Energy
What a Waste of Energy
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has issued its annual snapshot of our national energy use, based on data collected by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Agency. The good news is that we used less energy in 2009 than we did in 2008 (almost all of the savings probably attributable to the still-weak economy). The …
Continue reading “What a Waste of Energy”
CONTINUE READINGThe Nano Road to Energy Efficiency
Science Daily reports: Researchers at Oregon State University and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have discovered a new way to apply nanostructure coatings to make heat transfer far more efficient, with important potential applications to high tech devices as well as the conventional heating and cooling industry. These coatings can remove heat four times faster …
Continue reading “The Nano Road to Energy Efficiency”
CONTINUE READINGSmart Meters and Smart Regulation
The poor little smart meter…it keeps catching all kinds of grief when all that it wants to do is save the planet. It is all things to all people. To utilities, regulators, and many environmentalists, it is the doorway to a modern green grid that will teach you to turn down your air conditioner when …
Continue reading “Smart Meters and Smart Regulation”
CONTINUE READINGWhat will Obama do about Connecticut v. AEP?
I just got a call from the managing editor of Carbon Control News, which seems to be a pretty informative and useful web-based publication. His question: why hasn’t the Tennessee Valley Authority joined the rest of the utilities in asking the Supreme Court to grant certiorari in Connecticut v. AEP, the federal common law public …
Continue reading “What will Obama do about Connecticut v. AEP?”
CONTINUE READINGNew NEPA procedures for offshore drilling
Cross-posted at CPRBlog. Today the White House Council on Environmental Quality issued a report on the NEPA analysis that preceded exploratory drilling at the ill-fated Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico, together with recommendations for improving NEPA analysis in the future. According to CEQ, the Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (successor to the …
Continue reading “New NEPA procedures for offshore drilling”
CONTINUE READINGPACE Advocates Keep Piling On FHFA
The hits keep coming. As I’ve been chronicling, the Federal Housing Finance Administration’s decision to effectively destroy the energy efficiency and renewable energy financing program called Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) is inviting serious legal and political blowback. First, California Attorney General Jerry Brown sues the feds, and now Sonoma County, the Sierra Club, and …
Continue reading “PACE Advocates Keep Piling On FHFA”
CONTINUE READINGEnergy storage is key to the success of renewables in California
UPDATE: The bill summary linked below from the California Energy Storage Alliance actually summarizes a former version of the bill. The current bill version, linked below and here, is the best source now. The current version imposes no percentage mandate on utilities. Thanks to Ethan Elkind for pointing that out. UCLA Law and Berkeley Law recently …
Continue reading “Energy storage is key to the success of renewables in California”
CONTINUE READINGIndirect Land Use Change and Biofuels
Biofuels are a promising way to reduce carbon emissions, but they have a potential side-effect: indirect land use change (ILUC). ILUC is more serious for some fuels than others, but it’s a possibility with any biofuel except perhaps algae grown in tanks in the desert. The logic of ILUC seems undeniable: because demand for food …
Continue reading “Indirect Land Use Change and Biofuels”
CONTINUE READINGNo national renewable energy goals? Don’t try to tell that to the Pentagon.
The heat wave that has smothered the Eastern seaboard like a heavy, sweaty blanket has apparently done nothing to inspire the U.S. Senate to pass a climate bill, or take major steps on the energy front. Insiders report that Harry Reid’s “stripped down” energy bill will not only dodge the climate debate, but it will …
Continue reading “No national renewable energy goals? Don’t try to tell that to the Pentagon.”
CONTINUE READINGAdios, Federal Climate Change Legislation
We hardly knew ye (in the Senate, anyway). Reports indicate that Senate Democrats will be scaling back their energy legislation to a bill that addresses oil well leaks and energy efficiency, but nothing on carbon emission more generally. In many ways, the failure of comprehensive energy reform can be traced to two things: 1) health …
Continue reading “Adios, Federal Climate Change Legislation”
CONTINUE READINGJoin Our Mailing List
Climate policy is changing rapidly. Stay in the loop with expert analysis via email Monday - Friday.
