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Jun 26
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Valuing ENERGY STAR in Trump’s Budget

By Energy Rant No Comments
I think nearly everyone reading this knows Trump’s budget blueprint calls for eliminating the popular ENERGY STAR® program. This is an enormous topic, so let’s dive in and see where Jeff takes us. Absurdities I have no idea what Trump is thinking – that eliminating this program will do anything for profligate, runaway, candy-for-all federal spending. The Huffy Post and NPR both claim the program costs about $50 million a year to administer. I could not confirm this with a conservative news source, in 15 minutes of precious research time. Perhaps the reason is the budget cut is so absurdly…
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Jun 12
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Paris: The Bumbling Abominable Snow Monster

By Energy Rant 4 Comments
June 1, 2017.  Does that ring a bell?  To many, it is a day of infamy – the day Trump bid adieu to the Paris climate deal, accord, treaty, or whatever (Paris).  Since then, I have read many an article, LinkedIn posts, and Tweets filled with wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Was Paris that good?  Does anyone reading this know the details?  I decided to dig in and synthesize it to hors devours, which seems kind of French.  Right? The broad objectives of the agreement include three things: Hold temperatures to well within 2 degrees C relative to pre-industrial temperatures.…
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Apr 10
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Benchmarking Flaws and Best Practices; Pot Growers Discover Sunshine

By Energy Rant No Comments
The City of Chicago recently issued its annual report on commercial building benchmarking. I pick on Chicago because (1) its upper-Midwest location has a climate like that of many of our readers, and (2) because it uses ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager, which I addressed several times before. With Portfolio Manager, everybody seems to get a trophy, and results are troublesome to me. Also, for reference, I published this post last fall, pointing out the failures of energy codes to move the energy intensity needle. Using data from the Energy Information Administration, that post showed that buildings built in the past…
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May 03
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natural gas

Natural Gas is a Wonderful Fuel, Btu, er But,,,

By Energy Rant No Comments
New ideas are great, but there is no replacement for accumulated experience to assess the landscape ahead and see potential trouble on the horizon. This is one of my most important responsibilities for our company. I am no mountain climber, but I am reminded of mountaineering documentaries about summiting Everest and getting past the treacherous Hillary Step. Just last week, I met with a team of engineers cautioning them about crucial steps in the progression of a project that would make or break the project. It involved a combination of technical factors and human factors.Too bad there is no empowered…
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Feb 22
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Clean Power Plan (CPP) III – The Coma Phase

By Energy Rant One Comment
Roughly a year and a half ago in Clean Air Act 111(d) – Machete Required, I outlined why the Clean Power Plan (CPP) was poorly constructed because it is unworkable under the Clean Air Act as written. Then, of course, earlier this year, a month ago to be more precise, I started to investigate how the final plan would work in the January 25th and February 1st posts. On February 9, at 10:58 AM, I replied to an internal email about a tangential subject of grid stability that the CPP would probably be upheld because Chief Justice Roberts has demonstrated…
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Feb 01
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cpp

Clean Power Plan (CPP) – The Next Layer

By Energy Rant No Comments
Last week, we scratched the surface of demons in the Clean Power Plan (CPP) details.  Let’s see what lies on the second layer below. There are two methods for counting, scoring, and achieving compliance in the plan: mass based and rate-based plans.  To recap, mass based is the simpler of the two. For starters, it includes one metric: tons of CO2 emissions from stationary power suppliers.  The second is, I believe, far more complicated.  Why?  Glad you asked. The rate based approach would appear to be an itty bit more complicated, like steaming broccoli versus steaming carrots.  The only difference…
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Jan 25
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clean power plan

A Wee Bit of Clean Power Plan Knowledge

By Energy Rant No Comments
Everyone reading this knows about the EPA’s Clean Power Plan (CPP). You probably know the final rule was released in August 2015, and the plan calls for reducing CO2 emissions by 32% from a baseline of 2005 to the goal-achieving euphoria in 2030. From there, I’ll bet a survey for CPP knowledge falls like a Wile E Coyote Acme anvil.Answers to basic questions are very hard to find. The EPA’s website mainly provides fluff and spin describing how great the plan is and how flexible and easy it will be to “glide” to success. Instead, I conducted my research from…
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Nov 02
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total resource cost test

Total Resource Cost Test – Less than Total is Better??

By Energy Rant One Comment
I spent considerable time a year ago figuring out the various cost effectiveness tests that are applied to energy efficiency programs.  Since they are so bizarre, it took me almost an hour again to relearn it.  Thankfully, I documented it in language I can understand, and no one squawked about anything being wrong, so I’m going to believe it was right.  For a refresher, that was Energy Efficiency Benefit/Cost Tests and a Handful of Excedrin. I won’t recycle all that information, but in this Rant I will advance the discussion to demonstrate that the usual benefit/cost test, the Total Resource…
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Apr 27
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Clean Power Plan Arms Race

By Energy Efficiency, Energy Rant, Government No Comments
I imagine the EPA is working feverishly on their final ruling for the Clean Power Plan (proposed under the Clean Air Act), due this June.  Meanwhile, many states and one prominent company, Murray Energy, are digging in to do legal battle for decades to come, possibly.  The “possibly” part of that would occur if the Clean Power Plan is upheld by the courts.  That will result in endless litigation.  If it is thrown out, the federal government may have to actually pass laws for once – you know, the political process. Here is the problem with the Clean Air Act:…
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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.

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