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Entries Tagged as 'renewable energy'

Hurricane Fiona & the imperative of Disaster 4Rs

September 19th, 2022 · 1 Comment

Five years after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, the island is dark. Five years after Hurricane Maria and, despite billions spent (hard to write “invested”), the grid is devastated. This did not have to be. It should not have been. Between Trump grandstanding (paper towels anyone?), profiteering and corruption, (racist) indifference, incompetence, misguided thinking and […]

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Tags: Disaster 4Rs · Distributed Energy · renewable energy · solar

How fast can Virginia get to 60% clean electrons? Scratches on a back of an envelope

December 22nd, 2019 · Comments Off on How fast can Virginia get to 60% clean electrons? Scratches on a back of an envelope

The Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) targets having 60 percent of Virginia’s electrons ‘clean’ (e.g., low-to-no carbon emissions on generation) by 2036 and 100 percent by 2050. While finally, if passed, legislating a clean power (more prosperous and resilient) future for the Commonwealth, this bill would still leave Virginia a middling player (not a leader) […]

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Tags: clean emissions · dominion virginia power · electricity · Electrification · renewable electricity standards · renewable energy · virginia

Vive La France: Good news from across the pond (not just #FIFAWWC)

June 26th, 2019 · Comments Off on Vive La France: Good news from across the pond (not just #FIFAWWC)

France has decided to accelerate, significantly, its offshore wind program for a very simple reason: offshore wind will provide reliable, low-cost, clean electrons to power the French economy. Just announced, a new offshore wind project that will deliver electricity to the French grid for 44 Euros per megawatt hour (mWh) (e.g., under $US50 per mWh […]

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Tags: Energy · Offshore wind · renewable energy · wind power

Solar for Puerto Rican Hospital: part of end-of-year donations rush …

December 31st, 2017 · 1 Comment

Like all too many Americans, part of New Year’s Eve rushing around always seems to be getting in just a few more donations. Thanks to the GOP Tax Scam, along with millions, that end-of-year rush is, well, even rushier. (We always try to clean out and donate useful stuff and that, generally, is a ‘whenever’ […]

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Tags: renewable energy · solar

.@WhiteHouse makes clear that @EIAgov does lousy fossil fuel forecasting, ignores that its #Solar and #Wind forecasting even worse

May 30th, 2014 · 5 Comments

Weirdly, while spending many pages detailing how the Energy Information Agency (EIA) failed to predict accurately fossil fuel trends, the report’s authors failed to highlight that the real-world performance of renewable energy (notably wind and solar) has greatly outperformed baseline forecasts. With the President’s call for more solar energy, highlighting that renewables have been doing so well (in price reductions and speed of market penetration) would seem something strongly support of Administration objectives rather than for something to be ignored in a 42-page White House report.

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Tags: Energy · energy information administration · renewable energy · solar · Solar Energy · wind power

Energy COOL: Turning gurgling into clean electricity

September 11th, 2013 · 1 Comment

Since diving into the deep end when it comes to energy issues, almost every day sees new fascinating concepts, approaches, and technologies. Fascinating … exciting … even hope inspiring at times. And, as well, as the passion builds, so many of these are trulyEnergy COOL. The fifth annual DC Renewable Technology conference provided multiple opportunities […]

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Tags: alternative energy · Energy · energy cool · renewable energy

Pres Obama Hits High Notes in State of Union

February 12th, 2013 · 3 Comments

After several years of essentially ignoring Climate Change in the State of the Union address, President Obama spoke forcefully about climate change and clean energy in the speech. While there are some significant problems embedded in the discussion, such as praise for natural gas, there is significant material worth cheering, supporting, and building on. Amid […]

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Tags: barack obama · climate change · Energy · President Barack Obama · renewable energy

100 / 100 / 100: Some hot renewable energy news …

October 25th, 2012 · 1 Comment

100 … 100 percent.  Such a ’round’ and definitive figure provides the basis for a very clear, simple target to think about. With all the delays toward action related to climate mitigation and the mounting impacts of climate disruption around the globe, the concept of 80 by 50 (80 percent reduction carbon emissions by 2050 […]

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Tags: electricity · Energy · renewable energy · solar · Solar Energy · wind power

The power of niche: Solar displacing diesel for a nation’s electricity supply

July 26th, 2012 · Comments Off on The power of niche: Solar displacing diesel for a nation’s electricity supply

Writ large, around the world, liquid fuel (generally diesel) has a relatively small role in providing electricity and thus the “oil” and “electricity” domains have a minimal overlap. There are, however, exceptions that are notable generally in being “islands”. These islands can be temporal (power supply disruption leading to use of generators while the electric […]

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Tags: Energy · renewable energy · solar

Bright Rays of Sunshine Hit DC: A preview of The Solar Decathlon

September 19th, 2011 · 4 Comments

One of the nation’s most important (and sadly too little discussed) intercollegiate competitions is about to open in Washington, DC: the biennial Solar Decathlon.  For two weeks, 19 university teams from around the globe will compete across ten categories (thus, “decathlon”) that show the house works (can they get household chores and tasks done, like […]

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Tags: alternative energy · architecture · Energy · renewable energy · solar · solar cooking · solar decathlon · Solar Energy · sustainability