Under a law enacted in 2002, communities in California were alllowed to aggregate electric utility customers and take control over their electric system. Three years later, implementation plans are being developed or under consideration by about two dozen California cities.
We received a question on whether or not hybrid electric/gas vehicles should be allowed to use high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. Dr. Dave responded, calling hybrid cars an essential component of a sustainable transportation strategy but policies to let them use HOV lanes would be unnecessary and counterproductive. The complete Question and Answer from Dr.Dave: Is … Read More
The Oregon Public Utility Commission [OPUC] issued a report, "Distributed Generation in Oregon: Overview, Regulatory Barriers and Recommendations. The report describes how customers and utilities are using DG technologies, their benefits, as well as current and projected costs. This report stands out since very few states have devoted resources to investigate policy options to increase distributed generation.
In late February, California Governor Schwarzenegger’s office released the details of the California Million Solar Roofs bills (SB 1 and SB 1017). The two bills together will create a ten-year incentive program to help Californians install one million solar electric rooftops on homes and businesses throughout the state by 2018.
California’s Public Interest Energy (PIER) Program has received a final report that provides an analysis of the impacts, costs and timelines for distributed generation interconnection in California.
The new report, “Improving Interconnections in California”, covers four areas.
About 70 biodiesel manufacturers and distributors have urged the IRS to allow 100 percent biodiesel (known as neat biodiesel or B100) to qualify for the recently enacted excise tax exemption for biofuels.
Top notch researchers, Ryan Wiser and Mark Bolinger, from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab have presented estimates showing how solar electric power goals established in California will beat the expected PV installations in six states (and Washington DC) that have solar power requirements as part of their renewable energy portfolio standards.
A recent report done for the Vote Solar Initiative shows that on-peak solar electricity has a value of between 23 and 35 cent per kilowatt-hour. The January 2005 report was authored by Ed Smeloff, formerly on the board of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) and a long-time solar energy advocate.
