Recently in The Grid
Technology:
An East Coast firm has announced it's raised $15 million to develop affordable, scalable power storage for the grid using zinc-air battery technology.
The Grid:
California's grid operator says Southern California should have enough power if San Onofre doesn't start back up this summer, but we've all got to be ready to conserve energy if things get tight.
The Grid:
Despite reports in the press that the continuing outage of the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant will cause "Enron-style" power shortages throughout Southern California this sumer, one expert on the electrical grid says such fears are exaggerated.
The Grid:
Just another reminder of how fragile our current power distribution system really is, vulnerable to acts of both Nature and bored vandals with guns.
The Grid:
We can run our grid on renewable power effectively, say the authors of a study released this month, without massive storage capacity. The key is building out about three times as much renewable generating capacity as the grid needs to meet peak demand.
The Grid:
The Eagle Mountain Pumped Storage Hydroelectric Project would help make energy derived from renewable sources available more reliably, but at what cost?
The Grid:
A new study indicates that power storage may only become crucial as the grid approaches 4/5 renewable.
The Grid:
The California Independent System Operator (CaISO), which manages the majority of the state's power grid, has approved five new transmission projects that the agency says are crucial to the state's renewable energy future.
Wind:
Even a resource as unpredictable as wind power -- which can fluctuate statewide in an hour or two -- isn't that hard to incorporate into a grid the size of California's.
The Grid:
A new smartphone app allows you to track California's power grid and renewables in real time.
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.
The Grid:
The grid we use to move electrical power is big and complex, and it takes a huge amount of effort and intelligence to manage. But the grid itself is inflexible, vulnerable to disruption, and fragile. And an increasing number of companies are working to change that.
Technology:
It's an interesting idea, with obvious potential applications in California.
The Grid:
The California Energy Commission is plowing $1.8 million into UCSD's microgrid to help the University develop it as a model for the rest of the state.
The Grid:
The plan's been in the works for more than a year, but the entity that operates California's largest electrical power grid has made the official announcement: it's now managing the grid in much of southwestern Nevada as well.
The Grid:
Researchers find that a very large power grid could conceivably be run almost entirely on renewable energy, with fossil fuel backup for about a tenth of a percent of the power consumed in total.
The Grid:
A report released last week says smart meters, paid for in large part with Stimulus funding, have served mainly to kill American jobs and increase utility company profits.
The Grid:
California's power grid operator tries to crack down on a deceptively simple way of gaming the market.
The Grid:
FERC has given British bank Barclays 30 days to argue why it shouldn't pay $470 million in damages and fines over the company's alleged gaming of the California electrical power market.
The Grid:
In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, a lesson for Californians seeking to make our power grid more resilient.
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
