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Solar Experiment Lets Neighbors Trade Energy Among Themselves

Sun, 2017-03-19 20:51 — Kathy Gilbeaux

           

Patrick Schnell, a participant in the Brooklyn Microgrid, with solar panels on his roof in Gowanus.
Credit Kevin Hagen for The New York Times

nytimes.com - by Diane Cardwell - March 13, 2017

 . . . In a promising experiment in an affluent swath of the borough, dozens of solar-panel arrays spread across rowhouse rooftops are wired into a growing network. Called the Brooklyn Microgrid, the project is signing up residents and businesses to a virtual trading platform that will allow solar-energy producers to sell excess-electricity credits from their systems to buyers in the group, who may live as close as next door.

The project is still in its early stages — it has just 50 participants thus far — but its implications could be far reaching.

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How California Utilities Are Managing Excess Solar Power

Sat, 2017-03-04 21:42 — Kathy Gilbeaux

news.morningstar.com - by Cassandra Sweet - March 4, 2017

California utilities including PG&E Corp., Edison International and Sempra Energy are testing new ways to network solar panels, battery storage, two-way communication devices and software to create "virtual power plants" that manage green power and feed it into the power grid as needed.

The Golden State is ramping up renewable energy as it pledges to be a bulwark against the Trump administration's pro-fossil fuel policies. But first, it has to figure out what to do with all the excess power it generates when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing.

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US - West
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As rooftop solar costs drop, utility attempts to raise barriers may not work

Mon, 2016-11-14 21:59 — Maeryn Obley

A solar array at Duke Energy Florida's 3.8 megawatt solar array in Osceola County, near St. Cloud. [Times files]

Image: A solar array at Duke Energy Florida's 3.8 megawatt solar array in Osceola County, near St. Cloud. [Times files]

tampabay.com - November 13th 2016 - Mary Ellen Klas

Florida's utility industry steered more than $20 million of their profits into a failed constitutional amendment to impose new barriers to the expansion of rooftop solar energy generation, but developers say that as the cost of installing solar panels drops, the state could quickly become a leader in private solar energy expansion no matter what the energy giants do.

The Florida Solar Energy Industry Association estimates that over the next five years, Florida homeowners, businesses and utilities are projected to take advantage of the falling prices and install 2,315 megawatts of solar electric capacity — 19 times more than the amount of solar installed in the last five years.

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New York Unveils New Way to Price Distributed Energy Resources

Sun, 2016-10-30 21:19 — Maeryn Obley

microgridknowledge.com - October 28th 2016 - Elisa Wood

New York energy advisors unveiled a new, more granular way to price distributed energy resources and transition away from net metering, in a proposal released yesterday.

The report, issued by the Department of Public Services staff, said that current pricing methods fail to take into account the full value of distributed energy.

State regulators had called for the report as part of Reforming the Energy Vision (REV), New York’s strategy to create a decentralized power grid.

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Business Facilities: 2015 State Rankings Report

Tue, 2015-08-04 13:45 — Albert Gomez

Posted by:  Albert Gomez

By Business Facilities Staff
from the July/August 2015 Issue annual-rankings-report

We’ve revamped our Metro and Global rankings this year to include some new technology oriented benchmarks. The new Metro category entries include Advanced Manufacturing (Specialization), Tech Jobs Leaders, Fastest Broadband and STEM Leaders. Our Global Rankings this year also include a new ranking for Leading ICT Hubs (European Cities).

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100% renewables by 2045 is now the law in Hawaii

Wed, 2015-07-29 14:36 — Albert Gomez

Link to Article:  http://www.argusmedia.com/News/Article?id=1051970

Hawaii law sets target of 100pc renewables by 2045

 

9 Jun 2015, 2.15 pm GMT

Washington, 9 June (Argus) — Hawaii's governor David Ige (D) signed legislation making the island state the first in the US to set a mandate for all electricity to come from renewable resources.

The governor signed HB 623, which requires electric utilities to supply 100pc of their sales with renewables by 2045. The new renewable portfolio standard includes interim targets of 30pc by 2020, 40pc by 2030 and 70pc by 2040. HB 623 replaces a previous standard that called for 15pc by 2015, 25pc by 2020 and 40pc by 3030. The bill takes effect on 1 July.

Ige said the move to local sources of energy will help the state's economy, which relies on about $5bn/yr in oil imports. Fuel oil provides about 70pc of the state's electricity, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

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Resources - Energy - Communication - Water - Sanitation

Fri, 2015-05-01 20:54 — Kathy Gilbeaux
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Communication
Disaster Response
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Ideas
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Here we present a list of ideas and resources that might be beneficial for use in disaster response, or for use in areas with inadequate infrastructure . . .

 

Energy

A Box Full of Light Saves Lives
http://www.haitiresiliencesystem.org/node/234

Voltaic Systems - Solar Chargers
http://resiliencesystem.org/voltaic-systems-solar-chargers

Mayor: Why My Texas Town Ditched Fossil Fuel

Mon, 2015-04-20 17:35 — Kathy Gilbeaux

      

Cattle graze beneath turbines at the Penascal Wind Power Project in Kenedy County, Texas. Officials in Georgetown, Texas announced that the city will transition from fossil-fuel generated electricity to power solely produced using renewable energy by 2017.  Business Wire

Dale Ross is the Mayor of Georgetown, Texas. - 100% renewable energy made good business sense

time.com - by Dale Ross - March 27, 2015

Georgetown is a city of 54,000 just north of Austin known for beautiful Victorian-era architecture around our historic courthouse square. Founded in 1848, we are home to Southwestern University, a small liberal arts college.

The City of Georgetown recently announced that our municipal electric utility will move to 100 percent renewable energy sources by 2017. That probably caught some folks by surprise.

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Getting Tenants to Share Energy Data

Sun, 2015-03-08 11:00 — Maeryn Obley

A picture of an apartment complex.Image: A picture of an apartment complex.

energymanagertoday.com - March 5th 2015 - Linda Hardesty

There are a number of reasons why tenants may not want multifamily building owners to have access to their utility data, according to a WegoWise blog posting. This can create a problem for building owners who want to benchmark energy usage.

One big reason tenants may not want to share data is privacy. Tenants are often concerned that landlords will use the information to somehow increase their rent, void their lease or otherwise take advantage of them, says the WegoWise post.

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Rethinking the Grid

Sat, 2015-02-21 21:32 — Maeryn Obley

A 1.6 MW wind turbine installed at Mount Wachusett Community College. (Photo credit: Mount Wachusett Community College)

Image: A 1.6 MW wind turbine installed at Mount Wachusett Community College. (Photo credit: Mount Wachusett Community College)

nesea.org - February 17th 2015 - Karl Rabago

For more than 100 years, taxpayers, ratepayers, investors, and policymakers have supported the growth and operations of the electric utility industry. The ratemaking formula, under which capital investment is recovered and healthy profits are guaranteed, has helped make electric service in the United States nearly universal and relatively cheap. For much of the last century, the model leveraged increasing economies of scale to enable the provision of electricity as well as profits and dividends.

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