Power Points
Reasons for optimism on energy storage
Evidence continues to suggest that energy storage may be getting cheaper and scaling up faster than once thought. A review of new research and analysis demonstrates why many observers remain confident about the market potential for energy storage, particularly when it’s coupled with solar PV installation.
Doing the math on demand response: How new technology will balance supply & demand
On January 25, 2016, a lucidly written majority opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) jurisdictional authority in its demand response rule (FERC Order 745), illuminating along the way just how quickly energy markets are changing the U.S. grid.
Two actions in late 2015 signal more change for the energy world
Two significant actions occurred in December 2015 – one global, one national – that signal enormous changes in the energy sector for 2016 and beyond.
Post cards from Vienna and Paris: “Innovate, innovate, innovate”
I recently received two post cards—one from Vienna and one from Paris—each of them about increasing innovation in the energy sector. But seeing them also reminded me of this: new ideas are easy to stop, difficult to stimulate. Perhaps nowhere is that more clear than in well-established business sectors such as the U.S. electric utility. Historically, U.S. electric utilities have not been leaders in research and development (R & D).
Energy storage systems…Coming to a home near you?
Almost every week a news story pops up in my inbox about how energy storage is going to revolutionize the energy world. And yet the revolution never comes. Why? Some say the technology is still not there. But more and more companies are working round-the-clock to improve energy storage system technology.