Posts

Opinion: No Choice But For Big Cuts Along The Colorado River Basin

/in , , /by /Denver Postby Ved Nandy
The mighty Colorado River is endangered. Persistent massive drought, exacerbated by climate change, overuse, and ever-rising demand, has taken a heavy toll.
Water levels have dwindled and remain at a historic low in Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the largest human-made reservoirs in the United States – so low in Lake Mead a year ago that it came close to hitting dead pool status, which occurs when water levels are too low to generate electricity.
Full Story

SDG&E Breaks Ground for ‘Microgrid’ in Clairemont to Maximize Renewal Energy

/in , /by /Times of San Diego by City News Service

San Diego Gas & Electric broke ground on the Clairemont microgrid Tuesday, one of four projects the utility has planned at its existing substations.

Once finished, the Clairemont microgrid will be able to provide backup power to San Diego Fire Station 36, the Balboa Branch Library and local schools such as Lafayette Elementary, Sequoia Elementary, Innovation and CPMA Middle Schools and Madison High School.

Microgrids are small-scale grids that can operate independent of or parallel to the larger regional grid to keep critical facilities powered during unexpected outages.

Each microgrid project is paired with energy storage, with the four projects bringing an additional 39 megawatts of battery capacity to the region. SDG&E currently has 95 MW of utility-owned energy storage online, with another 200+ MW in development.

Full Story

Stable Renewable Energy Prices Locked In by Helix Water District

/in , , /by /Water News Network

Proactive efforts by the Helix Water District have saved thousands of dollars per year in the district’s energy costs, and are helping it transition to renewable energy.

Helix buys most of its electricity through the State of California’s Direct Access Program and the electric service provider it contracts with, Calpine Energy Solutions.

Full Story

Record Snowfall in Northern California May Help the State’s Electric Grid in 2022

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Rob Nikolewski

The deluge of snow in recent days along the Sierra Nevada mountain range has been a record-breaker. And that’s not only good news for ski resorts but it may lead to a healthy boost in hydroelectricity production in California this coming summer, which would help the state’s often-strained electric grid.

Full Story

San Diego Looks for Partner to Build $1.5B San Vicente Hydro Energy Project

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Rob Nikolewski Quoted: San Diego Union-Tribune

The project is on the drawing board. Now the San Diego County Water Authority and the city of San Diego are looking for a private partner to build and operate a pumped energy storage facility at the San Vicente Reservoir.

The Water Authority and the city have issued a request for proposal to find a suitable team to develop one of the state’s largest “pumped hydro” projects that would add megawattage and flexibility to California’s electric grid. Proposals from potential partners will remain open until Nov. 3.

Full Story

As the Climate Warms, Electricity Demand Shows a Regional Shift

/in , /by /pv magazineby Ryan Kennedy

Even though American spent more time at home in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, retail residential sales of electricity per capita rose by only 1% per person, year-on-year from 2019 to 2020, said the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration. The agency said that warmer weather in 2020, especially a particularly mild winter, increased electricity usage from air conditioning, but cut U.S. electricity usage for space heating during colder months.

EIA reported that from 1960 to 2010, per capita U.S. electricity use posted a 3% average annual increase. That trend slowed over the past decade due to warmer weather and energy efficiency upgrades. Since 2010, per capita residential electricity use has fallen 5% in the U.S.. That means 2020 represented an uptick in demand relative to the broader trend.

Full Story

Opinion: To Keep the Lights On, Here’s How California Should Plan for the Extraordinary

/in , , /by /CalMattersby Julia Prochnik

The headlines are grim. Texas’ power grid fails in the midst of a deadly cold snap, putting millions at risk. A historic heat wave brings California’s power grid to its knees, putting millions at risk. Two massive states with two distinctly different approaches to energy, yet still facing a similar outcome: failure and blackouts. In both cases the cause is the same, a failure to plan for extraordinary climate events that are becoming all too ordinary.

In principle, California has moved in the right direction by embracing renewable energy. But in practice, due in part to bureaucratic delay, it has fallen short and now California’s energy leadership is on a precipice. Move forward with bold action to deploy, procure and plan for a diverse and complementary portfolio of renewable energy and storage – and California fulfils its pursuit of a true green energy economy. Hold back and California cedes its energy future to fossil fuels. It should be an easy decision.

Full Story

FPUD Working to Reduce Electricity Costs

/in , /by /Village Newsby Joe Naiman

The Fallbrook Public Utility District is working with the California Public Utilities Commission to secure CPUC grant funding which will reduce FPUD’s electricity costs.

A non-voting item at FPUD’s Dec. 7 board meeting addressed FPUD’s efforts to reduce electricity expenses. The program would utilize Tesla battery walls and is expected to save FPUD more than $100,000 annually in electricity expenses.

Full Story

Report: A Combination of Factors Caused California’s Rolling Blackouts in August

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Rob Nikolewski
A report from three key state groups analyzing what caused a pair of blackouts in mid-August largely conformed to reasons previously cited by California’s grid operator — that a combination of factors, including a sweltering heatwave, pushed the state’s power system to its edge, leading to the first statewide outages in nearly 20 years.
Full Story

Climate Change and Poor Planning Blamed for California Blackouts

/in , , /by /The New York Timesby Ivan Penn

A report by California energy officials on Tuesday placed blame for rolling blackouts that left millions without power in August on the impact of climate change and outdated policies and practices that failed to adequately take into account hotter weather.

Full Story