May 20, 2011
By Robert Crowe for RenewableEnergyWorld.com: Toronto, Ontario– In just three years, all coal-fired power plants here will be decommissioned through a government commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocols.
Toronto is shaping up to have the cleanest energy in North America with a move toward more hydropower while increasing German-style feed-in tariffs to stimulate growth in solar, wind, biomass and other renewable sources. Hydropower, which has generated electricity for 100 years here, is still the king of Ontario’s natural energy resources.
“We think that hydropower could probably increase by up to 3,000 MW across Ontario,” said Ted Gruetzner, spokesman for Ontario Power Generation.
Experience with hydropower and water technology have made Ontario a key global leader in researching the potential of the so-called “water-energy nexus.”
“You can’t talk about energy without talking about water,” Rengarajan Ramesh, managing director of Wasserstein & Co., said during this week’s Ontario’s Global Water Leadership Summit.
Transporting and treating municipal water accounts for about 5% of all electricity used in the United States. Many more summit speakers discussed the potential for technology in water-scarce regions to improve energy efficiency for everything from shale gas production to nuclear power cooling towers. Read more
May 17, 2011
By Cassandra Profita for Ecotrope: A new day is dawning for transmission in the Northwest. Smart grid technology being tested in 60,000 homes this year could help the region balance the peaks and valleys of renewable power. So, the power grid in the Pacific Northwest is still dumb. But that’s not the end of the story.
I talked with Carl Imhoff at the Pacific Northwest National Lab about the future of power transmission in the Northwest. Imhoff is the manager for electricity infrastructure markets at PNNL. He heads up research and development programs on transmission and smart grid technologies.
“We’re asking the grid to do more than it has traditionally done. We’re asking it to help the nation solve policy issues like clean energy generation, reducing carbon emissions and oil imports.” – Carl Imhoff
And he says even though the Northwest doesn’t have a structured, competitive power market that would allow consumers to shop around for power rates, the region’s power grid is getting smarter and more efficient. And there are numerous new technologies that promise better days to come.
Tools that are being tested around the Northwest have the power to create a smarter grid and smarter power customers, he said. With smart appliances, consumers can plan to use energy when it’s cheaper and help reduce the gridlock at peak usage times. But overhauling the entire system so that everyone can participate is a “multi-decade journey,” he said. “It takes a long time.”
“We as a nation for the last 100 years asked the grid to do two things with our power: keep it affordable and keep it reliable. Now, we’re adding to those expectations.
We’re asking the grid to do more than it has traditionally done. We’re asking it to help the nation solve policy issues like clean energy generation, reducing carbon emissions and oil imports.
At the same time we’re asking the grid to do more, we’re also bringing in new tools that let us improve on today’s practices so we can do them better, faster and smarter, with better controls.”
Those tools are on their way to customers, Imhoff said.
Smart grid testing: Round 1
A test project in 2006-07 showed that customers and utilities in the Northwest can benefit from smart grid technologies – even without a competitive power market.
The Gridwise project on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula allowed power customers ways to reduce their energy use in response to higher electricity prices. It used smart appliances – including thermostats, hot water heaters and clothes dryers – that “bid” on power when it reached a certain price point and reduced usage when prices were higher. The project wound up cutting power usage peaks by 15 percent and saving consumers 10 percent on their electric bills without a noticeable difference in how the appliances were operating.
“The Northwest is not pursuing structured markets because we have a lot of public power here and some investor-owned utilities,” Imhoff said. “But in our 2007 experiment we asked could we – in an environment where there aren’t structured markets – could we send some sort of incentive signal to the consumers with the help from utilities to reflect the fact that power is more and less expensive at different times of the day. When demand is way up or supply is way down, power costs can go way up. But those aren’t conveyed to the consumer.” Read more
May 9, 2011
From KSKA’s Adressing Alaskans program: REAP Executive director Chris Rose believes Alaska can be an international leader on renewable energy. Harnessing about 90 percent of the nation’s wave power and about 75 percent of the nation’s tidal power, Rose discussed Alaska’s renewable energy potential and current projects taking place across the state at the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce on April 25th in Anchorage. Hear his presentation and see his PPT slideshow here
May 7, 2011
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
What: Anchorage Solar Tour, sponsored by Alaska Center For Appropriate Technology, American Solar Energy Society, AHFC
When: Saturday May 7, 10am to 4pm Meet at 9:45am at downtown Kaladi Bros Coffee to sign up.
Where: Various sites in Anchorage, starting at 10am with the downtown Solar Building at 441 W. 5th Avenue
Why: To show residents of Anchorage how some businesses and homes are now using renewable energy to save $$ and reduce fossil fuel usage
Tour Schedule: Posted at www.alaskasolartour.org There are a total of five different sites across Anchorage on the tour.
Cost: It’s free, but bring your car or plan to carpool with others
