The wind turbines that increasingly dot the landscape peak at around 300 feet above ground, with the massive blades spinning a bit higher. The wind, however, does not peak at 300 feet. Winds are faster and more consistent the higher one climbs, maxing out in the jet streams at five miles and above. (more…)

Canada gets most of its energy from hydropower, coal and nuclear. But scientists say that geothermal power could meet the country’s energy needs one million times over.

The statement is taken from a federal report on geothermal energy. The document was compiled by (more…)

One of the things I enjoy most about shows like Storage Week, sitting through many dozens of presentations on energy storage, is the breadth of perspective on the subject of clean energy. We all know that ultimately, storage is 100% required if we are to achieve the high rates of penetration we’d all like to (more…)

As more and more states pass laws mandating that up to one-third of their power come from renewable sources by 2020, utility companies are wrestling with how to make the energy mix work.

A persistent problem for wind and solar power is intermittency – the wind doesn’t always blow and the (more…)

If Internet companies and some utilities have their way, the smart grid will rely on the existing infrastructure of the information superhighway in order to function. They argue that by relying on existing standards like Internet Protocol (IP), the smart grid will grow faster and more organically than if utilities adopt an assortment of proprietary methods. Issues like security become easier to address too because the Internet manages exceptionally sensitive data quite well with existing technologies. To that end, the players dominating in the Internet arena including Google, Microsoft, and Cisco are all banking on the Internet’s role in the future of electricity management.

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