The need for platooning to make the economics of electric semis work. I’ve heard that a test of something like this will be part of the Columbus Smart City pilot.

The need for more flexibility in critical peak pricing.

The four main trends affecting the electric industry. I would include the decoupling of total electricity demand and utility revenue.

GM to bring 20 all-electric cars to market by 2023. Note that “to market” may indicate different countries. Don’t expect the cars released in China to be the same as those in the US.

Shell Executive Describes Inevitable Transition to Carbon-Free Energy. “Shell’s CEO Ben Van Beurden recently said that with the right mix of policy and innovation, he sees global demand for oil peaking in the early 2030s or sooner — and that his next car will be electric.”

Will it clean the streets as it drives?

Power production costs on a decreasing trend. Cheaper natural gas, more renewables.

For Corporations Acquiring Renewables, It’s Not All About Price. That’s reasonable. This is not: “Energy and utility companies were the least likely industry to say their company would be more assertive in acquiring renewables in the next two years. Only 37.5 percent of those companies said they wanted to become more aggressive in purchasing renewable energy.”

Marginal health costs of microscopic particulate matter may be decreasing in their density in the air. This is opposite of what you probably expect. It means that the greatest health benefits (per person) may be had by decreasing PM2.5 in areas where it is already low. Taking into account the fact that populations are highest in Indian and China, where PM2.5 is high, it may still be most worthwhile to decrease levels there.

Chance of a solar panel tariff.

Solar power to protect military installations.

In a sense, stationing diesel-fueled generators outside key buildings to provide emergency power is a start down this path. But fuel supply lines can be disrupted too, so renewable energy is best for a long-lasting solution. Solar photovoltaic systems, which generate electricity directly from sunlight, are best because they are easy to maintain, can be located almost anywhere and don’t need to be refueled.

Primer on lithium production.

Nuanced view of whether or not the U.S. should try to bury more power lines.

Should the demand response baseline be raised in heat waves? Shouldn’t you be expected to use more power than average when the temperature spikes?

One utility wades in the distributed energy resources (DER) pool.

Reverse demand response.

M&M’s are wind powered. So is Budweiser.

Solar-powered Bitcoin mining.

Customer grid defections are a utility branding issue.

Would you have to leave your car in the sun to charge all day? And here’s part 2.

The DOE study found cheap natural gas to be the greatest driver of baseload power plant retirements, followed by flat power demand, environmental regulations and the growing penetration of renewables on the grid. Perhaps most notably, the study did not find renewables to be a threat to grid reliability.

Duke Energy having trouble building anything other than renewable power in North Carolina.

Microgrid keeps the lights on during outage at the Outer Banks.

Solar brightfields could help meet this demand for solar generation in land-constrained states by focusing projects on former industrial sites and contaminated land without causing new environmental concerns.

Customer reactions to the eclipse may drive demand-side management engagement.

Bigger and bigger wind turbines.

Whereas 82 percent of offshore turbines ordered between 2001 and 2005 were under 3 megawatts, today there are no machines of that size on order.

Instead, 71 percent of orders are for products 5 megawatts or greater, and 16 percent are for turbines of 8 megawatts or greater. “Despite long project cycles and R&D timelines, commercial demand continues to favor the largest turbines,” says the report. “The next generation of 12-megawatt-plus turbines will gain market share within the next five years.”