him to not delay or scale back the auction was met with a similar letter from several state legislators taking the opposite position. Friday’s legislative action appears to have resolved that issue – meaning all signs are go for launch of the state’s comprehensive climate change regulation in November.

The legislature passed two bills, AB 1532 and SB 535, establishing a framework for deciding how to distribute the proceeds from the state’s upcoming auction of GHG permits. A core part of the approach, laid out in detail in AB 1532, is ensuring that all money raised in the auction be used to further the goals of the law (to reduce climate change pollution), and that spending decisions be made transparently, and in consultation with state agencies. SB 535 stipulates that some of the money must be used to the benefit of disadvantaged communities who already share the large brunt of California’s degraded air quality.

Though any legislative proposal is potentially subject to veto by the governor, EDF expects and is actively urging Governor Brown to sign both AB 1532 and SB 535 into law as quickly as possible.

By passing a comprehensive bill package that sets out how expenditure decisions are developed and made, and also ensuring that those decisions be in compliance with established legal standards, the legislature has put to rest the question over whether to move forward with the program as planned. Now, with AB1532 and SB535, the legislature has decided how to move forward with the program – giving a clear signal that cap-and-trade is intended to proceed in November 2012.

More detail on AB 1532, SB 535 and use of AB 32 auction proceeds:

AB 1532, sponsored by Assembly Speaker Perez, establishes a 3-year investment plan process for investing auction proceeds in projects that reduce GHGs through activities like renewable energy and energy efficiency, advanced vehicles, water and natural resource conservation, and waste reduction. These investments are scheduled to start in the 2013-14 fiscal year. The bill requires the investment plan be developed though a specified agency consultation process that includes public participation.

SB 535, sponsored by Senator De Leon, requires a minimum of 25% of CARB’s auction proceeds to be used in ways that benefit disadvantaged communities, either directly or indirectly. It also requires a minimum of 10% of auction proceeds directly fund projects within those communities.

Use of AB 32 auction proceeds – Wise investment of cap-and-trade auction proceeds can be an integral part of achieving these AB 32 emission reduction goals. As detailed in our June 2012 report, Invest to Grow, targeted investment of AB 32 proceeds can bolster California’s green energy economy, creating jobs and providing a new wave of customers to California businesses operating in sectors providing clean energy solutions. In addition, investment of auction proceeds into energy efficiency and clean energy will reduce air pollution, thereby improving health and air quality, fill gaps created by reduced state and federal funding, accelerate energy independence, and save businesses money by reducing energy demand.

Posted in General / Comments are closed