Renewables provide more than half UK electricity for first time
The cost of renewable electricity production has come down faster than anyone has anticipated. In particular, the production from off shore turbines.
The days of high output are uncertain, which puts a strain on management of the electricity supply. This is exacerbated by the lack of storage (~1% comes from storage).
Without storage and with the uncertainty of what days will provide electricity, we still need coal plants and other traditional sources of electricity. Storage is the next technology piece that is needed to put us on a path of renewable energy usage at all times.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM Index, Fixed and PriceAssuranceTM.
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http://www.bbc.com/news/business-40198567
How Liquefied Natural Gas Will Transform Global Energy Markets
When it comes to natural gas, you might be more familiar with its usage in homes as well as within power and manufacturing areas. It is also used as vehicle fuel with a lesser awareness but is becoming more common. By liquefying natural gas, we can now overcome the inconvenience we had with transporting it.
Due to America’s gas production increasing, we are now predicted to be in the top three by 2020 for natural gas exporters. The International Energy Agency predicts most of the worldwide long-distance gas trade will be by LNG rather than pipeline by 2040. This means more competition and will cause global gas markets to be better for the majority. The U.S. is predicted to emerge as a superpower and will better many aspects connected to the natural gas market.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM Index, Fixed and PriceAssuranceTM.
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U.S. Renewable Energy Jobs Employ 800,000+ People and Rising: in Charts
Employment will always be a discussion worldwide. With the rise of renewable energy, the US has seen incredible growth within the solar and wind job sector. The numbers don’t lie.
As solar and wind power prices have fallen (some utilities say prices have dropped 75% in 5 years), jobs have grown quickly. Over the past three years, jobs doubled in the U.S. wind industry. In solar, jobs are up by 117,000 in the same amount of time.
However, the US is still trailing behind China, the EU, and even Brazil when it comes to total jobs in the renewable energy market. The consistent progression of clean energy over the past few years will hopefully continue to increase jobs as well as participation. At this rate, we will all be affected in some way by renewable energy.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM Index, Fixed and PriceAssuranceTM.
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Attention ComEd shoppers….Next month’s electricity price hike is just the start
ComEd is passing through the costs of higher wholesale energy costs. The first increase of 8% will start as early as June 2017; raising their rate to 6.89 cents per kilowatt-hour.
However, that is only the beginning.
October 2017 is forecast for another 5% increase, raising the total amount to 13%.
Although wholesale costs affect all suppliers, Realgy has demonstrated a consistent pattern of having lower rates than ComEd. In fact, over the last 24 months Realgy has only been above ComEd for 2 months.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM Index, Fixed and PriceAssuranceTM.
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Changing minds on a changing climate
Climate denial or climate change believer… you don’t have to change your mind to support the environment.
Climate denial is a belief that current (and future) weather patterns have NOT been greatly influenced from human behavior.
Climate change is evidence based belief that current and projected weather patterns have been and will be greatly influenced with human behavior.
Wherever you are in your understanding of climate change, there appears to be several areas that offer an opportunity to discuss climate change. Here are the topics open to discussion:
- Science and irrefutable evidence based facts
- Stewardship and acknowledged benefits of clean energy
- Current weather patterns are significantly different than the current past
- Who’s facts do you agree with and do you want to associate with credible sources?
So whatever camp you fall into, please share the science that supports your position. Is your position sustainable, does it explain current weather patterns and do you have sources that are trust worthy?
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include GuaranteedSavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM Index, Fixed and PriceAssuranceTM.
Additional Information:
https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2017/04/changing-minds-on-a-changing-climate/
Local sustainability leader finds forecast sunny for solar
Sustainable solar energy.
Realgy has invested in 6 solar projects by purchasing and installing the solar power panels and interconnection at our customer’s facility. The solar installation and maintenance is paid for by Realgy. The energy produced replaces energy being transmitted through the utility, thereby decreasing the distribution costs for our customer. The energy costs the same as our delivered supply, which is historically less than the utility. Realgy is planning on 2 additional projects for 2017.
Many homeowners are finding out the same advantage applies to them. The article cites an installation producing 9,300 kWh with a savings $982 / year. That is $0.0947/kWh. Which will continue for the next 20 years!
ComEd and Ameren have extensive solar programs and a great place to start is at the Illinois solar energy association at: http://www.illinoissolar.org/
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM Index, Fixed and PriceAssuranceTM.
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Which created more jobs in the US in 2016? Natural gas, wind, coal, nuclear or solar?
According to the Department of Energy report published in January, in 2016, 1.9 million Americans were employed in power generation or mining of fuel.
More than 373,000 Americans worked in solar.
However, those solar jobs, like all power generation, is not distributed uniformly across the United States.
That is why Federal and State energy policy matters. States that support wind (Midwest and Great Plains) grew, states that supported solar (West and Northeast) saw employment grow and states that supported coal (Wyoming and West Virginia) saw more unemployment.
So what power generation do you support?
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM Index, Fixed and PriceAssuranceTM.
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Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana continue to slip behind Illinois’ electric prices
Over 10 years ago, Illinois had some of the highest rates in the Midwest; today not so much, as they are below their neighboring states.
What did Illinois do that Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana haven’t; implement customer choice.
Customer choice enable businesses and residents to buy energy directly from the wholesale market without having the utility put any additional costs or taxes on top of the energy cost.
Its work so well in Illinois that its residents and business have saved over $37 billion and counting.
http://realgyenergyservices.com/competition-work-tune-37-billion/
Comparing current (2016) electric rates:
| Electric cost | |
| Illinois | $0.063 |
| Indiana | $0.071 |
| Ohio | $0.068 |
Illinois is leading the Midwest in energy costs, solely due to customer choice.
The arguments made against customer choice programs are always based upon the impact it would have on the incumbent utility(s) and creating doubt whether customers can buy energy. The first thing to overcome in customer choice, is that utilities don’t want competition and that they are major contributors to politicians. The politicians have to believe in technology and that residents can buy energy like they buy everything else.
In Illinois, what are the drivers lowering cost;
- Competition: there are over 30 energy marketers offering over 100 types of agreements for residents to buy energy. Abundant choices, lower costs.
- Technology: Illinois has deployed more smart meters enabling real-time pricing, time-of-use pricing offering numerous advances to marketers and the utility to reduce costs to residents.
Illinois has its issues but offering customer choice isn’t one of them.
The economic benefits will soon require other states implement customer choice, the sooner they do so the better it will be for their residents.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM Index, Fixed and PriceAssuranceTM
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School fights to keep solar incentive; it’s why they installed it!
The Indiana General Assembly (Senate Bill 309) has corrected a provision in an earlier bill that would have eliminated an incentive used by the school in deciding to install solar panels.
The incentive allows for “net” metering. That is; if the solar panels generate more energy in some months than you use, you get a credit for those kilowatts (kWh). If you use more in the next month than the solar panels generate, you can draw from the stored kilowatts and net out the bill.
Changing that provision would mean that when the solar panels generate more energy than you can use; you sell them to the utility at the wholesale cost ($.03 /kWh) and when you need more you buy it at the retail cost ($0.11 /kWh).
In the case of Lebanon Community School eliminating the net metering would have cost the school $300,000 to $900,000 in just a few years.
Utilities across the country are trying to have net metering removed from their service requirement. However, changing the rules should NOT take place to punish those who invested and relied on the rule to continue.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM Index, Fixed and PriceAssuranceTM.
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Do solar jobs outnumber coal jobs?
At one time, there were buggy whips sold in every town in the United States; today not so much.
Same with typewriter, pay phones and fax machines.
Progress is relentless.
Coal jobs are being replaced with automation or by cheaper sources of power generation. What does that mean to the jobs; they change.
Illinois and Indiana are replacing coal jobs and the electricity it generates with jobs in wind and solar generated electricity. The same is happening in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
In the U.S. (as of 2015), there were 65,971 direct coal jobs compared to 260,077 solar power workers. A difference of nearly 200,000 jobs. Yes, solar jobs are in different locations and require different skills.
Progress is relentless.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan and Indiana. We offer Service Plans that will provide electric and natural gas at wholesale pricing direct to customers without any utility markup. Our Service Plans work with the local utility to provide seamless service and annual energy savings. Service Plans include Guaranteed SavingsTM, ManagedPriceTM, ManagedGreenTM Index, Fixed and PriceAssuranceTM
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