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December 2014

Dec 29
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No Energy Policy- Really?

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant No Comments
I was planning to take a holiday break because no one is around to read the rant anyway, but this subject landed in my lap from Utility Dive, which leads to this article in The Christian Science Monitor.  Lack of federal “energy policy” makes for easy writing.  The notion comes from the International Energy Agency (IEA). First off, the IEA should familiarize itself with our form of government, which in a large sense remains just as the founders intended – with a strong dose of federalism. Federalism boils down to states’ rights.  Although federal government grabs all the power it…
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Dec 22
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Combined Heat and Power Ins and Outs

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant 2 Comments
Combined heat and power (CHP) is quite easy to understand from an energy efficiency perspective.  Deploying policies to encourage it is very complex due to a number of things: What fuel type are we saving? What is fair for the utility? What are the public benefits? How should any incentives be derived? CHP Overview In a conventional thermal power plant fired by coal, roughly 20% of the energy is lost to the exhaust in the form of waste heat.  Roughly 45% of the thermal energy is rejected to the atmosphere or body of water – river, lake, or ocean.  This…
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Dec 15
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Wind Energy – Finally Going Somewhere

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant 2 Comments
This week’s post features a strong shot of irony.  South Dakota ranks 49th of 51 jurisdictions (50 states plus the District of Columbia) in ACEEE’s 2014 Energy Efficiency Scorecard report, yet its citizens overwhelmingly support wind power.  And when I say they support wind power, they act on it – not “yes, I love it ”.  This isn’t a “do you support renewable energy” question – which, as discussed in last week’s post about freeridership, is a question loaded with social pressure.  No.  South Dakotan’s aren’t slaves to political correctness; nor are they complainers.  I know because I went to…
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Dec 08
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Freeridership: Confessions of a Bad Person

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant 2 Comments
On Thanksgiving weekend, I was impulse shopping online at Starbucks.com.  I’d like a new insulated coffee tumbler.  Once I moved my desired tumbler to the shopping bag and proceeded to checkout, I found that I needed to purchase $75 to avoid the $8 shipping charge.  Ok.  I’ll just buy coffee, which I always buy anyway at their stores, to clear the $75.  On the way to $75, I noticed one pound of coffee added to the shopping bag didn’t move the needle (purchase total).  That’s because there was a buy-three-and-get-one-free promotion ongoing.  Cool! My box of Starbucks goods arrived with…
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Dec 01
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Clean Power Plan and the Heat Rate Fairy

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant 2 Comments
As you must know, the EPA’s release of its Clean Power Plan on June 2nd of this year includes four “building blocks” to achieve a 30% reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, using a reference year of 2005.  Those building blocks are as follows: Improve the heat rate (efficiency) of coal-fired power plants by 6% “Re-dispatch” natural-gas generators to achieve a capacity factor of 70% Development and preservation of clean sources, including nuclear, hydro, and renewable sources Demand side energy efficiency Does the EPA have any engineers on staff?  Did any of them provide input and/or oversight for the…
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All things energy. That’s our jam.

We talk a lot about energy – from the serious to the satirical.

All things energy. That’s our jam.

We talk a lot about energy – from the serious to the satirical.

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