electricity

Markets and climate change: A case of cognitive dissonance

Earlier this month, Nicholas Stern — respected U.K. economist and author of the famed Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change — cast a spotlight on what he calls a “profound contradiction at the heart of climate change policy.” On one side, the world’s governments have pledged to hold temperature rise to 2 degrees […]

David Roberts Science

The U.S. electricity mix in 20 years: A prediction

What will the U.S. power mix look like in 10 to 20 years? It’s impossible to predict for certain, of course, because there’s no way to know what regulators will do. Given the heavily regulated nature of the electric sector, even in so-called “deregulated” markets, surprises tend to come from regulatory reform, not innovation. (The […]

Sean Casten Energy

Why electricity markets will never be (totally) free

Over the past few years, the U.S. electricity grid has begun a massive, underappreciated, and largely unintentional transition away from coal to natural gas. Because nobody decided on a shift to gas, or directed such a shift, many people have mistaken the transition for the outcome of a “free market.” It’s an easy mistake to […]

Sean Casten Energy

Here comes the sun – the chart Paul Krugman left out

This post originally appeared on Energy Self-Reliant States, a resource of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s New Rules Project. Nobel economist Paul Krugman made waves last month when his column “Here Comes the Sun” noted that the rapidly falling cost of solar electricity – “prices adjusted for inflation falling around 7 percent a year” – […]

John Farrell Uncategorized

Group purchase gets residential solar to grid parity in Los Angeles

This post originally appeared on Energy Self-Reliant States, a resource of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance’s New Rules Project. Back for a second round, the Open Neighborhoods organization in Los Angeles has organized another group purchase of residential and commercial solar PV, bringing the lifetime cost of solar well under the cost of grid electricity […]

John Farrell Energy

A magical meter and friendly competition help one community dial back energy use

The Island Energy Dashboard gives residents a real-time look at how much electricity they’re sucking from the grid. When Puget Sound Energy announced plans to build a new substation to meet rising electricity demand on Bainbridge Island, Wash., in 2009, it apparently didn’t know who it was dealing with. Bainbridge is a well-to-do suburb of […]

Greg Hanscom Economics

Samsung’s new Zombocalypse-proof appliances

Samsung's new line of energy-efficient, even solar-powered appliances that are robust in the face of power fluctuations and outages were built for Africa (that’s why they’re called “Built for Africa”), but they have “catastrophist stocking stuffer” written all over them. And Samsung knows it — how else can we explain their promo shots? This girl […]

Christopher Mims Technology

Renewables trump fossil fuels for first time ever

Last year investors poured $187 billion into electricity from renewable sources (wind, sun, biomass, etc.), versus $157 billion for fossil fuels, calculates Bloomberg New Energy Finance. “The progress of renewables has been nothing short of remarkable,” United Nations Environment Program Executive Secretary Achim Steiner said in an interview. “You have record investment in the midst of […]