Energy Exchange

Clean Energy Conference Roundup: February 2016

By EDF Blogs / Published: January 30, 2016

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 February:

February 3-5: Energy, Utility & Environment Conference (San Diego, CA)
Speaker: John Finnigan, Lead Attorney, U.S. Climate and Energy

The 19^th annual energy, utility, and environment conference will feature more than 500 presentations by experts in tracks that include battery and energy storage, climate management, smart grid and risk management, energy policy and efficiency, renewable energy, the Clean Power Plan, permits and compliance, and many more. More than 2,000 attendees will network at 8 lunches, receptions, and breaks held in a 200-business exhibit area.

February 16-19: UT Energy Week (Austin, TX)
Speaker: Jim Marston, Vice President, U.S. Climate and Energy

During this second annual event, experts in academia, industry, government, and the non-profit world will take a fresh look at some of the most vital energy issues facing society. Full-day programs include the role of natural gas and renewables in reforming the Mexican power sector (Feb. 16); energy and society (Feb. 17); utilities and the grid (Feb. 18); and challenges in the oil and gas industry (Feb. 19). Read More »

Posted in Conference Roundup / Comments are closed

How Battery Technology and Crowd-Sourced Energy Can Save Our Aging Grid

By EDF Blogs / Published: January 6, 2016

By: Karin Rives

Not too long ago, making and selling your own electricity via rooftop solar was a novelty. Today, with 784,000 homes and businesses in the United States already on solar, such transactions are taking place every day in 44 states.

Now comes Bring Your Own Battery (BYOB), the latest technology trend to disrupt the utility business as we once knew it. Read More »

Posted in California, Electric Vehicles, Grid Modernization, Solar Energy, Utility Business Models / Tagged Energy Storage | Comments are closed

EDF Chicago Plays Host to High-Profile Energy Visitors in 2015

By Dick Munson / Published: December 17, 2015

It started with U.S. Energy Secretary, Ernest Moniz. He was in Chicago to give a high-profile speech on the Iranian nuclear deal and had two free hours after the luncheon address. His staff called to ask if the secretary could come over to our office, which houses Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), an assortment of clean-energy start-ups, and the Energy Foundry, essentially a private-equity firm financing such entrepreneurs. Hard to say no to the head of the U.S. Department of Energy.

About a month later, we get a call from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Gina McCarthy, head of the EPA, was going to be in Chicago for a press conference. She had some free time in the late morning and wondered if she, too, could drop by to talk. Who’s going to deny the EPA administrator?

After another month, we get another call. This time from the U.S. Small Business Administration, whose administrator, Maria Contreras-Sweet, was going to be in Chicago. She had heard from colleagues that our office was the “place to be,” and wanted her own informative tour. What could we say?

The U.S. is currently undergoing a major transition to a cleaner, smarter, more efficient electric grid, and Illinois is at the heart of this change – which is clearly attracting interest from prominent leaders. So what exactly did our high-profile guests want to learn about? Read More »

Posted in Energy Efficiency, Grid Modernization, Illinois / Tagged Energy Storage | Comments are closed

Driving the Last Spike: Linking California’s Electric Grid to Extend Clean Energy’s Reach

By Gavin Purchas / Published: November 11, 2015

“When the connection was finally made the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific engineers ran their engines up until their pilots touched. Then the engineers shook hands and had their pictures taken and each broke a bottle of champagne on the pilot of the other’s engine and had their picture taken again.”

– Alexander Topence on the scene in Promontory, Utah in 1869 after Western governors drove the “last spike” of the Transcontinental Railroad.

These are good times for clean energy in California. A decade of visionary policymaking, a motivated private sector, and copious sunshine have joined together to reduce the cost of solar in the Golden State by 90 percent.

We already produce more solar energy than any other state. And thanks to a new law Governor Jerry Brown signed last month, SB 350 (De León), California has committed itself to yet another ambitious clean energy goal: 50 percent of electricity in the nation’s most populous state will come from renewables by 2030. Solar is a central part, among others, of California’s strategy to meet this new target.

Amid all this optimism, fast solar growth poses challenges as well. A lot of it has to do with timing. Read More »

Posted in California, Clean Energy / Comments are closed

Clean Energy Conference Roundup: November 2015

By EDF Blogs / Published: October 29, 2015

Top clean energy conferences featuring EDF experts in November:

November 3-5: European Utility Week (Vienna, Austria)
Speaker: Kate Zerrenner, Manager

With two programs—the Strategic Conference Program and the free-to-attend Hub Sessions on the exhibition floor—as well as a multitude of new exhibition features, the event is a dynamic environment for the smart energy community to come together and thrash out which strategies will be the most effective or most affordable in the future.

November 6-7: Yale Environmental Sustainability Summit (New Haven, CT)
Speaker: Fred Krupp, President

How will our planet provide food, energy, and water for a growing population and as our climate changes? Can we develop more sustainable systems for producing and distributing food; drive towards lower carbon and GHG intensity in our economies; and effectively manage our increasingly scarce fresh water supplies and fragile ecosystems? How can efficiency and innovation help reduce our impact—while increasing our well-being? The Yale Environmental Sustainability Summit (YESS) will engage University alumni, faculty, staff, and students—as well as outside experts, practitioners, and scholars—to tackle topics, including these, in the first annual conference of its kind at Yale. Fred is scheduled to deliver remarks during the conference dinner on Friday, Nov. 6. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Conference Roundup, General / Comments are closed

5 Energy Trends Driving Climate Progress in 2015

By Ben Ratner / Published: October 29, 2015

What a difference a year can make. Even before the last weeks tick away, 2015 stands out as a remarkable and dynamic year for climate and energy in the United States.

Read on for five bold trends that are beginning to reshape our economy – and our national discourse on climate change.

1. Investments in renewables soar

I admit it: For years, I thought renewable energy was more hype than reality. I’m happy to report that recent data proves me wrong.

In just five years, solar panel prices have fallen 80 percent, and solar capacity installed worldwide grew more than six-fold. The overall cost of solar per kilowatt-hour, meanwhile, plummeted 50 percent.

For the first time in history, energy from the sun is as cheap as traditional energy in states such as Arizona, California and Texas.

The proof is in the pudding. Apple, for example, recently signed an $848-million power agreement with a solar provider – bypassing the electric grid. A deal of this magnitude shows where solar is today, and where it is headed. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Clean Power Plan, Energy Financing, General / Tagged Energy Storage | Comments are closed