by Jeff Ihnen | Apr 16, 2024 | Energy Rant
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...
by Jeff Ihnen | Apr 9, 2024 | Energy Rant
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...
by Michaels Energy | Apr 3, 2024 | The Big Why
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...
by Jeff Ihnen | Apr 1, 2024 | Energy Rant
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...
by Jeff Ihnen | Mar 26, 2024 | Energy Rant
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...
by Jeff Ihnen | Mar 19, 2024 | Energy Rant
This week’s Energy Rant is written by Kenny Porter and Tyler Kashdan of Michaels Energy. As I shoveled my way out of the recent record-breaking snowstorm, I couldn’t help but reflect on the monumental effort it took to move all that snow. It reminded me of...
by Jeff Ihnen | Mar 4, 2024 | Energy Rant
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...
by Jeff Ihnen | Feb 27, 2024 | Energy Rant
For years, I wondered how the national debt would result in Great Depression-level pain and a reset not unlike bankruptcy. The national debt doesn’t need to be paid back like we often hear or read in the news. It just needs to be maintained at manageable levels,...
by Jeff Ihnen | Feb 20, 2024 | Energy Rant
Two weeks ago, I described an array of district heating and cooling plants that serve medical, college, industrial, and even city-scale loads. Last week, I explained options to decarbonize district heating and cooling plants. Those options include converting systems...
by Jeff Ihnen | Feb 13, 2024 | Energy Rant
Let’s begin with Oxford Dictionary’s definition of decarbonization. Noun: reduction or elimination of carbon dioxide emissions from a process such as manufacturing or the production of energy. Last week, I introduced central or district plants that serve...
