Alternative Clean Energy Roundup: 24 January 2013

From Green New Deal to New Economy

January 22, 2013 - In a recent article about success in the sharing economy, Van Jones explained the degree to which sharing, crowdfunding, and other similar concepts are fundamentally transforming the economy as we know it. He turned to examples like Zipcar, Solar Mosaic, AirBnB, and Couchsurfing to show this transformation happening on the ground. For the few who don’t know, Jones founded Green For All, one of the central organizations within the growing green economy movement. His tremendously poignant article makes one wonder to what extent this sharing economy is similar to the green economy and how are we to understand their relatedness theoretically and organizationally? One could certainly say they have much in common, from the role the above-mentioned firms play in helping protect the environment by crowdfunding solar panels or reducing people’s need to own their own car. It’s one thing to see what ideas or outcomes they have in common. For the broader purposes of looking towards our collective potential to fundamentally transform the economy, it’s also important to look at how they relate to one another organizationally. This two-part series attempts to do just that. The first part looks at the green economy movement theoretically and organizationally, while the second part looks at the sharing economy, solidarity economy, and new economy to make the case for a New Economy Coalition acting to unite them all. read more>>>

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Washington: Military Microgrid Capacity Will Increase 50 Percent by 2018

23 January 2013 - The United States Department of Defense (DOD) has a strong interest in improving energy security through microgrid technology, stemming from its heavy reliance upon all forms of fossil fuels—often imported from regions of the world hostile to U.S. interests. Indeed, the DOD’s efforts may be the strongest driver for the overall microgrid market today, especially in terms of control technology for these smart grid networks based on a bottoms-up distributed model for the U.S. military’s operational and tactical deployments of microgrid technology. According to a new report from Pike Research, a part of Navigant’s Energy Practice, the total capacity of DOD microgrids will surpass 600 megawatts (MW) by 2018, a 50 percent increase over 2012. read more>>>

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Microgrid momentum mounts as storm victims look for solutions

Jan 22, 2013 - Microgrid momentum continues to ratchet upward. The latest impetus comes from storm victims, especially those in areas such as New Jersey who have lots of grid-tied solar. They are wondering why they can't use their solar panels to power critical loads during an outage.

The answer, of course, is that most interconnection standards mandate that the solar inverter be disabled when the grid goes down. That's to avoid, among other things, electrocuting utility workers who are working to restore faults. But an excellent article from Rocky Mountain Institute argues that we can safeguard utility workers while still allowing solar panel owners to tap into their power when the grid is down. Meanwhile, as if to prove the point, a PBS outlet has produced a short article (accompanying an RMI video) highlighting the microgrid at the University of California, San Diego. During the San Diego blackout of 2011, UCSD was "an island of light in the surrounding darkness" thanks to its microgrid. read more>>>

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Davos 2013: The building blocks for a sustainable future?

January 23, 2013 - The World Economic Forum’s 2013 meeting in Davos kicked off this week amidst ongoing stagnation in the world’s economy. This will be the fifth Davos since the global financial crisis took hold. And while 2013’s stagnation is far preferable to the fear and loathing that permeated Davos in 2009, the leaders who gather here this week continue to grasp for answers.

This year’s theme, Resilient Dynamism, speaks to a more balanced world: one that continues to innovate without creating bubbles and achieves widespread prosperity without consuming more natural resources than the planet has or can regenerate. read more>>>

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Forward on Climate

On Sunday, February 17, thousands of Americans will head to Washington, D.C., to make Forward on Climate the largest climate rally in history.

Join this historic event to make your voice heard and help the president start his second term with strong climate action. President Obama's legacy will rest squarely on his leadership in solving the climate crisis -- starting with rejecting the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline and firing up our clean-energy economy. Help shape history by joining the Forward on Climate rally. visit site>>>

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Boxer targets energy efficiency for climate strategy

1/23/13 - Senate Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer is moving bills to improve building energy efficiency as one means of mitigating climate change.

“There doesn’t have to be ‘a bill’ on climate,” Boxer told reporters Tuesday morning, one day after President Barack Obama gave climate change a prominent place in his second inaugural address. “There are going to be many approaches.”

One is a bill she introduced Tuesday to improve energy efficiency in federal buildings. read more>>>