Group items tagged

The Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) presents its latest industry research reports, Utility Solar Business Models: Emerging Utility Strategies & Innovation. As solar electricity moves into boardrooms and executive meetings across the United States, leading utilities begin to make concrete decisions for major solar deployment. This report provides a compendium of emerging utility innovations that will provide valuable information both across utility departments and into upper management. A copy of the full report can be downloaded from the SEPA website at www.solarelectricpower.org.

Aside from impacting or not impacting electricity rates, system loss reduction has the following benefits: Reduction of fuel emissions due to lesser use of fossil-fuel generating plants - this has societal impact as it cover environmental concerns. Utility system capacity savings - decrease in losses provides released extra capacity for the distribution lines and transformers. Promotion of Energy Efficiency - it will be noted that the Distribution Utility (DU) is an energy-efficient electric company as it tries to decrease its system loss. Improvement of system voltage profile - the utility is regulated to supplying a range of voltage level and reduction of losses will produce a marginal system voltage quality that may be acceptable. This will also provide good power quality at the convenience outlets of consumers allowing their electric equipment/appliances to operate without mis-operation or loss of life. Increase Utility Commercial Appeal - a DU aiming at system loss reduction gets an added commercial appeal in the restructured power industry. This is important in the changing environment of the power industry, have you seen MERALCO TV commercials?

Utilities to Use Renewable Power Sources function getSharePasskey() { return 'ex=1344052800&en=d63cdcfa40d96b86&ei=5124';} function getShareURL() { return encodeURIComponent('http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/washington/05energy.html'); } function getShareHeadline() { return encodeURIComponent('Energy Bill Adopted by House Requires Utilities to Use Renewable Power Sources'); } function getShareDescription() { return encodeURIComponent('Utilities would be required to produce 15 percent of their electricity from sources like wind and solar power. President Bush has promised a veto.'); } function getShareKeywords() { return encodeURIComponent('Electric Light and Power,Law and Legislation,Conservation of Resources,Politics and Government,Nancy Pelosi'); } function getShareSection() { return encodeURIComponent('washington'); } function getShareSectionDisplay() { return encodeURIComponent('Washington'); } function getShareSubSection() { return encodeURIComponent(''); } function getShareByline() { return encodeURIComponent('By JOHN M. BRODER'); } function getSharePubdate() { return encodeURIComponent('August 5, 2007'); }

It's a battle between low-carb utilities and high-carb utilities. The low-carbs complain that the high-carbs want "cash for clunkers" to keep their dirty old coal plants operating. The high-carbs say the low-carbs are trying to game the allowances market to enrich themselves.

Report: Electric Utilities Investing Billions in Transmission The U.S. electric utility industry invested $6.9 billion in transmission projects in 2006, and members of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) plan to invest another $38.1 billion from 2007 to 2010, according to a new EEI report. This represents a 60% increase above the amount invested from 2003 to 2006. EEI is the association of shareholder-owned U.S. electric companies and represents about 70% of the U.S. electric power industry. The EEI report notes that transmission lines are being added for a variety of reasons, and one is to connect remote renewable energy resources to the electrical grid.

Utility bikes or “work bikes” are very efficient vehicles for transporting cargo (and children too). They are quite popular in bike-friendly places like Amsterdam, Copenhagen and China. Bikes can tow a remarkable amount of weight. Loads in excess of 880 pounds (400 kilograms) have been hauled behind bikes along flat surfaces. Generally though, 300 pounds (140 kilograms) is considered the upper threshold for hauling. Full-sized refrigerators or couches that won’t fit in a car can comfortably be pulled behind a bicycle with the right kind of trailer.

I have a story today in the Toronto Star about a pilot project that would see the city equip up to 20 municipal buildings with solar thermal systems that would provide hot water and space heating. But instead of owning and operating the systems itself, the city would sign a 10-year contract with a "solar utility" -- a company that would pay for, install and manage the equipment and then sell the heat that's produced to the city at a fixed price. The solar heat would offset the use of natural gas or electricity that would have otherwise provided the heat for everything from community swimming pools to hot water in schools.