Three companies, sonnen, Swell Energy, and OhmConnect all stand on the leading edge of a new, promising trend in electrical power grids: VPPs.
This article is one in a series investigating the importance of modernizing and decarbonizing the electric grid.
If you want to understand the issue in context, see the article Grid Modernization; for cutting edge experts’ take on the topic, see the article Here Is How To Create A Clean, Resilient Electrical Grid. In the latter article, I touch on the topic of the present article, Virtual Power Plants (VPPs).
For a look at an innovative company spun out of Stanford University’s labs that have developed a battery with tremendous potential for providing grid storage, see the article, Enervenue: The Batteries…
This listed company is developing products to transition our present grid to a more resilient paradigm
This article is one in a series investigating the importance of modernizing and decarbonizing the electric grid. The company we feature in this article — American Superconductor AMSC — is working on improving current grid infrastructure as part of a multi-decade transition upon which we are just embarking.
If you want to understand the issue in context, see the article Grid Modernization; for cutting edge experts’ take on the topic, see the article Here Is How To Create A Clean, Resilient Electrical Grid. …
Exciting news from the ARM world — climate change Adaptation, climate Restoration, and climate change Mitigation
In ClimateTech Update articles, I pass along the latest news about companies and topics I have featured in previous columns.
Spring is here and the ClimateTech world is springing to life! This month’s update covers announcements from:
- Bluesource
- Pachama
- Storegga
- Idealab
- Abundance Investment
- Carbon Engineering & 1PointFive
- Xpansiv
In addition, I also update readers about my article related to Bill Nordhaus’s DICE model
Bluesource
The good folks at Bluesource, North America’s largest carbon credit developer and retailer, were a terrific resource for me when I wrote my series about carbon credits (Article 1, Article 2, Article 3).
There is a lot…
An independent report commissioned by the UK’s Treasury details groundbreaking research into the economics of biodiversity loss
This article is an installment of my column’s Climate Catalysts feature. Climate Catalyst articles highlight cutting edge research into climate science and its implication on economics and investing.
This month, rather than covering a climate science paper, I feature an economics paper that quantifies the value of our ecosystem and of the losses our civilization accrues through the same kinds of poorly planned, executed, and subsidized activities that have led to climate change.
Executive Summary
- The Economics of Diversity: The Dasgupta Review, an independent report commissioned by the British government in 2019 was published by its lead author, Sir Partha Dasgupta, a…
Small-scale, distributed generation resources must take the place of our Industrial Revolution-era grid
This article is one in a series investigating the importance of modernizing and decarbonizing the electric grid. If you want to understand the issue in context, see our article, Grid Modernization. For a look at an innovative company spun out of Stanford University’s labs that have developed a battery with tremendous potential for providing grid storage, please see our article, Enervenue: The Batteries We Need for Grid-Scale Storage. For a big picture view of why grid evolution is such an important topic, please see my article Texas Energy Failure: A Prelude Of What’s To Come.
Executive Summary
- Renewable energy represents one major…
Climate change is a force multiplier. The Great Texas Faceplant of 2021 provides a prelude to what we can expect through the rest of this century.
My home state of Texas experienced a massive failure in public energy infrastructure during last week’s historic cold snap. This failure represents a prelude in two ways — one trivial, one profound.
First for the trivial…
The misery Texans are experiencing now at the hands of their aging electrical system serves as the perfect prelude to a deeply researched series of articles regarding Grid Evolution I have been working for the last few months.
(If you haven’t yet, read my backgrounder article about our past-paradigm grid.)
Speaking with global experts on grid modernization has convinced me that events such as…
A start-up is using emerging research into microscopic oxygen bubble-infused water to help crops improve resistance to climate change.
You can listen to this article on my SoundCloud station:
The Capitalism vs. Climate Change articles in this column focus on companies innovating in businesses providing solutions related to climate change Adaptation and Mitigation and climate Restoration initiatives. I am most interested in ARM investments in three broad areas:
- Post-Carbon Industry
- Grid Evolution and Efficiency
- Agricultural Technology (AgTech)
(Read more about what I mean about these focus areas here.)
Moleaer (/Mo-Lee-Air/) is a wonderfully innovative company commercializing emerging scientific discoveries related to microscopic oxygen…
News about some of the most exciting ventures in the world: Xpansiv, PrairieFood, Carbon Engineering, and 1PointFive
This article is the first installment of my column’s new feature, ClimateTech Updates. In ClimateTech Update articles, I pass along the latest news about companies I have featured in previous columns.
The inaugural update covers:
Xpansiv
I wrote about this amazing company last August in the article Using Big Data And The Power Of Markets To Solve Climate Change.
Xpansiv gathers traceable production data to differentiate clean commodities from dirty ones, hereby empowering the free markets to decide what a low carbon footprint is worth. …
New research showing how plants react to increasing temperatures and CO2 levels suggests catalysts for climate change adaptation and mitigation businesses
You can listen to this article at my SoundCloud station:
This article is the first installment of my column’s new feature, Climate Catalysts. Climate Catalyst articles highlight cutting edge research into climate science and its implication on economics and investing.
This month, we look at what I’m calling The Pairs Trade of the Century: Long flour tortillas / Short corn tortillas.
Executive Summary
- Academics at Northern Arizona University and the Woodwell Climate Research Center released sobering research detailing their findings about the effects…
The year has started out very busy for your loyal correspondent, who has been interviewing experts on grid modernization, energy storage, and agricultural technology.
In the coming months, I’m looking forward to bringing you stories about some incredible organizations that are making progress in the fields of:
- Virtual Power Plants
- Microgrids
- High-Voltage DC transmission
- Nanobubble technology
- Mechanical battery technology
These organizations include Moleaer, LF Energy, Swell, sonnen, and KraftBlock with more to come.
I am shifting my focus to three main areas for writing and research over the next year:
- Post-Carbon Industry
- Grid Evolution and Energy Efficiency
- Agricultural Technology
Here’s…
Erik Kobayashi-Solomon
Passionate about harnessing the power of the free market to solve humanity’s biggest adaptation challenge.
