Successful integration of ever-growing amounts of renewable energy into electric grids has been a constant quest for utilities over at least the past few years. Dr. McGrath outlines today’s challenges in renewables integration, the contributing factors utilities are or should consider in their planning, and a selection of available solutions. While her article is far… Keep reading →
Natural gas use is growing throughout the world as new drilling techniques open up vast shale and other tight resources. The result is low-cost gas flooding the market. The environmental advantages of natural gas over other fossil fuels have put it in a favored position as emissions regulations continue to tighten around the world. But conventional… Keep reading →
The ensuing Republican majority in both Houses of Congress following the 2014 Mid-Term election leaves President Obama in a precarious position regarding healthcare reform, foreign policy and economic recovery. But it is U.S. energy policy that could have the most tangible long-term effect on American society. Since securing re-election in 2012, Obama has taken significant… Keep reading →
Republicans are vowing to try to derail the Obama administration’s proposed rules for reducing carbon emissions for existing power plants, but on the last day for public comment on the Environmental Protection Agency plan, the organizations that support it weren’t giving any ground – in fact, they offered analysis and argument pressing the EPA to… Keep reading →
Power-to-Gas (PtG) enables the natural gas pipeline network to be used for energy storage, resolving many of the integration issues that plague intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. It is well known that finding a solution for scalable energy storage is critical in the pursuit of achieving a renewable energy future. While… Keep reading →
Power prices for electricity generated from wind and solar technology have dramatically decreased over the past 5 years to the point where wind and solar are cheaper than gas or coal in parts of the US. In some places it also appears renewable energy sources can beat fossil fuels on price without subsidies, although renewable… Keep reading →
Pelamis, long a leading player in the wave energy industry, has gone “into administration,” akin to Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The fall of the Scottish company, announced on Friday, was a blow to Scotland and a sign of the tremendous challenges wave developers face – but it might also signal a necessary winnowing of the incipient… Keep reading →
Italian firm Eni won rights to develop the Offshore Cape Three Points (OCTP) block in Ghana that is expected to start up in 2017. “This project promises to deliver up to 170 million cubic feet of gas per day for the next 20 years and put Ghana on its way to a future where one… Keep reading →
Climate hawks threw a punch at Walmart early Thursday afternoon – and before the day was over, the global retail behemoth had jabbed back. Sort of. Or so it might have appeared. The Institute for Local Self Reliance, with enviro heavyweights like 350.org founder Bill McKibben and Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune at its… Keep reading →
Energy Storage Is Going Primetime in 2015
By Bill RadvakThe electricity grid is set for a major transformation – arguably one of its biggest since the inception of the grid – and energy storage is going to play a center stage role. The radical pace of innovation is driven by governments, utilities and energy companies whose understanding and acceptance that the way energy is… Keep reading →