News & Articles on Renewable Energy
My specialty is wind energy, but I have worked with all forms of renewable energy. Over the years I’ve written about a number of renewable technologies, including solar and geothermal energy. In recent years I’ve focused on comprehensive renewable energy policies that develop a mix of renewable resources. I’ve also written about our use of fossil fuels and nuclear power.
Renewables International: The Power Grab–Citizens as producers, not just consumers
By
Craig Morris
Beckman writes that “analysts” speak of “gross inefficiencies” in national schemes: “wind and solar power get built where subsidies are highest rather than where there is most wind or sun in Europe.” What the RECS and the ECJ are proposing might sound like a free market, but the outcome will be an oligopoly – a concentration of the renewables market among conventional energy firms that have slowed down the transition up to now. It’s a power grab
GET: Feed-in tariffs – do they discourage efficiency?
By
Craig Morris
As someone with a moderately open mind, I promote the sharing of best practices. If you support renewables, feed-in tariffs (FITs) seem an obvious choice; they have been used successfully – even predominantly – for practically all types of renewable energy. The IEA says more than 70 percent of PV installed worldwide by the end of 2012 was the result of FITs.
Gipe Endorses “Wind Moves Us” Campaign in Germany
By
Paul Gipe
In solidarity with BWE, I’ve endorsed their campaign by taking the small step of including one of their themes in the banner of my web site. I’ve posted one banner in the original German and one English version. The banners rotate with other images from my web site.
IGov: Achieving energy transitions – Which RES policies are best applied when?
By
Lena Kitzing and Catherine Mitchell
We show, using policy analysis and socioeconomic considerations including uncertainty, that in the first phase, it is beneficial to focus on establishing support policy instruments which reduce risk for investors (such as feed-in tariffs). This will lead to faster and less costly renewable deployment, and will increase the likelihood of achieving a successful transition into the second phase . . .
German Government on Almunia Power Grab Attempt
By
Karl-friedrich Lenz
The German Government is also critical of the substance of the draft guidelines. They say that it is too early for transiting to an auction model immediately. – See more at: http://k.lenz.name/LB/?p=10401#sthash.ei6juoBo.dpuf
GET: What future role for today’s utilities?
By
Craig Morris
The push against renewables is also a desperate attempt to protect incumbent firms on a market that might trend away from big business and towards small producers if market forces and democracy prevail. At the same time, the pushback means that the trend towards energy democracy will not happen on its own – we have to fight for it.
