The value of spot market purchases required to balance the grid can cost from -100/MegaWatt hour (MWh) (during times of oversupply) up to $6,000/MWh (during times of supply shortages), depending upon wholesale supply conditions. Near real-time forecasting data for wind could be worth millions of dollars – both earned and saved –- but so far, few of the handful of firms that provide wind resource assessment and forecasting have developed a coherent business strategy to tap this emerging market for their products and services.

When compared to simple reliance upon climatology, an advanced forecasting system will reduce short-term forecasting errors by 40 to 60%. The magnitude of potential revenue losses can reach almost $4/MWh.

While the term “progressive” is most often associated with the Democratic Party today, these Progressives were Republican reformers. They successfully amended the State Constitution empowering voters to create new laws in the same way they elected legislators, placing California among the leaders of “direct democracy,” which has since spread to 24 states.

When the "Community Choice Aggregation" (CCA) state law was passed in 2002, it, too, was seen as a way to bring “power to the people” in the form of cleaner electricity supplies to Bay Area local governments tired of waiting for Washington, DC -- and Sacramento -- to do something about global warming.

The breakthrough was announced at a press conference celebrating the signing of new state legislation SBX8 34 , a bill that will ensure state regulatory agencies have the resources necessary to focus on the state's stringent environmental review process while still issuing permits for new renewable energy facilities. The bill creates further efficiencies in the permitting and siting process for large-scale renewable energy projects that could qualify for federal stimulus funds.

The measure has won some qualified support from environmentalists. A unique confluence of events -- including deadlines for federal renewable development subsidies -- helped pave the way for approval of the state legislation.

During the course of the research for a new report just published by Wind Energy Update, it ultimately became clear that reliable and verifiable data on wind industry O&M cost trends is quite rare. In fact, there are no current widely available data sets illustrating these wind industry O&M costs. Proprietary research, reviews of scarce secondary sources and anecdotal evidence obtained through confidential interviews with wind industry owner/operators and component suppliers suggest that O&M expenses are double or even triple what was originally projected, particularly with the latest class of multi-megawatt machines now permeating the global wind market.

Of course, nearly all machine and electrical components have a certain chance of failure within their design lifetime, and wind turbines are no different. Savvy operators can make problematic turbines look better through innovative in the field O&M strategies, and vice versa. Nonetheless, the wind industry’s promises of delivering cost effective clean renewable energy to combat global climate change is being compromised by higher than expected component failure rates. Gearboxes allegedly designed for a 20-year life are breaking down prematurely across most major manufacturing brands, are failing after only 6 to 8 years of operation.

Even with the introduction of the new Kerry-Leiberman-Graham legislation during Copenhagen, a surprisingly broad set of interests are beginning to emerge on behalf of fresh alternatives that may include incentives for renewables, EPA regulations and maybe even a novel market-based approach:  a carbon fee that is rebated back to the public.

Organizations as diverse as Sierra Club and Chevron are quietly contemplating what a “Plan B” might include, and how it could yield broader political support, and more environmental success, than today’s competing House and Senate omnibus “cap-and-trade” bills.

Shortly thereafter, however, the evolution of the electric services industry evolved to a state-regulated monopoly market, taking away incentives for microgrid developments.

Today, however, a variety of trends are converging to create promising markets for microgrids, particularly in the U.S. it has been become increasingly clear that the fundamental architecture of today’s electricity grid based on the idea of a top-down system predicated on unidirectional energy flows is now obsolete. With the election of Barack Obama as President of the U.S. in 2008, and the subsequent passage of government stimulus funding packages in 2009 to respond to the economic recession, significant new federal funds are being earmarked for the “smart grid,” positioning the U.S. as the global market leader in microgrids.

New Chevron CEO John  Watson has inherited a mess from outgoing CEO David O’ Reilly – but with challenge comes opportunity. It is clear that Chevron’s historical reliance upon litigation to get what it wants is being eclipsed by new activist strategies that have effectively boxed Chevron into a corner.

On Sunday, September 13th, come to the Dance Palace in Point Reyes Station and learn about the movement to transition communities from dependence on fossil fuels to a local food, local energy, and local farm future...and then visit McEvoy Olive Ranch near Petaluma.

Bernie Stephen of Transition West Marin will describe how communities can create resilience and reduce carbon emissions in response to peak oil and climate change.

Why is it different?

First off, I was not only the author, but the Art Program manager. What that means is that I was responsible for selecting and gaining permission to use over 90 photographs, 42 line illustrations, 18 maps and 8 Tables. The book features historical photos, many of them from Pacific Gas & Electric and Chevron, featuring early hydroelectric innovations in the Sierra Nevada foothills as well as early oil development in southern California.

The other aspect that is different is that this is a science-based reference book. No need to preach to the choir. Let's try to look at energy in a comprehensive and non-politicized way.The theme that runs through the book is that California has always gone out on a limb and embraced nearly every energy source with wild-eyed enthusiasm.

Today, Coke’s Kerala plant is closed – a casualty of the global pressure placed on the company. But the campaign against corporate water has only grown stronger. Today, the focus is on bottled water, which critics point to as a wasteful, expensive example of water privatization – companies taking public water, repackaging it, and selling it back to us for a profit.

But the water wars have just begun. Bottled water may be today’s popular target. But activists are beginning to look beyond bottled water, setting their sites on much bigger objectives. At stake, they believe, is whether water is recognized as a basic human right, or becomes simply another commodity controlled by giant corporations.