QUICK NEWS, November 16: U.S. STILL HOOKED ON OLD ENERGY; BIG SPENDING BY FRACKING LOBBY; NEW ENERGY AND EFFICIENCY TOOLS TOGETHER

U.S. STILL HOOKED ON OLD ENERGY
Americans using more fossil fuels
Anne M. Stark, November 11, 2011 (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)

"American energy use went back up in 2010 compared to 2009, when consumption was at a 12-year low. The United States used more fossil fuels in 2010 than in 2009, while renewable electricity remained approximately constant, with an increase in wind power offset by a modest decline in hydroelectricity. There also was a significant increase in biomass consumption…

"Wind power jumped from .70 quadrillion BTU, or quads, in 2009 to .92 quads in 2010. (A BTU or British Thermal Unit is a unit of measurement for energy and is equivalent to about 1.055 kilojoules). Most of that energy is tied directly to electricity generation and thus helps decrease the use of coal for electricity production. Biomass energy consumption rose from 3.88 quads to 4.29 quads. That increase was driven by ethanol use as a transportation fuel and a feedstock for industrial production. (The apparent decline in geothermal energy use is due to an accounting change by the Energy Information Administration)…"

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"Overall, U.S. energy use in 2010 equaled 98 quads compared to the 94.6 quads used in 2009. Most of the energy was tied to coal, natural gas and petroleum…Energy use in the residential, commercial, industrial and transportation arenas all rose as well.

"The majority of energy use in 2010 was used for electricity generation (39.49 quads), followed by transportation, industrial, residential and commercial consumption…As in previous years, coal was the major player in producing electricity, with nuclear and natural gas coming in second and third, respectively. But natural gas consumption by the electric sector grew 0.5 quads this year, driven by consistently low natural gas prices. Over the past six years, gas use in the electric sector has increased 25 percent…"


BIG SPENDING BY FRACKING LOBBY
New Report Details 10-year Spending Campaign by Fracking Interests to Avoid Regulation
November 13, 2011 (EcoWatch)

"Natural gas interests have spent more than $747 million during a 10-year campaign—stunningly successful so far—to avoid government regulation of hydraulic ‘fracking,’ a fast-growing and environmentally risky process used in…at least a dozen…states to tap underground gas reserves…

"…[A]ccording to…Deep Drilling, Deep Pockets…by Common Cause…[a] faction of the natural gas industry has directed more than $20 million to the campaigns of current members of Congress…and put $726 million into lobbying aimed at shielding itself from oversight…"

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"In Congress, the industry’s political giving heavily favors lawmakers who supported the 2005 Energy Policy Act, which exempted fracking from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Current members who voted for the bill received an average of $73,433, while those who voted against the bill received an average of $10,894.

"The report comes as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is scheduled to publish new, preliminary findings in 2012 about the potential dangers of fracking. That gives the industry a powerful incentive to increase political spending now in an attempt to shape public opinion and the debate over fracking in Congress, as well as affect the outcome of the 2012 congressional elections…"


NEW ENERGY AND EFFICIENCY TOOLS TOGETHER
Virtual Power Plants; Smart Grid Platforms for Aggregating Distributed Renewables, Demand Response, and Energy Storage Technologies
Peter Asmus and Clint Wheelock, 4Q 2011 (Pike Research)

"Growing investments in distributed energy resources – renewable distributed energy generation, demand response (DR), energy storage, and plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) – will require new business and technology platforms to manage the increased level of diversity and complexity. The increasing variability of both generation (from solar and wind) and loads (due to DR and PEVs) will also require more sophisticated and decentralized decision making…[Therefore,] interest in virtual power plants (VPPs) is gaining significant momentum…"

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"…[T]oday’s most commercially viable VPP is…the ability to tap resources in real time, and with enough granularity, to control the load profiles of customers, aggregate these resources, and put them up on a trader’s desk. Unlike microgrids, utilities will have to play a major role in the evolution of the VPP market, by nature of their reliance upon the transmission and distribution grid infrastructure, including smart meters. While there are several distinct segments within the VPP market, there is currently an explosion of interest in DR-based VPPs, which are expected to continue leading the way in terms of capacity additions…"