I’m spending the day at the University of California at Santa Barbara’s annual Energy Efficiency Summit. This year, the focus is on materials science – an area of interest for me, though not necessarily one of expertise. Having said that, …
Steven Chu Speaks at the Energy Efficiency Summit Read More »
I try to attend the annual University of California at Santa Barbara Summit on Energy Efficiency, now in its 4th year. This year’s meeting will focus on “Materials for a Sustainable Energy Future.” I plan to “join the Institute for Energy …
Here’s something I thought readers would enjoy: a video about energy and transportation concepts of the future. A friend sent me this a minute ago and asked for my comment, which is as follows: there is nothing theoretically impossible about …
Anyone who discounts what Bill Gates says on any issue has some explaining to do. Recall that, when he ran Microsoft, Gates would famously make himself available to talk with employees who wished to present their ideas, but was aggressively …
Bill Gates on the Importance of Energy to the Developing World Read More »
I’ve been thinking about my upcoming talk at the monthly meeting of the Santa Barbara Savvy Investors, and I’ve decided to make this multi-varied, taking on a great number of different issues associated with our civilization’s use of energy. At …
CleanTech Investors To Get an Earful on Energy and Sustainability Read More »
Given that solar and wind are intermittent, our usual notion of these most common forms of renewable energy is that they create grid instability – perhaps even blackouts – stemming from unpredictable clouds covering the sun or changing patterns in …
Does a High Penetration of Solar and Wind Energy Cause — Or Prevent — Grid Instability? Read More »
I’m always amused when I see articles on subjects within the energy space that show that the author hasn’t the foggiest idea what he’s talking about. I’m reminded of my 6th grade course in meteorology, when one of my bottom-of-the-barrel classmates …
I predict the next half-century will see a great number of reports like this one on islands of renewable energy that are generated and consumed off-grid. This article explains how a region of India has built a large microgrid for …
Solar and Wind Electrifying Parts of Asia and Africa for the First Time Read More »
Here’s an article that wrestles with the confusion surrounding the idea that the entire world’s energy demand could be supplied with PV on 1% of the Earth’s surface. (By my quick calcs, btw, this is true. 1% of the surface …
Addressing the World's Energy Needs — Especially Those That Are Most Pressing Read More »
The UK government is moving, some would say stumbling, towards its legal obligation to have 15% of the UK’s energy produced by renewables by 2020. Every year more sources of renewable energy come on stream, but there are setbacks on …
From Guest Blogger Cass: An Overview of UK Renewable Energy Read More »
