Build Green Scotty, Scotts Contracting www.stlouisrenewableenergy.com www.stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com --- On Wed, 9/15/10, Union of Concerned Scientists <action@ucsusa.org> wrote:
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9.15.2010
Re: Welcome to the UCS online community
Electricity Needs To Go Smart
Geneva, Switzerland -- We use electricity every day, but what we might not know is that most of the world's electricity today is still running on the networks similar to what we used more than 50 years ago. How does this impact us? Purely in terms of costs, the U.S. wastes US$ 80 billion a year in power cuts, not to mention the energy waste – all due to an antiquated electricity system. In a world where we are shifting from old to new in every possible way, it isn't very smart for us to ignore a vital part of our everyday lives – electricity.
It's no surprise that today's world is facing a true energy dilemma: how do we deliver secure, affordable, low-carbon energy to everyone? It is widely agreed that energy conservation and renewable energy are critical to securing our energy future, but smarter electricity systems – smart grids – are imperative if we want to tap the full potential of modern energy solutions.
A smart grid is an intelligent, digitized electricity system that provides an energy network that delivers electricity in an optimal way from source to consumption, enabling better energy management, minimizing power disruptions and transporting only the required amount of power.
Just as the current grid facilitated the industrial innovations of the 20th century, smart grids could substantially support clean energy growth and innovation in the 21st century.
What a smart grid does better than our older grid is maximize the contribution of clean energy and new energy solutions such as wind, solar power and electric cars. Today's grid was not built to handle large and increasing amounts of renewable energy production and send it from remote places to where electricity is consumed. Without a smart grid system, it would be virtually impossible for electric vehicles to work on a large scale. A smart and modernized grid is therefore the missing link for the use of clean energy to be within everyone's grasp.
A smart grid can also serve as a platform for innovation in energy services, which gives customers more information about their energy footprint and ways to manage their electricity consumption. There is a carbon emission reduction potential, directly through more optimal production and transmission of electricity, and indirectly through influencing consumer behaviour.
We are witnessing a trend of government stimulation and industry focus on smart grids and low-carbon technologies as a cornerstone for future industrial strategy. Last year, China alone spent over US$ 7 billion on smart grid developments focused on transmission and distribution – with a vision of building a "strong smart grid" by 2020.
The U.S. has directed US$ 4.5 billion of its fiscal stimulus package to smart grid activities. In Europe, Japan and South Korea, significant initiatives are currently underway. Recent studies, such as the European Climate Foundation 2050 Roadmap, highlight the importance of upgrading the electricity systems to achieve a low-carbon Europe. Innovative cities are spearheading "intelligent city" concepts, whereby some smart grid capabilities are applied. Major industry players from across the electric utility, ICT and energy technology sectors are also developing smart grid strategies.
With all this, what are the chances that smart grids will succeed? A World Economic Forum report, Accelerating Successful Smart Grid Pilots, launching today at the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2010 in Tianjin, outlines the conditions for success and numerous challenges that we currently face.
The report explains the survey responses of more than 50 industry stakeholders and experts who are engaged in identifying the factors that will determine the success, or failure, of smart grid pilots. The report emphasizes the importance of getting a larger number of ambitious pilot projects underway to test new technology and business models.
The investment and time required to deploy smart grids is significant and cannot be underestimated. For them to succeed, government, regulators and industry players must work together to create the conditions for success by supporting pilot projects and revisiting regulation to ensure alignment with policy priorities.
Most of the regulatory frameworks that currently exist were created during the period preceding the emergence of the low-carbon agenda, with the focus on a low-cost and reliable service. Although many aspects of the regulatory frameworks are still valid, some actively discourage the changes that are needed to transition the electricity systems towards a smart grid. To make a smart grid a sound investment for electric utilities and other companies, the business case in many countries must be strengthened – regulation will be the key.
In addition, there are important issues around setting standards for technology and tackling data security that must be addressed and will determine whether or not smart grids will be a success. Globally, we are at a critical point where clean energy will play a prominent role. Electricity systems will need to be flexible to allow for the incorporation of new low-carbon technologies and to give customers more visibility and control of their energy consumption.
Smart grids will play an important role in making electricity go smart, but the journey will be long and challenging. By acting now, decision-makers can increase the chances of success and avoid having the electricity infrastructure become a bottleneck to delivering a low-carbon, efficient and secure energy future.
[Editor's note: Keep your eyes out for an in-dept look at World Economic Forum's Accelerating Successful Smart Grip Pilots in the next issue of Renewable Energy World magazine.]
Roberto Bocca is Senior Director and Head of Energy Industries at the World Economic Forum and can be reached at rboc@weforum.org.
To hear an interview with Espen Mehlum, Associate Director, Head of Electricity Industry at the World Economic Forum about the 'Accelerating Successful Smart Grid Pilots' report, please play the video below.
The information and views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of RenewableEnergyWorld.com or the companies that advertise on its Web site and other publications.
--
Scott's Contracting
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.com
scotty@stlouisrenewableenergy.com
Bad Faith Move from Fannie and Freddie Highlights the Need for Congressional Action
PACE Update: Latest Bad Faith Move from Fannie & Freddie Highlights the Need for Congressional Action
Summer may be slow for most, but the attack from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHFA on PACE green retrofit programs has not eased up one bit. Just last week these municipal programs for solar and efficiency upgrades on private property were dealt yet another blow when Fannie and Freddie issued guidance letters that threaten existing PACE participants.
This latest bad faith move makes it clearer than ever that Congressional action is needed to protect PACE.
Specifically, the letters now require PACE early adopters in places like Sonoma, California and Babylon, New York to pay off their PACE liens before allowing them to refinance or sell their homes. Fannie and Freddie are leaving upstanding homeowners with two unsavory options: fork over the full cost of their PACE energy upgrades or put any refinancing plans on hold for the 20 year period of their PACE terms. At best, the new policy unfairly punishes dutiful mortgage payers – and at worst it forces them to make financial decisions that actually put their mortgage status at greater risk.
The latest guidance letters directly reverse Fannie and Freddie's earlier assurances that they would not jeopardize existing participants. They are just the latest in a series of dubious moves from the lending giants.
Through several months of discussion, PACE advocates and government officials have worked to find points of compromise with Fannie, Freddie and the FHFA. All parties agree that PACE programs should be designed to mitigate risk to lenders. But over the course of those deliberations, it's also become painfully clear that positive resolution is not likely without an act of Congress. Both the House and Senate are currently considering bills that would cut through the quagmire to effectively restore PACE programs nationwide.
In attacking municipal PACE programs, the FHFA and its wards are also taking square aim at a century-old local government authority. PACE makes innovative use of a well-proven, low-risk finance mechanism called a "special assessment district." For over 100 years, municipalities and states have used special assessments to fund improvements that benefit the public good. Today there are 37,000 such special districts in the U.S. helping build everything from sewage systems to streetlights across public and private property alike. Cities and counties in 23 states are now enabled to use that same authority to combat the dual challenges of economic and climate crisis by financing green retrofits. By derailing PACE, the quasi-federal lending entities are standing in the way of local governments' ability to do their jobs and support their communities. We need Congress to defend against this undue power grab.
Ultimately, we have yet to see a comparable model that offers the same scope and scale of green job benefits and greenhouse gas reduction as PACE. This is an economic recovery issue. This is an environmental issue. This is a states' rights issue. And this is a bipartisan issue. When our lawmakers return to DC this fall, we hope to see Congress to make PACE-protective legislation a priority and help get this country back on track.
Here is a good resource for more information about efforts to protect PACE.
Rosalind Jackson is director of communications & development at Vote Solar. Rosalind manages media, member and donor relations for Vote Solar. Previously Rosalind spent five years directing and implementing PR campaigns for all manner of clean energy and sustainable business innovators. She has a degree in Environmental Science and Mass Communications from UC Berkeley.
Vote Solar is a non-profit organization working to combat climate change and foster economic opportunity by bringing solar energy into the U.S. mainstream.
The information and views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of RenewableEnergyWorld.com or the companies that advertise on its Web site and other publications.
--
Scott's Contracting
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.com
scotty@stlouisrenewableenergy.com
Urge the Senate+Clean Energy Creates Jobs
Small Businesses Urge US Senate To Let Clean Energy Create Jobs
New Hampshire, USA— Today four small business associations came together to release a report that shows an enormous number of U.S. jobs were lost when the Senate failed to pass clean energy legislation in July.
Small Business Majority, Main Street Alliance, American Businesses for Clean Energy and We Can Lead said in their report "A Costly Climate Of Inaction: 1.9 Million Jobs Lost Due To The U.S. Senate's Failure To Advance Clean Energy/Climate Legislation" that China and other leading nations have gained more than $11 billion in job-creating clean-energy investments – with the U.S. losing an estimated $208 million every day – since the U.S. Senate abandoned comprehensive clean energy legislation in late July.
Essentially the report looks at private investment in clean energy and jobs that private investment would create. Since the Senate didn't pass an RES (renewable electricity standard) or any kind of carbon legislation, it sent a message to investors that the country isn't ready to get serious about clean energy.
The business associations point out that in the time that passed between the Senate recess and now, China overtook the U.S. to lead a quarterly index of the most attractive countries for renewable energy projects for the first time, according to Ernst & Young. Additionally, the U.S. has fallen more than $11 billion behind China and other leading nations in clean energy investments.
Their analysis is based on calculations performed in two reports. The first, from The Pew Charitable Trust, states, "it can be calculated based on existing investment trends that in the 54 days between July 22, 2010 (when the U.S. Senate abandoned the climate bill) and its return to Washington (September 13, 2010), the United States fell $11,269,800,000 ($208 million a day) behind other G20 nations in clean energy investments. And during that same time the U.S. has fallen $21,215,342,466 behind the rest of the world in clean energy investments.
The second set of calculations used in the report came out of the University of California, Berkley. The UCal Berkley analysis states, "the consequences of depriving the U.S. of tens of billions of dollars in private sector investments in clean energy jobs are huge. An analysis of the American Power Act – the last comprehensive climate legislation before the U.S. Senates – showed that it would have created 1.9 million jobs. When the Senate failed to act, those jobs were lost."
Other key findings include the following:
- Nearly 600,000 of the unrealized jobs were lost where they are now needed most -- the 10 states with unemployment rates over 10 percent: Nevada (17,000 jobs); California (226,000); Rhode Island (8,000); Florida (78,000); South Carolina (36,000); Mississippi (19,000); Oregon (26,000); Indiana (45,000); Ohio (61,000); and Illinois (68,000).
- Even states with lower unemployment levels lost hundreds of thousands of urgently needed new jobs, including more than 300,000 jobs in the following states: Arkansas (25,000); Maine (12,000); Massachusetts (40,000); Minnesota (38,000); Missouri (29,000); Montana (13,000); New Hampshire (7,000); New Jersey (11,000); Pennsylvania (78,000); and Virginia (50,000).
- The lost jobs forfeited by the U.S. Senate include major categories of employment that could have put Americans to work immediately with little or no additional training or education – since a large portion of clean energy jobs require widely-held skills that millions of Americans already have.
- The Senate's failure to take action will have even wider negative economic consequences on American families, including Americans missing out on an increase to annual household income of up to $1,175 per year, and a boost to America's gross domestic product (GDP) of up to $111 billion – with these huge economic benefits flowing across all 50 states.
With mid-term congressional elections looming, most experts agree that Senate action on clean energy is unlikely. On a conference call with representatives of these small business associations, however, the group was quick to point out that this is a bipartisan issue and small business owners of all political ilk support clean energy legislation because it will help them compete on a global scale.
--
Scott's Contracting
scottscontracting@gmail.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.blogspot.com
http://www.stlouisrenewableenergy.com
scotty@stlouisrenewableenergy.com
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