Kites: A Favorite Toy’s “Magnificent Future”
Saul Griffith likes kites – but not the kind that you might have flown during your childhood. I’m talking about kites with wingspans bigger than a Boeing 747 – kites that are capable of generating (several times) more electricity than today’s stationary wind turbines. In his March 2009 TED talk, Saul – with Makani Power - spends just over 5 minutes discussing the history... Read More
Solyndra: Soft Markets and Chinese Subsidies
In September, headlines erupted when the solar company, Solyndra, announced that it would be filing for bankruptcy just 2 years after the company received $535 million in federal loan guarantees under the Recovery Act. The situation quickly led to questions about why this company failed. And, according to recent discussions and yesterday’s testimony by energy Secretary Chu, the root... Read More
Solyndra: Soft Markets and Chinese Subsidies
In September, headlines erupted when the solar company, Solyndra, announced that it would be filing for bankruptcy just 2 years after the company received $535 million in federal loan guarantees under the Recovery Act. The situation quickly led to questions about why this company failed. And, according to recent discussions and testimony by energy Secretary Chu, the root cause might be found... Read More
Turning the off Lights Won’t Save Oil
Today, more than 80% of the energy used in the United States comes from fossil fuels – specifically from petroleum, natural gas and coal. In the transportation sector, this number is even higher with fossil fuels (almost exclusively petroleum) supplying 97% of the total energy used. But, on the electric power side of the equation, while coal and natural gas still supply more than two-thirds... Read More
Waste-to-Energy: a mountain of trash, or a pile of energy?
By, Melissa C. Lott and David Wogan The Baltimore Sun recently ran an article about the need for new power plants in Maryland and a proposal to use garbage as the fuel for some new generation facilities. The article’s focus was apparently supposed to be on how utilities can finance new construction. But, in its opening, the article highlighted the active debate surrounding waste-to-energy... Read More
Drought Could Pose Problems for Texas Power Plants
by Kate Galbraith, The Texas Tribune, 9/16/2011 If the drought in Texas continues well into next spring and summer, some power plants could be forced to stop operating, the state grid operator said. “If we don’t get any rain between now and next summer, there’s potentially several thousand megawatts of generation that wouldn’t be available and would be affected,” said... Read More
Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing – “exploding” in France, banned in the U.S.
On Monday, the explosion of a furnace in a nuclear reprocessing plant in southern France killed at least one person and injured four. This incident also raised concerns that nuclear material could have been released. However, according to Phillipe Renaud, head of the laboratory at the Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), no contamination has been detected. Nuclear... Read More
5 Million Without Power in the Southwest
On Thursday afternoon, almost 5 million people found themselves without power when routine maintenance at a Yuma, Arizona substation led to a blackout that quickly spread through parts of Arizona, Southern California, and Northern Mexico. The widespread power outage started at approximately 3:30pm, when theNorth Gila-Hassayampa 500 kV transmission was accidentally tripped offline. The cascading... Read More
Factor of Safety: Earthquakes Rock Nuclear Power
In the wake of the Fukushima disaster, the world has become increasingly sensitive to the potential risks associated with nuclear power. Last week, when the DC area was rocked by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake a flood of attention was paid to its impact on east coast nuclear power plants. And, while most of the damage assessments were full of good news – the jury is still out at the North Anna Nuclear... Read More
An Electric Power Industry Evolution – From Provider to Partner
This post was originally published on 8/19/2011 Scientific American’s blog, Plugged In. On February 1, 2011 a sudden cold snap and severe winter storms sent electricity demand in Texas through the roof. In a single hour, temperatures dropped almost 30 degrees. And, as temperatures dropped, the state’s power plants were unable to keep up with the growing demand. The resulting series of blackouts affected... Read More
