Jim Pierobon is Founder and principal writer of The Energy Fix. He is a policy, marketing and social media strategist who has reported on, testified and consulted about smarter grids, cyber-security as it affects the power grid, fossil fuel shortages, price spikes, energy efficiency and the rise and fall -- and the rise again of nuclear and renewable energy sources.It’s time for all utilities to buy electricity under power purchase agreements
Power purchase agreements – aka “PPAs” – are an established tool for spreading the cost of energy over 20 years or longer as a means of ensuring a revenue stream for renewable energy project developers, stabilizing and predicting energy costs and displacing dirty coal with cleaner sources of electricity. The time has come in just [...]
Smart Grid Stakes Are High for Baltimore Gas & Electric and Its Customers
Baltimore Gas & Electric has made admirable strides plotting, researching and testing smarter grid applications (see p. 18) backed by a promise from the U.S. Department of Energy to help deployment with a $200 million “Stimulus” grant. But the utility made one miscalculation early in 2010, at least in the eyes of Maryland’s Public Service [...]