For as long as civilization has existed, there has been an ongoing question about what the mind is, and how it relates to the body. Is it an immaterial substance, and if so, then how can it exert control over the physical being with which […]
The Electricity Industry’s “Ghost in the Machine” Read More »
“A source of increasing tension is the difference in mindset between the traditional industry scarcity mindset versus customers and new business entities with an abundance mindset.” Scarcity thinking has permeated much of the electricity industry’s regulation and decision-making methods that are now constraining the transition
Abundance vs Scarcity Thinking Read More »
It’s the early evening in the dog days of summer in California on a warm Tuesday night. In the background I can hear the muffled sounds of the SF Giants baseball game playing on the tv. With each crack of the bat, my head pops
This Little Light of Mine Read More »
The Pacific Energy Institute is pleased to announce the release of its new white paper, “A Gambit for Grid 2035”. This paper by the Institutes’ Fellows examines the evolution of the power industry and structural considerations as we accelerate towards a clean and distributed electricity
A Gambit for Grid 2035 Read More »
Wonder why non-wires alternative procurements are failing to meet the frothy expectations of five years ago? One reason is that most distributed energy resource (DER) aggregators have quietly pivoted to other more profitable business models. Some firms have pivoted to become DER management “software as
Where Have all the Aggregators Gone? Read More »
Bob Dylan, that well known electric utility analyst, famously noted that “The times they are a changing…the waters around you have grown…you better start swimmin’ Or you’ll sink like a stone…” Who knew he was talking about electric rates, but he was. The waters are
The Future of Electric Rates Read More »
Those of you who worked over the last couple decades in wind and then solar integration may find a familiar scene being played out with DER integration today. Compensation for wind and solar was initially based on 20-year projected avoided costs which often ended up
DERs: Déjà vu all over again Read More »
Energy storage for the grid has generally been viewed as an optional add-on device to bolster reliability of the grid, as a special case reliability improvement in place of other measures, and as a tool for postponing infrastructure investment (Non-wires alternatives). These uses of storage
Storage: It’s Not Just for Grid Services Anymore Read More »
America’s electricity system is in a state of regulatory disarray, and has been for two decades, since the move to restructure the industry that began in the 1990s, which initially faltered with the California crisis of 2000-2001, and eventually resulted in a patchwork of state