Resonating Fugitive Radical Renegades and GHGs

Resonating Fugitive Radical Renegades and GHGs

Think you’re a climate change genius? Strap in and prepare for whiplash.  To close out last week’s post, I referenced a Forbes article, Green Hydrogen’s Hype Hits Some Very Expensive Hurdles, which seeded the roots for this week’s Energy Rant....
Theory #2 For Batteries Increasing Emissions

Theory #2 For Batteries Increasing Emissions

As a glutton for punishment (I look forward to getting past sciatica so I can run marathons again), I tasked myself with getting to the technical bottom of this article from Utility Dive: Energy storage for grid reliability can increase carbon emissions: University of...
Solar Wars

Solar Wars

A year ago, I introduced the mantle curve to illustrate California’s overgeneration of solar power and the resulting need for curtailment. In 2022, California’s scoping study set a target for an additional 60 gigawatts (GW) or 60,000 megawatts (MW) of...
Wildfire Dynamics – Utilities Save Lives

Wildfire Dynamics – Utilities Save Lives

In this week’s rant, we are excited to include an epilogue written by Michaels Energy employee, Andrea Salazar. Read on to hear her story! In 2023, I wrote that Americans are moving into regions susceptible to wildfires, heat, droughts, and floods because...
Distributed Energy Threats

Distributed Energy Threats

It’s been a little over a year since I reported on grid attacks, mainly of the physical type but also of the cyber attack stripe. Every connected device, including distributed energy resources, adds surface area for an attack. The Wall Street Journal recently provided...
Demonstrating Industrial Electrification

Demonstrating Industrial Electrification

The industrial sector accounts for about one-quarter of US greenhouse gas emissions but is categorized as very difficult to decarbonize. This is primarily due to the large amounts of energy and heat required for industrial processes, but there are many other barriers...
Colors and Costs of Hydrogen vs. Natural Gas

Colors and Costs of Hydrogen vs. Natural Gas

This post features a lot of refined hydrogen content you can’t find online. But before I get to hydrogen, here’s an update: I always get a little excited to lead news cycles. After publishing Electricity Shortages and What to Do About It last Tuesday...
Electricity Shortages and What to Do About It

Electricity Shortages and What to Do About It

Some folks pin excessive weight on the federal government’s influence over our efficiency and load management industries. Even though billions/trillions of dollars are allocated through the “Inflation Reduction Act” and “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” those funds are...
Four Steps to Energy Code Flatline

Four Steps to Energy Code Flatline

Energy efficiency program administrators can be quite conservative regarding change and innovation. I love hearing, “Bring us new ideas that have been successful in three or four other programs.” There you are! The pinch is on. Energy efficiency codes and standards...