Texas Sets New Wind Record
On Sunday, June 19, 2011 Texas set a new record for wind generation. At 10:26pm, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) recorded 7,355 Megawatts (MW) of wind generation on the Texas grid. This generation represented 14.58% of the load at the time, which sat at 50,447 MW. The new record was announced by ERCOT’s CEO, Trip Doggett during last week’s ERCOT June Board Meeting. [Photo... Read More
Google Abandons PowerMeter
Google will be shutting down its PowerMeter – a free web-based application that allows UK residents to monitor their energy usage. According to an official Google blog post yesterday, PowerMeter will be retired on September 16, 2011. Google originally created the PowerMeter application with the idea that, with better access to information about their energy use, people will be able to make smart... Read More
Obama Taps Strategic Petroleum Reserves
Yesterday, the Obama Administration announced that it had authorized the Department of Energy to tap into the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to the tune of 30 million barrels of oil. This volume will be matched by another 30 million barrels released by other industrialized nations in an international effort to drop high crude oil prices and offset production losses stemming from... Read More
Do we have a “dumb” grid? Yes and no…
Last week, Obama Administration Officials outlined federal plans for continued support of electric grid modernization in the United States. This “smart grid” would incorporate modern communication technologies into the existing grid, helping to enable real-time, two-way communication between electricity providers and users. These enhanced communication abilities make the grid “smart”... Read More
Water Deal for Texas Coal Plant Postponed
Originally published by the Texas Tribune on 6/15/2011 Article by Kate Galbraith A day after choosing a new general manager, the board of the Lower Colorado River Authority, the major water supplier for Central Texas, is meeting last Wednesday to decide whether to grant a water contract to a proposed coal plant near Bay City. Officials at the White Stallion Energy Center, the proposed $2.5 billion... Read More
Senate Votes – No more ethanol subsidies
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate voted decisively in favor of ending ethanol subsidies and removing tariffs for imported alternative fuels. With a vote of 73-27, the Senators approved an amendment authored by Senator Feinstein (a Democrat from California) that eliminates the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit. This credit provided a 45 cent/gallon tax credit for blending ethanol into regular gasoline.... Read More
CarStations: Find Your Charge
CarStations and its interactive map shows where electric car charging stations are located around the world. It uses Google’s map interface to allow you to focus on your area to find charging stations near your home or work. Users can add stations as they are built. This type of interface and the constantly evolving map can help electric car owners to plan routes that will allow them to get around... Read More
Building the 21st Century Grid
Today, Obama Administration officials outlined national efforts to modernize the country’s electric grid. While the 90-minute discussion was low on funding details, they discussed how the more than $10 billion already invested by the smart grid ($4.5 in federal money, $5.5 in matching private investment) has set the stage for a grid that couples current delivery technology with advanced communications... Read More
Where Did You Come From, Where Did You Go?
Where does our energy come from? Where does this energy go? How do we use this energy? Dr. Jonathan M. Cullen and Dr. Julian M. Allwood, both of Cambridge University’s Low Carbon Materials Processing (LCMP) group have attempted to answer these questions (and many more) using a Sankey Diagram that is sure to keep your mind occupied for hours if you let it. In this diagram, Cullen and Allwood... Read More
