Jesse Remillard, ERS, for Zondits. April 5, 2016. Image credit: ColiN00B Zondits spoke with Michael Hopkins, the CEO of Ice Energy, a Santa Barbara energy storage company which makes smart ice batteries called Ice Bears. These specially designed storage systems are equipped with a reservoir for storing thermal energy in the form of ice, which is … Read more
Waiting for a Rockefeller: Meet the Next `Supermajors’ of Energy Bloomberg, April 3, 2016. Image credit: geralt Clean power remains a tumultuous and fragmented business, crowded with companies grabbing for slices of an emerging market that aspires to reshape how the world meets its energy needs. They rise and fall as technology advances and demand seesaws. … Read more
This chart shows the United States’ mind-blowing clean energy potential Grist, March 30, 2016. Image credit: Greyerbaby The United States uses about 3.7 million gigawatt-hours of electricity each year. That’s an unfathomably huge number. But the next time someone tries to make the argument that 100 percent renewable energy is out of reach for the U.S., show them this image: … Read more
Cash for cycling? Polluted Milan wants to pay commuters to bike to work The Guardian, February 27, 2016. Image credit: ImpronteDigitali But now Italy’s economic powerhouse, Milan, is seeking to bring back the bicicletta by paying people to cycle to work. The move follows the announcement in December of a €35m (£27m) government fund for sustainable mobility … Read more
Bringing thermal energy store vessels to life Renewable Energy Focus, March 24, 2016. Image credit: Xklaim One energy storage solution that has come to the fore is Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES), which uses liquid air to create an innovative energy reserve that delivers large scale, long duration energy storage. The Government is taking the technology’s … Read more
Valerie Eacret, ERS, for Zondits March 21, 2016. Image credit: Seabirds Almost 30 years ago, Brazil flooded an enormous area in the Amazonian rainforest to generate hydroelectric power in what some called an environmental crime. Today, it only produces 20% of its capacity. The artificial lake is so large that the horizon is barely visible from … Read more
National Grid to Provide One-Stop Solar Shopping For Rhode Island Customers 3BL Media, March 8, 2016. Image credit: Hans Rhode Island electric customers of National Grid will soon have a convenient online tool to use in researching and purchasing solar energy systems for their homes and businesses. Thanks to action taken by the Rhode Island Public … Read more
US agency reaches ‘holy grail’ of battery storage sought by Elon Musk and Gates The Guardian, March 3, 2016. Image credit: A US government agency says it has attained the “holy grail” of energy – the next-generation system of battery storage, that has has been hotly pursued by the likes of Bill Gates and Elon … Read more
California’s Revolution in Western Energy Markets T&D World, March 9, 2016. Image credit: blickpixel The Energy Times’ recently talked with BPA Administrator Elliot Mainzer on the regional impact of bold new renewables and storage initiatives in California ahead of the landmark California Renewables Rush conference in San Francisco April 6 supported by virtually all major utilities … Read more
Valerie Eacret, ERS, for Zondits March 9, 2016. Image credit: geralt The Mass Net Zero Data Center (MassNZ) is an experiment in Holyoke, Massachusetts, which is a testing center for using renewable energy for data center applications. Not surprisingly, the key is storage, and MassNZ uses heavy flywheels as part of a distributed energy storage demonstration … Read more