QUICK NEWS, August 26: THE POWER GRID’S LOOMING FAILURE; 3,000 CONSUMERS SIGN TO BUY GREAT LAKES WIND; SMARTER GLASS FOR MORE EFFICIENT WINDOWS

THE POWER GRID’S LOOMING FAILURE Why the U.S. Power Grid's Days Are Numbered

Chris Martin, Mark Chediak, and Ken Wells, August 22, 2013 (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)

“There are 3,200 utilities that make up the U.S. electrical grid, the largest machine in the world. These power companies sell $400 billion worth of electricity a year, mostly derived from burning fossil fuels in centralized stations and distributed over 2.7 million miles of power lines. Regulators set rates; utilities get guaranteed returns; investors get sure-thing dividends. It’s a model that hasn’t changed much since Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. And it’s doomed to obsolescence…[according to] David Crane, chief executive officer of NRG Energy, a wholesale power company…What’s afoot is a confluence of green energy and computer technology, deregulation, cheap natural gas, and political pressure…” click here for more

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3,000 CONSUMERS SIGN TO BUY GREAT LAKES WIND Offshore Lake Erie wind energy project gaining steam

John Arthur Hutchison, August 15, 2013 (The News Herald)

"…[M]ore than 3,000 people in Northeast Ohio so far have signed up to pledge to buy a portion of their future electricity needs from...a five to nine turbine wind energy demonstration project in Lake Erie named ‘Icebreaker,’ which is slated to be completed in 2017. It would be the first freshwater offshore wind project in the nation…[and have] six 3-megawatt American-made Siemens wind turbines approximately 7 miles off the coast of downtown Cleveland in Lake Erie…” click here for more

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SMARTER GLASS FOR MORE EFFICIENT WINDOWS Smart Glass; Electrochromic, Suspended Particle, and Thermochromic Technologies for Architectural and Transportation Applications: Global Market Analysis and Forecasts

3Q 2013 (Navigant Research)

“…[G]lass…can be manufactured to improve insulation values, glare control, or passive heating and lighting levels – but never all three. Smart glass can optimize each…Projections of building energy performance show significant gains from the use of smart glass, as do other metrics such as occupant comfort and satisfaction…The design trend in buildings and vehicles is for greater use of glass…Smart glass can satisfy both the design aspirations for increased glazing and the push toward lower energy consumption…[It] remain a niche product within a large global glazing market. Many of the adoption barriers [like costs and volumes] could start to recede during 2013-2022, leading to greater growth for smart glass beyond the forecast period. Navigant Research forecasts that smart glass glazing units will grow to just over 2.7 million m2/29 million SF by 2022…” click here for more

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