In a historic vote, Boulder, Colorado, remunicipalized its energy provider. Charleen Fei and Ian Rinehart explain whether this is part of a broader trend and what differentiates Boulder from other American cities fighting for control over municipal utilities.
All posts tagged: Electricity
The Economic or Competitive Advantages of the Energiewende for Germany
The German Energiewende has repeatedly come under scrutiny for its cost. R. Andreas Kraemer, founding director of Ecologic, argues that the economic benefits prevail: Germany has matured a new branch of industry that creates economic growth and makes Germany more energy independent.
Net-metering not “self-reliant”
Over the past month, Craig Morris has commented on the debate surrounding net-metering (NEM) versus feed-in tariffs (FITs) several times in this blog. Today, he signs out of the discussion by pointing out that neither constitute going off-grid.
MWs are not MWhs – Monitoring Report Part 2
Today, Craig Morris returns to the Monitoring Report published in December by Germany’s Network Agency to discuss what the organization expects over the next five years.
German energy consumption up
The AGEB (Working Group on Energy Balances), which tallies official energy statistics for Germany, expects consumption to increase by just over two percent this year. Craig Morris takes a look at the organization’s overview for the first three quarters.
Denmark surpasses 100 percent wind power
On November 3, wind power production in Denmark exceeded the level of power consumption. Craig Morris says the event was not even especially exceptional.
Censored EU Commission Numbers and Biased Scenarios – How Powerful Interests Undermine the Energy Transition in Europe
The European Union (EU) is currently setting out its climate and energy policy framework for 2030. Whether the EU should commit to binding targets for emissions reduction, renewables and energy efficiency, and how ambitious such targets should be, is hotly debated in Brussels. Scenario modeling and statistics are supposed to inform politicians with sound research-based guidance for their decision making. However, it seems that these information sources are often biased in line with the interests of powerful lobby groups thus putting at stake future EU competitiveness, the delivery of the EU climate and energy security and the transformation into a low-carbon economy, find Silvia Brugger and Luca Bergamaschi.
Energiewende – let’s look beyond Europe!
When talking about the Energiewende, observers tend to look to Germany and Western Europe as pioneers. Robert Brückmann argues that we need to broaden our attention, as more and more countries around the world restructure their power generation – and gives South East Asia as a convincing example.
2013 German Election Energy Party Profiles – Part 4: The Future of Conventional Power Plants
While renewable energies play an increasingly important role in the German electricity mix, some conventional power plants are still needed as backup supply. Manfred Ungemach and Markus Przytulski compare the parties’ positions on how to keep conventional power plants on the grid while their operation becomes increasingly uneconomical.
Renewables Squeezing Out Fossil Fuels
Over the course of the last two winters, the Energiewende’s opponents have warned in the shrillest tones that relying so heavily on PV and onshore wind would cause blackouts and power outages, leaving German industry prostrate and German citizens freezing in their homes. None of this came to bear, and Germany posted a new overall export record in 2012 and also exported more electricity than ever before.