| Articles & Reports |
|
| Green Pricing and Net Metering Programs |
A nationwide evaluation of green pricing and net metering programs by the Energy Information Association that is organized by state and customer class. This is 2007 data released in 2009. Another report will be released in 2010. Green pricing refers to a practice by the power companies that allows customers the chance to voluntarily pay mroe for renewable energy through direct payments on their bills. A net metering program refers to the practice of energy customers using any type of energy generator to cut down on their energy bills and sometimes even sell back excess power they may not use. |
The Big Smart Grid Challenges: Regulations, privacy and security concerns, and other issues could hold back developments.
|
A July 2009 article from Technology Review about internal and external factors that wil foil the possibilities of reducing energy consumption through smart grid options. As the article states, new sensors and control will give people the power to see their energy consumption in real time. However, the process will have to go through government agencies and privacy/security experts before we see the first steps of change. |
| Worldwide Trends in Energy Use and Efficiency |
A 2008 publication from the International Energy Agency, Summary: "For IEA countries the recent rate of improvement in energy efficiency across all sectors of the economy has been much lower than in previous decades. Substantially increasing the current rate of energy efficiency gains must be a key priority for policy-makers in their efforts to achieve a more secure and sustainable energy future.
"The results of the analyses for industry and electricity generation demonstrate large potentials for efficiency gains and CO2 savings if proven technologies and best practices were to be applied globally. Realising these potentials would not be something that could be achieved in a short period, due to practical constraints relating to capital stock turnover. However, the analysis shows where the largest potentials for reductions are to be found and suggests where government policies, including policies for international technology co-operation, can most fruitfully be focused." |
| The role of DE in reducing the impact of energy use - an ecological footprint perspective |
From Co-generation & On-site Power Production, Summary: "This outcome underlines the important role that DE could play in footprint reduction in the coming years. If the global economy will be able to follow the Rapid Reduction pathway, humanity will move out of the overshoot by 2050, but if this pathway is followed together with a shift from central to DE systems (RR & 100% DE scenario), overshoot ending will be anticipated by nearly 15 years.
On the other side, ecological footprint accounting suggests that a switch from central generation to DE may not always result in a reduction of total human demand on the biosphere but instead simply substitute an increase in built-up footprint (required for decentralizing the power plants) for the decrease in energy land footprint." |
| Energy and Economic Impacts of Implementing Both a 25-Percent RPS and a 25-Percent RFS by 2025 |
From the Energy Information Administration of the DOE, September 2007.
This report responds to a request by Senator James Inhofe for analysis of a “25-by-25" proposal that combines a requirement that a 25-percent share of electricity sales be produced from renewable sources by 2025 with a requirement that a 25-percent share of liquid transportation fuel sales also be derived from renewable sources by 2025. |
Energy Use: The Human Dimension |
A dated resource (1985) covering the human element of designing existing and alternative energy projects. Available in online .pdf form. |
| |
|
