Category Archives: Distributed Generation

Can the lights be kept on with distributed generation? 2015 U.S. House hearing on a reliable electric system.

Posted on December 12, 2016 by

This is entirely testimony from corporate speakers.  Congress often asks the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to write unbiased papers on topics, so why don’t they invite NAS and National Laboratory scientists to speak? Corporations are selling a product, and … Continue reading →

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Short-circuiting a solar boom in Japan

Posted on March 4, 2015 by

Spain is still feeling the painful effects of the costs of overbuilt solar PV, and now Japan is finding itself in the same position.  This article does a lousy job of explaining that the grid must be in exact supply … Continue reading →

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Drawbacks of a distributed generation electric grid

Posted on February 6, 2015 by

Gardiner, B. October 8, 2013. Bypassing the Power Grid. New York Times. Small, decentralized generators are mostly inefficient, costing far more per unit of output than conventional power or even utility-scale renewable energy, like big solar farms.  Making haphazard changes … Continue reading →

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German wind and solar integration

Posted on January 22, 2015 by

Schiermeier, Q. April 10, 2013. Renewable power: Germany’s energy gamble. An ambitious plan to slash greenhouse-gas emissions must clear some high technical and economic hurdles. Nature 496: 156–158 The rapid rise in wind and solar power has created a nightmare … Continue reading →

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Extreme Events. CEC 2011. Variable distributed generation from solar and wind increase the chance of large blackouts

Posted on January 16, 2015 by

Morgan, M., et al.   (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Electric Power Research Institute, BACV Solutions, Southern Company, CIEE, University of Alaska – Fairbanks, and KEMA). 2011. Extreme Events. California Energy Commission. Publication number: CEC-500- 2013-031. Figure 18: BLACKOUT … Continue reading →

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