January 18th, 2012

It’s one of those cold, white-bright days of winter. We’ve not had many like it this January. Instead, we’ve been walking around outdoors in our shirt sleeves, sneezing from pollen allergies and having a lot of little conversations about the unusual warm “spell”.
We’re experiencing climate change, of course, and it’s not a spell, but a new norm. Nearly everyone recognizes that something’s going on. Sometimes I feel like a character in Twin Peaks, exchanging knowing glances with the neighbors over these changes we cannot speak of because it’s somehow become radical to openly declare that climate change is happening, even though people in all walks of life can see it plainly. I’m thinking about farmers, landscapers, urban planners, builders, utility managers, insurers, scientists, oceanographers, biologists, botanists, power plant operators….

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July 6th, 2010

Efficiency. It’s much discussed. But will Americans really turn down their AC (or the heat), caulk their windows and put their electronics on power strips?
Experts say yes, they will if they can see that meter ticking away, adding needless dollars to their electricity bills. But the ability to gauge our electricity use with “smart” gadgets around the home depends largely on updating the national grid; creating a smart grid that can feed back information.

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April 8th, 2010

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

Wind energy grew in the U.S. in 2009, despite the economic downturn, adding jobs, turbines and enough new power to run 2.4 million homes, according to the American Wind Energy Association’s annual report released Thursday.

The wind sector installed more than 10,000 Megawatts of new wind power capacity in 2009, experiencing its largest growth and keeping America at the top of the list of wind-generating nations worldwide.

But the U.S. will not remain a leader in the global race to build wind power, several experts warned, unless the federal government passes clear targets for renewable energy that will encourage and support the industry.

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May 14th, 2009

By Carol Sonenklar
Green Right Now

Kim Williams didn’t really think she would be studying pie charts and graphs on a regular basis. But several times a month, that’s exactly what she does when she logs into her Pennsylvania Power & Light (PPL) Energy Analyzer account website.

She checks her energy usage to see exactly what her bill is, what specific appliances are consuming, whether her usage is occurring during peak times, and also gauge her costs compared with other similar-sized homes.

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May 5th, 2009

By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

Wind energy officials, manufacturers and providers have gathered in the Windy City this week for WINDPOWER 2009, a conference expected to draw some 18,000 people.

Kicking it off on Tuesday, four governors from the Midwest along with the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission appeared at a news conference.

The presence of so much executive clout demonstrated just how important wind has become, rising from a small player on the energy scene merely a few years ago to becoming a leader in the movement for low-carbon, job-creating clean energy solutions.

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April 1st, 2009

From Green Right Now Reports

National Grid has announced it will file a plan today with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities to build and operate a smart grid pilot in Worcester, Mass. The company said the pilot will involve about 15,000 customers and is believed to be the largest and most comprehensive in New England.

National Grid said the two-year pilot is the first step toward creating a more efficient, environmentally responsible modern grid. The project would provide customers with “improved energy use information, automation, and savings as well as an unprecedented amount of choice and control over how they use energy.” Another expected benefit of smart grid technology is better reliability of electric system.

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February 25th, 2009

By John DeFore
Green Right Now

A high-powered conference on the future of energy in America was held Monday in Washington; while it produced some consensus about the foundation necessary to meet future needs, it suggested there might be conflicts ahead in getting there.

Attendees, who ranged from former president Bill Clinton to officials at state utilities, heard plenty about the necessity of a new “smart grid” capable of shuttling electricity cross-country from renewable sources like wind and solar farms to the high-density cities that need the juice.

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