February 2013 Archives
Elections:
An initiative cleared for signature-gathering last week would shutter California's two remaining nuclear power plants until the federal government has figured out where to put high-level nuclear waste.
Wind:
A proposed wind turbine installation in North Dakota poses a threat to the critically endangered whooping crane, of which fewer than 400 remain in the wild.
Wind:
Imperial County Sheriffs have arrested a construction manager for the project after he allegedly confronted and threatened an Ocotillo resident and project opponent.
Commentary:
Fox News and The Onion each offered up a story on solar electricity recently, and it's interesting to compare the two. One of the pieces was so laughably inaccurate it could only have been satire. And the other was by The Onion.
Utilities:
A new initiative cleared for signature-gathering Monday by Secretary of State Debra Bowen, would replace SCE, PG&E, and SDG&E with the publicly owned "California Electrical Utility District."
Utilities:
Sen. Barbara Boxer and Rep. Edward Markey have charged that SCE, the operator of the beleaguered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, was aware of serious problems with a critical part being installed.
Concentrating Solar:
The Hidden Hills Solar Electric Generating System, proposed by BrightSource Energy for the Pahrump Valley in Inyo County, would destroy half the known occurrences of a rare plant in California, according to the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) -- and the California Energy Commission (CEC) isn't doing enough to make sure that loss of population won't result in the plant's extinction in the state, says the group.
Solar:
It looks as though California has broken another solar power record, and it's done so in one of the least-sunny times of year possible.
Government:
Sally Jewell is a bit of a dark horse, with far more of a track record in managing businesses than in setting policy. If confirmed, what will that mean for energy policy on public lands?
Solar:
According to one energy executive, solar power will likely outstrip wind in the pace of new installations in 2013 in the United States.
News and analysis about renewable energy in California. Blog host Chris Clarke is an environmental writer of two decades standing. He currently lives in Joshua Tree and can be contacted at: rewire@kcet.org.
- Wind Power
- PV and Solar Thermal
- Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROEI)
- Watts and Watt-Hours, Kilo and Mega
- 'Enough To Power X Thousand Homes'
- The Grid
- Distributed Generation
- Conservation and 'Negawatts'
- Grid Storage
- PACE Loans, Feed In Tariffs and Net Metering
- Base Load and Peaking Power
- Capacity Factor
- Renewable Portfolio Standards
- Biomass
- Transportation and Renewable Energy
- Geothermal
