In the months following the March 2011 earthquake that devastated Japan’s northeastern Tohoku region, Japanese government leaders pledged as part of reconstruction efforts to rebuild several of the most heavily affected towns as “Future Cities” and “eco-cities,” smart communities incorporating cutting-edge renewable energy and environmental technologies. In addition to making these communities more self-sufficient in meeting their energy [...]
Archive for the ‘Smart Grid’ Category
Sustainable Community Development and Disaster Recovery
February 4th, 2013 
Sean Connell 
Posted in Clean Technology, Green Building, Green Economy, Japan, Local Energy/Food, Policy, Renewable Energy, Smart Grid, Sustainable Development 
Tags: Green Technology, Greensburg, Kansas, Local-level Exchange, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Renewable Energy, Sean Connell, Tohoku, U.S.-Japan Relations 
No Comments »U.S. Electricity Consumption Flattens Out
January 9th, 2013 Justin Manger 
The once all but certain trend of rising electricity use may now be coming to an end. This may not be good news for electricity companies tied to a business model that depends on growth in electricity consumption (and therefore the need to produce more and get more revenue) but it is good news for [...]
Posted in Behavior, Energy Efficiency, Green Economy, Justin Manger, News, Policy, Smart Grid Tags: Clean Energy, Energy Conservation No Comments »Green Energy Spikes–and Imbalances–in Japan
December 17th, 2012 Sean Connell 
Three noteworthy developments in Japan over the past couple of weeks highlight continued progress there towards bringing new renewable energy generation and conservation on line—and developments to be watchful of along the way.
Tres Amigas Closer to Transforming the U.S. Energy Market
December 6th, 2012 Justin Manger 
Back in August, Bernalillo County, New Mexico approved 20 million dollars in industrial revenue bonds to support the Tres Amigas power infrastructure project, an unprecedented effort to connect North America’s three major isolated electric grids. Should all go well, the project will enable efficiency gains, aid in the integration of large-scale renewables, and support power [...]
Solar Home Tours
October 2nd, 2012 Nick Grue For anyone considering buying a new home, a multitude of decisions must be made before finally closing on a house. Which neighborhood is best? How are the schools? Is public transportation nearby? Something new to tack onto that list may be whether or not your home can generate energy from sustainable sources. October is National [...]
Global Investment in Renewables Hits All-Time High in 2011
June 27th, 2012 Eric Wilson Despite a somewhat sluggish global economy, renewable energy investments reached an all-time high in 2011. A report titled “Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2012” released by the Frankfurt School – UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate Change & Sustainable Energy Finance takes a detailed look at the state of renewable energy. According to the report’s [...]
New Jersey Outdoes California in Solar Power Installations
June 20th, 2012 Justin Manger File this one under “stick it where the sun don’t shine,” or at least where it don’t shine so much. While California can conjure up images of sunny beaches, Death Valley, and cloudless days, it is New Jersey that is really trying to harness the sun’s power so far this year. For the 1st quarter [...]
Itron: A Global Leader in Smart Meters
May 21st, 2012 John Basalla For today’s company spotlight, I wanted to look at smart meters. Smart meters have been in use since 2006 in the United States and have gained wide penetration in some areas and caused backlashes in others. In the near future many utilities will be switching their customers over to this technology. So what exactly are [...]
DOE’s SunShot Initiative Announces Funding Opportunity for “Plug and Play” Photovoltaic Systems
May 4th, 2012 Chris DeArmond The Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) SunShot Initiative is an ambitious program that aims to dramatically reduce the cost of solar energy. By the end of the decade, one of SunShot’s official goals is to cut the cost of photovoltaic (PV) systems by 75 percent, or to about 6 cents per kilowatt-hour. Besides making the cost [...]
FFF: Green Peace Study on Server Farms
April 20th, 2012 Justin Manger Mobile internet services based in the “cloud” are a part of daily life and continue to proliferate. Given the huge amounts of energy needed to power the data centers that are the backbone of our online life, Greenpeace recently released a “How Green Is Your Cloud” study comparing which internet companies are the most environmentally [...]
