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How the U.S. can build a carbon-free electric grid
The U.S. electric grid is an impressive but outdated system. Designed for a world that runs on fossil fuels, it caters to a network of giant energy producers, and the consumers dependent on them. But a greener world demands a more distributed system, where individuals or companies can generate, store and resell power.
“People Power” at its Best: Resi-Station
When most of us hear the words “power plant”, it conjures up images of old industrial smokestacks. OhmConnect is going to change that. In the future, when you hear someone talk about a power plant you will also think of your home, your appliances, your solar. In short, you’ll think of something like Resi-Station, the “virtual power plant” that OhmConnect is launching in January of 2021.
California’s Rolling Blackouts are Unnecessary
Even as California increases its use of renewable energy, the state continues to rely heavily on dirty, expensive power plants to meet the demand for energy when it hits its peak in the early evening hours. As we’ve seen, when demand for electricity exceeds all supply, utilities can be forced to shed load by rotating neighborhoods through blackouts.
Joining OhmConnect: Powering up to Power Down
My kids, hard at work saving the world When it got hot this summer, my kids earned $42.39 each for sitting outside with a book. They also, believe it or not, helped make a small but important dent in the climate crisis. Here in California, when the sun sets on a hot...
My next endeavor: Titan Grove
I spent the last decade trying to solve a simple, but devilishly difficult, problem: how do we pay for the rapid de-carbonization we need to do in our buildings? While we have not solved the climate crisis, the availability of capital for energy retrofits and renewable energy has never been better. I am very proud that both the PACE model and Renew Financial have played an important role in that success.
You shouldn’t have to be rich to make your home safe from a wildfire
Last month, the Ferguson Fire in California’s Mariposa County marched over 20 miles to my childhood home. The battle raged for days as firefighters fought, literally at our doorstep, to save the house. First and foremost, thanks go to the firefighters that held the line.
Climate change is here
July has been a difficult month for a warming Planet Earth. Record heat was recorded across much of the globe and fires burned above the Arctic Circle. Here in the western part of the United States, dozens of wildfires are burning. One of the biggest of those fires, the Ferguson Fire, marched 20 miles to my house.
10 years… 63 million trees
Last month, Renew Financial celebrated its 10th anniversary. Much of the celebration centered on our successes – the 91,000 homes we’ve helped make safer and more efficient, the $1.5 billion in financed projects, the 2.5 million metric tons of GHG’s our projects will reduce. I am incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished.
PACE and Puerto Rico for hurricane recovery
The first thing you notice is the sea of blue tarps. I think PACE can help. Last week, I spent time in Puerto Rico to explore whether Renew Financial could help the residents of this hurricane-battered island rebuild and prepare for the next storm. Since the hurricane, I’d received calls and emails from many different contacts looking to see if Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) – or some variation like it – could be used to finance solar, hurricane mitigation, energy repair, and other critical projects.