by Jeff Ihnen | Nov 16, 2021 | Energy Rant
I have a lot of gray hair. It’s a little frightening to see the age setting in when I see myself on video, but the years of wisdom from living life are nice because I’ve had the midlife crisis (20-some years ago), and I have learned to roll with things easily. Don’t...
by Jeff Ihnen | Nov 2, 2021 | Energy Rant
I’m not a casino gambler because I know who wins. I learned long ago that a stock is worth what the next guy will pay for it – nothing more and nothing less. Bad news is good news, and good news is bad. It’s entirely unpredictable. For example: Bureau of Labor...
by Michaels Energy | Oct 27, 2021 | The Big Why
Last month’s post discussed the need for proper accounting of energy sources to accurately quantify carbon[1] emissions. With that as a background, we can now dive into the importance of the timing of energy use and savings. The carbon content of electricity is both...
by Jeff Ihnen | Oct 26, 2021 | Energy Rant
It has been a frothy year for the energy industry, and it will continue well into next year and beyond. How far? Heh heh. Let’s start with coal. After plummeting 30% in 2020, consumption bounced back, gaining 35% in 2021. Doing the math, that doesn’t quite get coal...
by Jeff Ihnen | Oct 19, 2021 | Energy Rant
We live in a world of instant gratification and making this quarter’s numbers, or at most, annual numbers, is the main goal – except, of course, for zero-carbon goals that no one knows how to solve. Too often, governors, mayors, legislatures, and companies throw goals...
by Jeff Ihnen | Oct 12, 2021 | Energy Rant
When I stick my neck out, it’s often nice to discover others are on board to slow down the machete. I stash potential topics in an electronic pile, and when something triggers a need, I’m ready to go. This time, a co-presenter triggered me as I was delivering an...
by Jeff Ihnen | Oct 5, 2021 | Energy Rant
This is my sixth and final post on Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings (GEBs), including the great interview with Doug Scott (#5) of the Great Plains Institute. This week, I will wrap up with a mishmash of items in the DOE’s GEB Roadmap. As I start this wrap-up, what...
by Michaels Energy | Sep 29, 2021 | The Big Why
As our industry’s goals shift from simply using less energy to reducing carbon emissions, the evaluation, measurement, and verification (EM&V) of these savings can become a whole lot more complex. Both sites and utilities need to understand how much carbon...
by Jeff Ihnen | Sep 28, 2021 | Energy Rant
After several weeks of hardcore grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs) discussion and brutal challenges, I’m giving your brains a break this week – kind of like a shot of whiskey after weeks of drinking green protein smoothies in preparation for that marathon you...
by Jeff Ihnen | Sep 21, 2021 | Energy Rant
This week, we’re continuing our discussion on GEBs (Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings) with our special guest Doug Scott. Doug is the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Great Plains Institute and is a great resource for performance-based ratemaking which is...