A side we often don't see of nuclear power....

.... I often feel the need to defend nuclear power because there is so much negative 'media' founded on little substance.  Admittedly, my father is a nuclear physicist.  So, I have the good fortune of an expert at my finger tips.  It can sometimes be my burden to bear as poor reporting and impassioned 'news' makes top headlines.

Passion aside, let's get one thing straight.  Nuclear provides the potential for an enormous and reliable amount of power generation at zero greenhouse-gas emissions.

Remember this easy stat: The energy produced by 1 nuclear reaction is equivalent to 3,000,000 chemical, or fossil fuel, reactions.  

More on this soon.  Until then, check out this blog post at Forbes. It is illustrative of a side of the nuclear power equation often skimmed over.

Happy Friday,

Blondeee

Knowledge is power.....

..... and these free-of-charge courses stand to provide some serious knowledge.  Through transverse properties, I imagine that means these courses will provide some serious power.  And, sustainable development is important for power, both literally and figuratively.

Think about it- natural resources provide physical power for consumers.  Countries growing in a sustainable manner, maintain their power generating natural resources.  Groups who need energy (or power) sources are at the whim of those who have natural resources.  In our current culture paradigm, physical power (carbon based) wields political power.

Jeffery Sachs and friends (ie. pretty darn smart and accomplished scholars in their areas of expertise) have partnered up to offer free lectures, coursework, reading and group chats online through the Sustainable Development Solutions Network .  Click here to see the 3 classes being offered.  The topics look groovy and edifying if you are looking to beef up in any of these topics:

Side note, I am not paid for this plug.  I just like sharing information that might be useful if you come across this blog.

Cheers!

Blondeee

Sharing is caring....

.... a funny bit today reported by the NYTs: New York City could reduce the current 13,500 taxis on the road by up to 40% if riders were willing to share.  Read the full article here.

Think about the public and environmental health implications!  Let's get some economists on that.

Sum sum summertime

Well goodness me, please excuse my absence. Consider it a long summer break ending.... now.  I am ready to get back here and talk energy.  All things energy with my best effort to be unbiased. 

My first gem...... Check out 'The Energy Gang' weekly podcast:

http://www.greentechmedia.com/podcast

Katherine, Jigar and Stephen all bring well informed perspectives and provide lively current conversation. 

Happy August,

Blondeee

SOTU

Preface: while this is about Tuesday's State of the Union, the focus is what the President said about energy, climate change and energy policy.   Because, well, that’s what I do at blondeee.

First, I was pleased climate change and energy production were one of the first topics the president launched in to during his SOTU- fabulous!

He was efficient in his messaging hitting points like the need to reduce benefits for fossil fuels and invest that in new technologies, renewable energy creating domestic jobs, the need to act now to mitigate the long term and potential irreversible effects of climate change and using natural gas (domestically produced!) as a birding technology to the future renewable based economy.  

The debate is settled: Climate Change is a fact.  

Boom.  Bold. No messing around here.  Direct and clear, Mr. President!

A funny result from the Presidents 'climate change' section- a colleague of mine was miffed at the President's focus on natural gas meaning domestic drilling/fracking and the problem of methane leakage. Methane a far more toxic greenhouse gas than CO2. And, I see his concern.

However, i reminded my colleague the President called it a bridging fuel meaning not the future. And, the reality is, we are not ready to go directly to a renewable based economy. Natural gas is cleaner than fossil fuel and buys us time to implement the right technologies and infrastructure for a clean future. 

What do you think?

CAISO bound

En route to the hub of the California energy market, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO). 

Power!

Cracking the nut of energy storage

Did you see last week the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved establishing a target of 1.3GW (1,300 MW) of energy storage to be procured (contracted) by the 3 main utilities serving the state by 2020?

California has an aggressive (relative to the US) renewable portfolio standard (RPS) of 33% by 2020.  This means 33% of the generated electricity contracted by utilities on behalf of their customers shall come from renewable energy sources.  As I mentioned in yesterday's post, public policy of this nature is a strong driver of investment.  Policy mandates create certainty of the future. 

Policy mandates also cause a domino effect.  More renewables coming online on the California grid creates operational and reliability issues with more intermittent resources in the mix.  More renewables, specifically solar, also introduces a new need for generation ramping to meet evening demand after the sun goes down.  Check out peak load shift for more information. 

So, here comes storage! Storage provides flexibility of generation (ie, when we use the energy we stored) as well as rapid response time (from what they say, I'm going on an assumption here.  But, if it responds like my cell phone, I have to believe response is pretty quick).

The below diagram is a good illustration of how energy storage is a great partner to renewable energy production- storing when we are producing in abundance and releasing storage to the grid when needed.  

 

So, why are we only now just seeing energy storage in the mix?  Well, with all new things, the technology is still expensive.  Research continues to mark progress and work towards figure out the best solution.  Once the nut of energy storage is cracked, I predict we will see a complete revolution in electricity.  

cheers from one nutty energy economist,

blondee