Distributed Energy

If you’re looking to generate distributed power with gas, your options are broader than ever, with a range of efficient, clean-burning technologies to chose from. Knowing which option is the right one depends on a balance of site constraints, fuel supplies, and environmental oversight. When California State University San Marcos (CSUSM), a 14,000-student university north […]

NRG Energy has embarked on a “reset” that will see a separation of its core distributed generation and fossil fuel businesses.  The company, headquartered in Princeton, N.J., wants to “simplify” NRG Group to cut down expenses and debt. In a transition that will begin now and be fully effective on Jan. 1, 2016, it will separate […]

The societal impact of a “Black Sky Day”—a term used by electric infrastructure security experts when discussing a collapse of the North American power grid—would be devastating, according to Dr. Daniel Baker, distinguished professor of Planetary and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Baker testified before two subcommittees of the U.S. House of […]

Speaking at the Solar Power International (SPI) conference in Anaheim, Calif., on Sept. 16, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden hailed the nation’s progress in expanding its solar generation capacity and announced several new investments in solar power technology as part of the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Sunshot Initiative. In an enthusiastic and animated address to […]

Warren Buffett bought Nevada’s NV Energy two years ago, a move widely seen as a play for solar and renewable generation. That’s working out. But as the company transitions away from legacy coal and high-priced renewable contracts signed years ago, large customers are rebelling, and the company faces a challenge to keep its big dog […]

Emerging from decades of isolation, fragility, and conflict, Myanmar has, since 2011, ushered in a reformist government and embarked upon unprecedented political and economic reforms. Among those reforms has

Broad, bipartisan energy legislation that would allocate federal funding to grid technology research and demonstration along with a number of other initiatives, including cybersecurity and the energy-water nexus, has cleared the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee with an 18–4 vote.  The committee’s chair, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Ranking Member Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) […]

Emerging energy technologies such as rooftop solar, microgrids, and distributed generation could adversely affect reliability of the nation’s grid, a new report from the Electric Markets Research Foundation (EMRF) warns.  The non-profit research entity whose mission it is to fund studies on significant electric market issues notes in its report, “Changing Uses of the Electric […]

A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals surprising aspects about how federal subsidies for electricity have been distributed, how the power generation mix has shifted, and how consumption has transformed since 2001.  The June 29–released report, “Generation Mix has Shifted, and Growth in Consumption has Slowed, Affecting System Operations and Prices,” responds […]

Despite its apparent environmental benefits and strong government backing, generating power from landfill gas hasn’t gained traction for a variety of reasons in the U.S. Will the Clean Power Plan bolster this “dirty” renewable power source?  For the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the only clean thing about landfills—those engineered dumps that entomb America’s infinite […]