In Canada we are resource rich but vision poor.
We have the World’s second largest oil reserves and large storage hydro systems that provide amongst the cheapest electricity in the World. Keep reading →
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We will never sell or share your information without your consent. See our privacy policy.With the publication of Power Hungry, Robert Bryce continues in his established tradition of in-depth research and bluntly presented findings. He’s not known around the Internet, or in policy circles, as weak-kneed, or easily swayed. On the policy front, Bryce doesn’t tend to mince words. He is an equal opportunity critic, pointing out the mistakes of concepts and practices on all sides of the political spectrum.
Review of: Power Hungry: The Myths of “Green” Energy and the Real Fuels of the Future
By: Robert Bryce, Managing Editor, Energy Tribune
Public Affairs, 2010, 394 pages Keep reading →
I hear a lot of talk about a great desire to include renewable energy into the national energy mix, if it weren’t for the issue of intermittency. Sure, we can control the costs to build a wind farm or a solar plant, but the fuel supply is truly in the hands of Mother Nature whenever she decides to make the wind blow or the sun shine.
As the CEO of a renewable energy company with more than 500 MW of wind and solar installed in North America, I know we only build renewable energy projects in areas with the best wind or solar capabilities within a given market. But still, it is not possible to know exactly when Mother Nature will smile on us. Unfortunately, this challenging characteristic of renewable energy has become the foremost excuse for utilities to restrict or block the addition of renewable energy resources to our energy mix. I would argue that intermittency itself is not the immediate issue for utilities, but rather how they are looking at the larger energy pool in total. Instead of focusing on intermittency roadblocks, utilities need to consolidate into more modern and broader markets that diversify management of the intermittency issue and ensure competitive access to the power grid. Keep reading →
The industry of substation automation, involving a multitude of devices, technologies, and business models requiring skilled product selection, implementation, interoperability, and engineering, is burgeoning. Committed Smart Grid nations are prioritizing their efforts to revitalize their decaying electric infrastructure by investing in critical upgrades to their substations and ensuring these structures can be seamlessly connected to the Smart Grid.
SBI Energy report “Global Smart Substation Products Market” examines the avid worldwide interest in smart substation development, including the market size, scope of the products and the uneven pace at which nations are adopting the different substation automation architectures. Keep reading →
What is the answer for our future energy needs? Do we focus on solar, or wind, or natural gas, or oil, or cleaner coal or nuclear? The reality is that we need to find new ways to make all of these energy sources work together if we are going to achieve the cleaner, more affordable and reliable energy mix of tomorrow.
Renewable energy will be an important component of the future energy grid and governments around the world are putting incentives in place to increase its uptake. Keep reading →
The renewables industry was all over the energy news this week as it receives wider mainstream support.
General Electric unveiled its newest technology, the FlexEfficiency 50 Combined Cycle Power Plant. As Breaking Energy reported, the plant will more efficiently incorporate renewables into its power system by quickly and efficiently ramping up and then ramping down operations. Keep reading →
It has not always been easy to defend the massive energy programs included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the stimulus.
Here the Department of Energy provides a detailed example of businesses that benefited from the energy efficiency funds include in the ARRA. The video focuses on St Paul in Minnesota, and has the unusual benefit, for a government video, of being short and to the point. Keep reading →
There seems to be some uncertainty whether the United States is the Saudi Arabia of natural gas, the Saudi Arabia of coal. Perhaps as President Obama says in this video, its “both, and” not “either, or.”
The President is talking about energy policy, but its interesting to remember that the Administration has acknowledged the centrality of coal, which continues to generate roughly half of US electricity, despite a sustained focus on renewable fuels. Keep reading →
For decades, the coal industry has hummed quietly along, producing half of the electricity used in the U.S. We’ve kept ourselves out of the media, comfortable with our role as one of the country’s key energy resources. We “knew” that, despite the occasional bit of bad press, no one would ever seriously consider getting rid of coal-based energy.
Something has changed. Keep reading →
Wind power is attracting attention this week as thousands view new turbines and discuss wind developments at the annual American Wind Energy Association Windpower Conference while vocal protests over noise pollution and changing landscapes gain traction.
Two filmmakers have taken a somewhat quieter approach, looking at the booming Texas windscape and trying to figure out what’s it’s all about. Keep reading →
