Category Archives: Enerdynamics
How China Will Transform The Energy Industry
When I started in the energy business back in the early 1980’s, the utility paradigm was to continually build more power plants to serve growing customer loads. This lead to environmental and economic difficulties, especially as the cost of completing planned nuclear power plants skyrocketed. At the utility where I worked, Pacific Gas and Electric, [...]
How Could the Lights Go Out at the Super Bowl?
When I worked for Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) in the late 1980s, the San Francisco area hosted a classic World Series in which the San Francisco Giants played against their cross-bay rivals the Oakland A’s. Going into the Series, PG&E spent significant time and energy ensuring reliable power to both stadiums. My friend [...]
Electricity: The Key to U.S. Energy’s Future
As we enter 2013, it is clear that electricity is becoming the dominant form of energy that will drive society’s future. Exxon forecasts that between now and 2040, electricity will account for more than half of the growth of global energy demand [1]. And in the U.S., the Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts that electricity [...]
In Focus: Renewables Development in the Emerging World
Do a Google search for renewable power and you will find thousands of links to sites covering renewable power development in the U.S. and in Europe. But outside of China and maybe India, you won’t find much about renewables development elsewhere. Interestingly, recent years have seen significant renewables development in other parts of the world, [...]
FERC Order 1000: A Big Deal
Many of our readers may have noticed at their companies a considerable effort expended on FERC Order 1000 compliance in the last year. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) introduced Order 1000 in July 2011 and re-affirmed it in May and October 2012 with Orders 1000-A and 1000-B. Order 1000 is seen by many as [...]
Why Natural Gas Prices Matter
U.S. natural gas prices have fallen to lows not seen in a decade and have stayed at the lowest levels we’ve seen in a decade. As I write this in late October 2012, the Henry Hub price is $3.43, which is at least half what was considered “normal” fall pricing in the last 10 years. [...]
Costa Rica: Commited to Renewable Energy
With more than 90% of its electricity generated from renewable energy sources and goals to reach 95% by 2014, Costa Rica is certainly one of the greenest countries on the planet. It also is on track to become the world’s first carbon-free economy. I recently returned from a 12-day tour sponsored by Global Renewable Energy Education [...]
Is Solar Power Really on Its Deathbed?
To hear some folks talk, solar power is a dying industry. We’ve seen this story before, they say: Remember the Jimmy Carter administration? And how Ronald Reagan took the solar panels off the White House? And after the 1970s how solar was only a demonstration technology for the next 40 years? To back this argument, [...]
The Future of Coal Integrated Gasification Combined Cycles
In the U.S. and some other markets around the world, the future of coal generation appears uncertain as concerns about emissions including sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrous oxides (NOx), mercury, and carbon dioxide (CO2) have slowed new construction. Yet reserves of coal remain robust in many key electric markets including China, India, Russia, and the U.S. [...]