DOE EIA Weekly Gas Storage Report
Working gas in storage was 3,415 Bcf as of Friday, October 4, 2019, according to EIA estimates.
This represents a net increase of 98 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 472 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 9 Bcf below the five-year average of 3,424 Bcf. At 3,415 Bcf, total working gas is within the five-year historical range.
NICOR is spending $168 million; increasing your monthly bill.
Just as a chill returns, NICOR plans to increase your heating costs.
NICOR, the largest gas utility in Illinois, asked for $180 million which was reduced in a 3-2 vote by commissioners. Still, the increase is expected to raise every residential customer’s bill by over $3/ month.
This increase is on the distribution side of the bill for the delivery of gas through their pipes. The Illinois Customer Choice Program still offers consumers direct pricing from energy suppliers. Realgy publishes our price compared to NICOR every month; resulting in nearly 5% savings over the last 12 months which is typically between 4-8% monthly. This is about an $85 savings for an average residential customer.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. 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.
Realgy owns and operates 7 solar plants in Illinois and is looking to invest in additional locations.
Additional Information: https://www.chicagobusiness.com/utilities/nicors-168-million-rate-hike-will-cost-typical-household-3-plus-month
Enormous ‘energy kite’ promises a new way to harness wind power
It takes wind to fly a kite, so why not attach a windmill and generate electricity?
This seems to be the thought process. The business plan is to be able to deploy these energy generating devices (an energy kite) where traditional windmill-based turbines would be impractical; such as in the deep ocean, after powerful storms disrupt power, etc.
The energy kite is launched from a ground station using rotors as helicopter blades until it reaches 800 ft above ground. Once airborne, the system generates power by flying in large circles high up where the wind is stronger and more consistent. Rotors mounted on kite wings drive generators that produce electricity. A strong conductive tether acts like a kite string and carries energy back to the grid. The kite’s flight path is guided by a computer which uses GPS and sensors to make thousands of calculations and adjustments in strong and steady winds.
The idea is phenomenal and hopefully the business plan will follow. By the way – it’s backed by Alphabet (Google’s parent company).
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. 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.
Realgy owns and operates 7 solar plants in Illinois and is looking to invest in additional locations.
Additional Information: https://makanipower.com/
DOE EIA Weekly Gas Storage Report
Working gas in storage was 3,317 Bcf as of Friday, September 27, 2019, according to EIA estimates.
This represents a net increase of 112 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 465 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 18 Bcf below the five-year average of 3,335 Bcf. At 3,317 Bcf, total working gas is within the five-year historical range.
World’s largest offshore wind farm is nearly complete; can power 1,000,000 homes
With environmental concerns in the news, how about some news that is addressing sustainable energy production?
The United Kingdom needed new power, as it is an island surrounded by ocean with wind and waves.
They went big.
Located 75 miles off shore (far beyond the horizon of any land), the UK is installing 174 wind towers over 300 feet high with wind turbine blades spanning 250 feet.
The power could serve over 1,000,000 homes.
The cost is significantly below fossil fuels, it is sustainable, and will not add to global warming or create waste.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. 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.
Realgy owns and operates 7 solar plants in Illinois and is looking to invest in additional locations.
Additional Information: https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/25/business/worlds-largest-wind-farm/index.html
We’re betting on the people of Michigan’ to help avoid new power plants
The CEO of Consumers Energy of Michigan, Patti Poppe, is on tour letting customers know that the utility plans to add 6,00 Megawatts of new solar and retire 5 coal fired plants.
Ms. Poppe wants Consumers customers to signup for smart grid meters and technology to reduce the demand for electricity on the grid. Yes, the CEO of an electric utility wants you to use less energy.
Efficiency standards are improving and by adopting new technology along with new generation, it will reduce energy waste and ensure that Consumers doesn’t have to build new power plants.
“Consumers’ long-term plan calls for doubling its rate of efficiency by 2030 to 2% of its annual load by 2030. Legislation passed in 2016 creates incentives for utilities if they go beyond 1%, which was set in Michigan’s first renewable energy standard in 2008. The 2016 legislation also eliminated a 2% efficiency spending cap.”
Clean energy advocates hold up Consumers’ integrated resource plan as a model for other utilities in Michigan to follow. Most recently it has drawn comparisons to DTE Energy’s, which was filed in March. Clean energy groups criticize DTE’s plan for favoring company-owned generation, failing to build out significant amounts of solar, and only boosting energy efficiency targets to 1.75% by 2040. Analysts have said recently that DTE’s modeling is broadly flawed to discount the value of clean energy, ultimately delaying any significant climate action until after 2030.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. 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.
Realgy owns and operates 7 solar plants in Illinois and is looking to invest in additional locations.
Additional Information: https://energynews.us/2019/08/29/midwest/utility-ceo-were-betting-on-the-people-of-michigan-to-help-avoid-new-power-plants/
$3.3 billion wind investment will add 2,500 MW of clean energy in South Dakota
The Midwest of the United States is the Saudi Arabia of wind!
Meaning, the wind resource in the Upper Midwest is so plentiful as to compare with oil resources in the Middle East.
Adding 900 wind turbines, each over 50 stories tall and generating 2,900 MW, requires an investment of $3.26 billion.
This clean energy will extend to Minneapolis with plans to extend transmission lines into Illinois and Indiana.
Construction of the wind turbines will produce more than 400 jobs. Thereafter, 20 permanent jobs paying over $23 million in wages and benefits will be added.
Wind power is a reliable renewable resource and creating such generation will add jobs, tax benefits, and clean energy.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. 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.
Realgy owns and operates 7 solar plants in Illinois and is looking to invest in additional locations.
Additional Information: https://energynews.us/2019/09/05/midwest/3-3-billion-wind-investment-will-add-2500-mw-of-clean-energy-in-south-dakota/
This device harnesses the cold night sky to generate electricity in the dark
A new generator using thermodynamics produces enough electricity to power a small light bulb. Although it produces much less than a solar panel, this device is used when the sun is down. Triggered by Cooling night air, energy is produced within the “anti-solar panel”. Eventually, everyone would like to see this piece of equipment on a larger scale in hopes to help remote locations, areas that receive little to no light for months at a time, or as backup power. The possibilities will continue to grow as will the work to optimize all uses of this invention.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. 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.
Realgy owns and operates 7 solar plants in Illinois and is looking to invest in additional locations.
Additional Information: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/device-harnesses-cold-night-sky-generate-electricity-dark
DOE EIA Weekly Gas Storage Report
Working gas in storage was 3,019 Bcf as of Friday, September 6, 2019, according to EIA estimates.
This represents a net increase of 78 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 393 Bcf higher than last year at this time and 77 Bcf below the five-year average of 3,096 Bcf. At 3,019 Bcf, total working gas is within the five-year historical range.
This Company Is Converting Energy Efficiency Into Currency
Redaptive works to guide companies to increase energy efficient practices in a cost-effective manner. They assess energy usage then identify and refit less efficient appliances. Old appliances are recycled, preventing more waste and emissions from landfills. Analytics also track and forecast to plan for future needs.
No payment is required up front. Instead, customers compensate them via a share of the energy bill savings through monitored programs and AI validated by utility meter data. Once Redaptive’s contract is up, clients continue to net those funds. Along with saving money, these necessary changes benefit shareholders and the environment.
Realgy Energy Services is a registered Retail Energy Marketer in the states of Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. 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.
Realgy owns and operates 7 solar plants in Illinois and is looking to invest in additional locations.
Additional Information: https://www.forbes.com/sites/natalieparletta/2019/09/09/this-company-is-converting-energy-efficiency-into-currency/#44c920ee4238