A Power Shutoff Is Scheduled - How Does My Solar and Battery Work?
Almost everyone in California is aware of the Public Safety Power Shutoff Program — when the utility turns off power to customers in...
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Aug 18, 20192 min read
Living With Public Safety Power Shutoffs
PG&E, our local utility in Silicon Valley, caused a number of wildfires -- including the recent Camp fire that destroyed the town of...
Aug 8, 20192 min read
Hidden Barriers to Building Electrification
Studies show that electrifying our transportation and building sectors are the fastest ways to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These...
Aug 1, 20192 min read
Electrifying Buildings with Jeff Byron
California was the first state to set aggressive goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Senate bill 32, AKA Cap and Trade, will reduce...
Jul 17, 20192 min read
Public Safety Power Shutoff Programs
California utility companies recently announced their Public Safety Power Shutoff programs across the state. Bloomberg News said...
Apr 4, 20192 min read
San Jose Clean Energy - The New Electric Utility
There is a new electricity provider serving customers in the city of San Jose: San Jose Clean Energy (SJCE). Technically they are not a...
Feb 21, 20192 min read
Redesigning the Electric Grid for the Future
Our electric grid is one of the most complicated systems that has ever been built. We have confidence that our electrical system is...
Jan 28, 20192 min read
Legal Issues for PG&E's Bankruptcy with Angela Liponovich of Estriatus Law
PG&E’s bankruptcy will have a dramatic effect on all electricity users in northern California — as well as utility investors, California...
Nov 19, 20182 min read
The Sun Also Rises - At Night With Battery Storage
One of my favorite Hemingway books is “The Sun Also Rises.” It’s about Spain, bull fighting and a group of lost generation friends in...
Nov 7, 20181 min read
Utility Power Plant Economics
We have all seen those big power plants outside cities that provide power — historically from coal, oil and nuclear and now more...
Nov 1, 20182 min read
Protecting Your Rights to Go Solar with Dave Rosenfeld
We take it for granted that you can install solar on your home or business anytime, just as you can make any other energy saving...
Aug 15, 20182 min read
There is a New Utility in Town - Silicon Valley Clean Energy
The electric utility industry is undergoing rapid change. There used to be two types of utilities: investor owned utilities (IOUs, such...
Jul 31, 20182 min read
Ten Electric Utility Company Myths
Electric utilities got their start in the U.S. in the 1880s. Thomas Edison began transmitting DC power as he literally illuminated the...
May 30, 20182 min read
John Farrell on Why It Costs More For Utilities to Sell Power
For over a hundred years our civilization has been getting electricity from centralized generation. This utility business model relies on...
Mar 11, 20181 min read
Ten Energy Saving Myths
Rooftop solar is expensive Electric cars are cheaper than gas cars Buying new energy saving appliances saves money Utility companies are...
Sep 11, 20171 min read
Designing a Reliable Electric Grid
Over the past few months we’ve experienced a solar eclipse, several devastating hurricanes, another under-construction nuclear plant...
Jul 24, 20171 min read
Improving Local Grid Reliability
Our local electric grid is not up to the 21st century demands of EVs, more air conditioning requirements, heat pumps instead of natural...
Jul 13, 20173 min read
San Jose Mercury News Op-Ed: More solar panels and battery storage at homes could prevent power fail
At 1:30 on a Sunday afternoon in June, I experienced the second power outage at my Silicon Valley home this year. Then, last weekend a...
Mar 13, 20172 min read
Coal, Nuclear and Oil are Losing Steam - Can They Compete?
Our sources of electrical power are quickly shifting. In 2016 there was 26 gigawatts of new electrical-utility capacity added in the U.S....
Feb 14, 20172 min read
Three Options for Local Clean Energy
If you have an electric bill there are three basic ways for you to get your electricity from renewable sources. The most popular is...
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