PG&E agrees to buy more excess net metering power

Good move. Right now the cap is that 2.5 % of their power must come from net metering customers (i.e. homes with solar on their roofs). They have agreed to take that to 3.5% since they expected to meet the original goal in 2011. One of the reasons it's attractive to install solar is because this program makes it more cost effective. The California legislature has been trying to make that cap 5% but failed to reach an agreement..guess they'll keep working on that.

A home owner can create excess power (net) during the day then use utility power at night when the panels are not producing. In effect you are using the utility as a giant battery. If the utilities stop allowing net metering then a home owner might create excess energy during the day from their panels that is just going to waste (or being used free by the utilities).

Our governor has stated that he wants to introduce legislation to eliminate the caps altogether so there is no limit to the amount of solar that can be installed..wait, back up the truck...beep, beep, beep! The cap is not a limit on how much power the companies can buy. It's forcing the utilities to buy net metering power up to the cap. They probably wouldn't buy any if they weren't mandated too.

I only hope the governator is talking about a deal where the utilities will want to buy all the net metering power they can get their hands on. That would be a win-win.

Regen Living...Big Cool Factor

A friend sent me a link to the Regen Living website. I have to say I was very impressed. It's a sexy looking product and great idea. They have a solar charger with a battery to store the power. This is the base unit. Then they offer some accessories that can use that power...like an iPod dock to charge your iPhone or iPod as well as a Sound Dock to play music off your iPod. They also have an LED side lamp. I assume they will be coming out with more options to plug things in to the panel.

Coming soon will be a solar powered speaker system where you can dock your iPod and play music. It is about 3 feet tall so I'm thinking you'll be able to really crank it up! This will work on regular power (120v) as well or "hybrid" mode as they put it. The draw back it it's not cheap.

Regen Living definitely has the cool factor in their corner here and I applaud the effort. I struggle with the cost though and justifying a purchase solely to charge my iPhone. It's about $250 for the charger and iPod dock. It probably cost me a penny to charge my phone off the wall and nothing really if I have it plugged in to my computer while I'm working. Am I missing something here?

Regardless they are heading on the right direction and I hope they are successful.

Energy Dectective

Very cool...The Energy Detective or TED as it's affectionately know can help you cut power by actually showing you what you are using. It's a relatively simple hook up and gives real time information on energy usage in your home.

So plug it in and turn on a light to see how much that light is costing you. In the overview video a couple saved 9 KWs of power each month (~about $30) based on the feedback they received from TED. They changed some habits, some light bulbs and voila..reduced carbon footprint.

What's doubly cool is that TED now works with Google's PowerMeter so you can you can get statistics on usage and view real time energy use via the web...even on your mobile device!
I can see it now..on vacation with my daughter staying at home. I get an alert on my phone Saturday evening that my energy usage is spiking...hmmm...can you say unauthorized party?

Since the announcement of TED working with Google's PowerMeter they can't keep the device in stock...chalk one up for Mother Earth!

Check out TED here:
http://www.theenergydetective.com/index.html

California can't win with solar

Interesting article in the Wall Street Journal last week about the struggles of California to get solar projects through the permit process. Apparently Brightsource, who has contracted with PG&E, is in year two of the permit process to build a massive solar plant in the desert.

I understand there are issues..like the fact that the field will be the size approaching the mass of Rhode Island..and this in a very fragile desert environment. It is a delicate balancing act but the alternatives could be worse. A coal fired plant where the dam breaks from the scrubbing operations and leaches billions of gallons of toxic waste water? A nuclear plant with radioactive waste (of course it is a quick trip over to the Nevada storage site from there)?

C'mon CA get your act together. This will supply enough energy for 500,000+ homes. Either you are on board or not with these alternative solutions...though heading in to my dream state...wouldn't it be cool if the smart grid was in place and we could put solar panels on 500,000 homes that are already in the desert...nah, it would probably take California 5 years to approve that.

Article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091013-714592.html

Smart Energy Grid

Everybody seems to be jumping on the Smart Grid train these days. It's where the action is...but what exactly does "Smart Grid" mean?

I think it means a lot of things depending on your perspective in approaching it. For me it's analogous to Cloud Computing, a general concept the encompasses many faucets. For example a networking company like Silver Spring sees the Smart Grid as the need to better manage power on an aging infrastructure (typically new hardware at the users location). Microsoft, Cisco and IBM see it as a software problem. With the advent of these new smart meters at sites how will the utility companies manage and use the boat loads of information that will result? Then there are the companies that actually have a hand in creating new energy, like Sunpower (solar panels) or Tessera (desert solar farms). How does this energy get to where it's needed? Well new wires.

This are all pieces of the Smart Grid. Ultimately it's the utility companies that will be responsible for bringing these parts together, creating a new mesh infrastructure to manage our power needs going forward. I see the Smart Grid as the decentralization of power generation.

Rather than having than having a few huge plants producing electricity power might come from a desert solar plant, tidal generating stations or wind farms off the coast. The utilites will be able to move power from a tract of homes with solar panels generating excess to their neighbors across the street. During heavy demand they might even pull energy from the batteries in your electric car parked in the garage.

All these solutions together are important in the scope of things. So don't get caught up in the term, keep it in perspective and realize it's a good thing.