What if the ever-increasing amounts of carbon dioxide that are heating up the atmosphere could be used to produce an abundant supply of liquid fuels? The U.S. government and private labs are pursuing that Holy Grail of renewable energy — but for now the cost of large-scale production is prohibitive. (more…)

By 2020, the Chinese government plans to generate 15 percent of the nation’s total energy consumption by increasing the use of alternatives to fossil fuels, such as wind and solar power. Today, China is the largest wind power market in the world, but this rapid growth is experiencing a backlash on several fronts. (more…)

It’s not surprising that a company liked Greenhouse Holdings, which builds eco-friendly infrastructure, would have a thriving California-based operation. But as John Galt, the company’s executive chairman and founder, told Renewable Energy World magazine, the company is not just focusing on wealthy enclaves (more…)

For more than a year, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) has been engaged in a cutting-edge modeling effort simulating how a 33% renewable future might affect the state’s grid reliability.

This ‘renewable integration’ modeling ought to (more…)

My son is learning how to drive. Gulp. So what’s his biggest issue so far? Dad telling him to check his mirrors more often or begging him to turn down his hip-hop radio station? No, he doesn’t like learning how to drive in a gas-guzzling SUV the size of Rhode Island.

He wants an electric vehicle. “Just think – no pollution (more…)

In a previous post, I wrote about a lawsuit between GE and Thomas Wilkins, a former GE employee, over the rights to certain wind turbine technology.

In that suit, GE has accused Wilkins, an electrical engineer who had worked for Enron Wind and then GE after it acquired Enron, of breaching his (more…)

Managing the electricity grid more efficiently is an important aspect of energy efficiency. It also has a significant role to play as solar and wind energy projects come online and start to feed into the grid.

As more renewable energy such as solar and wind enters the grid, there will be an increased volatility in (more…)

New data released by NASA shows that the atmosphere above eastern Japan was flooded with electrons and heated dramatically in the days before the devastating March 11 earthquake.

According to scientists from the Goddard Space Flight Center, the total electron content in (more…)

There is a corner of the Federal government that, unless you are as data obsessed as I am, you never knew existed.  For the part 25 years, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) has collected  baseline data on commercial building energy usage, known as CBECS.  CBECS is the only government source of (more…)

I want to call readers’ attention to the whole car-sharing phenomenon – particularly as it applies to the deployment of electric vehicles, and this excellent article that tackles some of the issues.

There is no doubt that car-sharing in dense urban environments like Boston and San Francisco is going (more…)