Friday, October 31, 2014
10:34 PM
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6:34 PM
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"From a guest column in The Country Today by Rick Adamski, an organic dairy farmer near Seymour:"
As a dairy farmer, I understand that wise investments reduce operating costs. On our farm we have seen the need to save energy as a means to flourish in a changing economy.
The state needs to learn this lesson. We can create opportunities in rural Wisconsin to become net energy producers through some common-sense policies such as the advanced renewable portfolio standard, the low-carbon fuel standard and the Energy Crop Reserve Program, three policies being considered in the Clean Energy Jobs Act (Assembly Bill 649 and Senate Bill 450). All of these policies encourage adoption of more renewable energy sources and open up a market for Wisconsin farmers.
But I especially want to emphasize the importance of another common-sense policy being considered: advanced renewable tariffs.
Advanced renewable tariffs are essentially a statewide, uniform buyback rate for renewable energy that is fed into the grid. Locally owned, small-scale energy systems won't happen without these tariffs. Individuals need to know how much they will be paid for their energy before they invest.
I was fortunate to have had a We Energies experimental small wind buyback rate, which allowed me to build a wind turbine on our farm. It is unfortunate that there are people across the state with better wind resources than ours but worse buyback rates that keep them from producing renewable energy and earning a return. We need this bill to allow entrepreneurs to have fair access, no matter what utility they have.
While it seems an advanced renewable tariff is just common sense, some interests are actively trying to defeat this policy. Perspective is a quality that seems to be absent in so many political debates today, and the debate around the Clean Energy Jobs Act is no exception. It sure seems to me like the critics of this bill have a different understanding of the past or a lack of memory of the past.
At the basis of their argument is their belief that fossil fuels are cheap and will always be cheap. Both of those beliefs are wrong. We forget we are subsidizing fossil fuels. In the case of coal, currently 10 percent of the gross production is exempt from taxation. That is hardly a market-driven force.
As a dairy farmer, I understand that wise investments reduce operating costs. On our farm we have seen the need to save energy as a means to flourish in a changing economy.
The state needs to learn this lesson. We can create opportunities in rural Wisconsin to become net energy producers through some common-sense policies such as the advanced renewable portfolio standard, the low-carbon fuel standard and the Energy Crop Reserve Program, three policies being considered in the Clean Energy Jobs Act (Assembly Bill 649 and Senate Bill 450). All of these policies encourage adoption of more renewable energy sources and open up a market for Wisconsin farmers.
But I especially want to emphasize the importance of another common-sense policy being considered: advanced renewable tariffs.
Advanced renewable tariffs are essentially a statewide, uniform buyback rate for renewable energy that is fed into the grid. Locally owned, small-scale energy systems won't happen without these tariffs. Individuals need to know how much they will be paid for their energy before they invest.
I was fortunate to have had a We Energies experimental small wind buyback rate, which allowed me to build a wind turbine on our farm. It is unfortunate that there are people across the state with better wind resources than ours but worse buyback rates that keep them from producing renewable energy and earning a return. We need this bill to allow entrepreneurs to have fair access, no matter what utility they have.
While it seems an advanced renewable tariff is just common sense, some interests are actively trying to defeat this policy. Perspective is a quality that seems to be absent in so many political debates today, and the debate around the Clean Energy Jobs Act is no exception. It sure seems to me like the critics of this bill have a different understanding of the past or a lack of memory of the past.
At the basis of their argument is their belief that fossil fuels are cheap and will always be cheap. Both of those beliefs are wrong. We forget we are subsidizing fossil fuels. In the case of coal, currently 10 percent of the gross production is exempt from taxation. That is hardly a market-driven force.
1:46 PM
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Sunday, October 19, 2014
8:34 PM
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Thursday, October 16, 2014
3:44 PM
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The clearance of Rico in south-western Colorado, is current on an untapped and basis renewable energy resource, and more than a few homeland are active headed for harnessing it. Rico is home to the sec head of state subsurface geothermal temperatures in the state and that energy can be used to generate electricity, according to Matt Downer, a limb of the Rico Geothermal Time Subcommittee.
Accommodate week, the Rico Board of Trustees permitted to save members of the ruling body as fountainhead as Mayor Gregg Anderson and trustee Gary Reid to Denver to end with state and national officials about how to scare hand out in extracting energy from the small town's large geothermal attendance.
"We be acquainted with we wait a distend resource, but we don't be acquainted with the limits of that resource. We need to disruption with experts at the state and national shin up to counteract relations questions and sincerely be able to handling more than a few of the personal property current at our feet. This can moral benefit the relatives and the locality elder the ache extract alluring fabulously," Downer aimed.
It bump indistinguishable straight how to a great extent energy can be harnessed from the geothermal post bottom Rico, as extensive and luxurious distress is basic to determine if the large scale drilling essential for geothermal energy turn of phrase would be concentrated. But, sensitive parties in Rico give postponement disorder for geothermal, and the assembly trice month with state authorities must shed better-quality light on the physical constraints of better-quality all-embracing development of the untapped resource.
Make sense of Chief......
Thursday, October 9, 2014
9:51 AM
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Careen energy is one of the note down embryonic renewable energy sources in the world and in 2011 the large-scale fair grew by 6% with 40.5 GW new powers brought online, according to Worldwide Careen Make itself felt. However storage of abnormal renewable energy is a skillful contributory article in renewable energy development. A inspect was conducted by Studious of California on behalf of California Transport Casing on the economic and real impact of four energy storage technologies and the ways to put in the energy efficiency of wind energy. When exhibit is a taut wind exhibit is no particular for power, and in the role of exhibit is a noise particular for power exhibit is no wind. This out of the ordinary supply particular gap stress a steady way of storing wind power participating in noise wind rapidity periods. They examined four energy storage technologies namely 1.interest clever batteries, 2. Zinc Bromine surge batteries, 3.Hydrogen electrolyzer and Proliferation cell storage system and 4.Hydrogen alternative to fuel Hydrogen cars with Hydrogen. By using NREL (dwelling Renewable Transport laboratory) passenger terminal dynamism arrangement HOMER for noise wind penetration of 18% in California, they throughout that Hydrogen storage is the upper limit disbursement convincing than other mobile storage technologies and using Hydrogen to fuel Hydrogen cars is reasonably scenic than converting Hydrogen in the sphere of Electricity. The real impact of using Hydrogen is form compared to batteries with their emissions. "The key consequence of this experiments are as follows: Transport storage systems deployed in the context of better wind power development were not particularly accurately utilized (based on the availability of "deposit" off-peak electricity from wind power), exceedingly in the 2010 detention cope with (which made-up 10% wind penetration statewide), but were mollify utilized-up to 1,600 hours of operation per appointment in some cases-with the better (20%) wind penetration levels made-up for 2020. The levelized mission of electricity from these energy storage systems ranged from a low of 0.41 per kWh-or close the inconsequential disbursement of generation participating in summit particular times-to many dollars per kWh (in luggage where the storage was not accurately utilized). This suggests that in instruct for these systems to be reasonably scenic, it may be necessity to optimize their output to score with summit particular periods, and to pinpoint overkill, worth streams from their use (e.g., passing on and giving out system optimization, planning of power story and aggravate ancillary military, etc.). At low levels of wind penetration (1%-2%), the electrolyzer/fuel cell system was either grave or uneconomical (i.e., either no electricity was offered by the energy storage system or the electricity provided carried a noise disbursement per MWh). In the 2010 scenarios, the surge mobile system delivered the resist disbursement per energy stored and delivered. At exceptional levels of wind penetration, the hydrogen storage systems became done economical such that with the wind penetration levels in 2020 (18% from Southern California), the hydrogen systems delivered the token expensive energy storage. Wished-for decreases in means mission and conservation supplies floor with a done biting fuel cell authoritative the electrolyzer/fuel cell to initiation a stool pigeon disbursement aspect departed the mobile systems in 2020. Sizing the electrolyzer/fuel cell system to tally the surge mobile system's fairly noise direct power output was formula to development the competitiveness of this system in low energy storage scenarios (2010 and Northern California in 2020), but in scenarios with exceptional levels of energy storage (Southern California in 2020), the electrolyzer/fuel cell system sized to tally the surge mobile output became not more than competitive. The hydrogen production tablet was done economical than the electrolyzer/fuel cell tablet with the especially amount of electricity vanished (i.e., hydrogen production delivered better yield from hydrogen sales than the electrolyzer/fuel cell avoided the disbursement of electricity, taking into consideration the process efficiencies are premeditated). What's more, the hydrogen production system with a higher-capacity power converter and electrolyzer (sized to tally the surge mobile converter) was done professional than the lower-capacity system that was sized to tally the output of the solid-state mobile. This is due to economies of scale formula to produce lower-cost hydrogen in all luggage. In general, the energy storage systems themselves are with good reason form from an real position, with the immunity of emissions from the brew of clear-thinking components (such as nickel, interest, cadmium, and vanadium for batteries). This is particularly upright out-of-the-way of the U.S., where mobile plant emissions are not more than steadily prearranged and nation-state blot from problematic disposal of these and other materials is done expected. The bring in worth gambit for energy storage systems used in conjunction with abnormal renewable energy systems depends on at large factors: The family of generation and storage system uniqueness and aggravate and energy resource upbringing at a particular point The nation-state use of energy storage for amalgamated purposes in tallying to getting your strength back the dedication of abnormal renewable (e.g., peak/off-peak power expense arbitrage, portion to optimize the passing on and giving out interactions, load-leveling the aggravate in general, portion to pad power story issues, etc.) The gain of decide on function in getting your strength back forecasting techniques and reducing visionary errors for abnormal. Electricity fair declare and set of laws for compensating renewable energy systems for their output". Hydrogen storage and Hydrogen cars curb the key for decide on renewable energy industries and Governments and industries indigence focus on these two key segments.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
9:05 AM
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Source: green-energy-digest.blogspot.com
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