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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

In response to my rant on New Jersey’s decision to put tiny installations of solar photovoltaics atop 175,000 power poles, at a cost of $200 million, senior energy analyst Glenn Doty writes:

The LCOE (levelized cost of energy) gets really interesting when you consider the potential lifespan. A “pole-top solar panel” is not too different from a “kite” if the winds rise too high. It’s a truly bizarre decision right after the entire state was pounded by near-hurricane force winds for nearly 24 hours just a couple of months ago.

Glenn:  It’s funny you mention that.  When I talked about maintenance at the end of this post, I was tempted to ask, “In addition to the dirt and bird crap that couldn’t possibly be cleaned from the top of 175,000 of these installations, isn’t there some recent evidence that they could get blown off their poles and wind up in tiny pieces all over a dozen different zip codes?”

I love clean energy, but I hate stupidity.

 

 

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

Click Here for the ALTERNATIVE FINANCING GUIDE.

Lindsay Oliver writes:

I did my best to make this guide a no-nonsense informative read, one that will keep you awake while you read it all. 

Just because I am giving this to you for no charge does not mean it has no value. For some of you it will hold great value, especially if it gives you just one concept or revelation that helps you get financed in 2013. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

I wrote recently that it’s possible Lisa Jackson is stepping down from her position as administrator of the EPA because of the imminent approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. In response, frequent commenter Larry Lemmert notes:

(What will happen) if the Keystone pipeline (is) not permitted? China would pay for a transCanadian pipeline which crosses the Rockies and terminates in Vancouver. I think that the potential for ecological damage is at least as great and probably greater with this mountainous terrain. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Photovoltaics

Here’s a blurb on New Jersey’s project to install solar PV panels on 175,000 of its power poles.

Why fuss with roof-top solar when you can use pole-tops instead? New Jersey’s Public Service Electric & Gas will soon conclude the installation of 175,000 solar panels on its power poles in New Jersey. The $200-million project will eventually supply 40 MW for the utility.

“The beauty of the panels is that there are no capital costs – we already own the poles,” said PSE&G President and COO Ralph LaRossa to the Wall Street Journal. The utility must generate 3.5% of its electricity from solar by 2021 to meet a requirement set by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.

Ahem.  “No capital costs?”  How about: “There are no capital costs for the land and part of the mounting?” Even with all this “beauty,” the project comes in at $5 a Watt, and with the capacity factor of PV in New Jersey, I’m sure the levelized cost of energy is extremely unattractive.  It’s really not something that I would order up if I were objectively trying to do the right thing for the rate-payers.   While I’m happy to have 40 mW of clean energy, I would think that if the state really wants 40 mW of PV, it could consider allocating the roughly 75 acres of land needed, instead of building 175,000 mini solar installations and sending its people up 175,000 poles to install them, not to mention maintaining them over time.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Once the stuff of a marginalized green movement, these days the word “sustainability” is just about everywhere you look. This is particularly true in marketing materials for agriculture businesses, in a hurry to out-green one another.

But sustainable farming doesn’t stop with the chemicals farmers do (or don’t) use; in fact, considering the environment is just one (albeit, very important) slice of the sustainability pie. Truly green farming considers the farmer as well as the product; in fact, sometimes that means putting the people above the product altogether. Let’s take a deeper look at the full range of principles that truly make an agribusiness sustainable, starting with the grounding principles as espoused by two well-known sustainable companies and working up.

1. Build Environmental Standards into the Business Model

Of course, no examination of sustainability would be complete without first understanding the kinds of environmental practices that can truly be sustained in a world with shrinking resources. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

In terms of the energy crisis, the States have had several controversies regarding natural gas for most parts of the year 2012. Politicians have been arguing about how to properly harvest natural gas as well as how the country can get it’s own supply of energy without having to rely on foreign oil. With President Barack Obama’s win during the last Presidential elections on November, natural gas will continue to be harvested, since experts have assured that the United States have enough natural gas reserves to last for 10 years. If one would also notice, there are new natural gas companies rising to meet residential and business demands for natural gas.

So I’m thinking, if natural gas was the biggest topic amongst those who are concerned about the nation’s energy supply, then what challenges are we going to face this 2013? (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I wrote last week that I had no idea why Lisa Jackson would resign her position as administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, other than simply running out of strength from a 24/7 bombardment from certain business interests that are hell-bent on peeling back environmental reforms. Here’s a stronger theory from Democracy Now:

Speculation that Obama will approve the pipeline has grown in recent weeks following the sudden resignation of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency head Lisa Jackson. A source reportedly close to Jackson told the New York Post she did not want to be at the EPA when the pipeline is given the green light, saying: “She will not be the EPA head when Obama supports [Keystone XL] getting built.”

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

The people at ACORE, the American Council on Renewable Energy totally “get it.” 

Below is a reprint of part of their piece, “Renewable Energy Industry Achievements for 2012.”  In case it’s not obvious, the operative word here is “industry.”  ACORE understands that the real obstacle that clean energy faces is its status as a bone fide sector of our economy, i.e., its standing against an industry. (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Efficiency

According to SmartGridNews, there is a pilot project in Maryland and Washington DC to bring about “a transition by electric utilities… to new business relationships with their customers, regulators, and competitors that would better align utility compensation with consumer benefit…” 

I’d love to think that we’re close to a bold new business model for our utilities, as it’s desperately needed, but I’m having trouble believing that; utilities are extremely conservative institutions that have also shown us a full century of dogged resistance to change.  Having said that, they’re under enormous pressure based on several factors that include slowing load growth, as the world becomes more energy efficient and ramps up distributed generation. 

 I’m reminded of the “irresistible force paradox,” i.e., “What happens when an irresistible force meets an unmovable object?”

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

OK, it was only #22 out of the top 25 victories in 2012 for progressive legislation, but at least it made the list.  IMO, it’s the single most important, what its author dubs: “Challenging Citizens United.”

Peter Dreier is professor of politics and chair of the Urban and Environmental Policy Department at Occidental College, not too far from my home in Southern California.  In this piece, he suggests that progressives are generally unsatisfied, “the glass is half empty” types of people – yet they should learn to wrestle with this aspect of their DNA and celebrate victories as they crop up.  And, to be sure, one of these victories is the wickedly effective backlash that Americans have unleashed against the United States Supreme Court’s decision in the “Citizens United” case.

Dr. Dreier writes:

(more…)

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