Link: http://news.stanford.edu/pr/2011/pr-jacobson-world-energy-012611.html

Encouraging news from two researchers Mark Z. Jacobson, Stanford University researcher, along with Mark A. Delucci UC-Davis researcher.
The world can be powered by current alternative energy technologies in 20-40 years. Sounds imposible you say? "But it is possible, without even having to go to new technologies," Jacobson said. "We really need to just decide collectively that this is the direction we want to head as a society."

How do we decide and act collectively to move to safe, clean renewable energy? Many have compared this to the scale of an Apollo moon landing. We at Solar Pie think it can happen faster and moreeffectively with the large scale desemination of knowledge and awareness building to accelerate market forces.

What do you think?

Thomas Friedman New York Times Op/Ed columnist had three policy prerequisites for growing a renewable energy industry.
The implementation of all three of these elements have lead to growth of a renewable industry.

What are those three prerequisites?
1)Any Business or homowner can generate Solar Energy.
2) If a Business or homeowner decide to generate Solar Energy the power utility has to connect them to the grid.
3) The Utility has to purchase the power generated for a predictable period at a price that is a no-brainer good deal for the family or Business putting solar panels on their rooftop.

Good Policy for safe, clean renewable energy production where the price of the fuel is fixed at free...and reliably so for the next 10,000 years.

We believe though the road to our safe, clean, renewable energy future will have twists and turns we are headed in the right direction. A brighter future includes safe, clean renewable energy generation and a smart way to move that energy around most efficiently.

The quest for a smart grid has its challenges. Jim Pierobon from Reuters wrote a wonderful piece chronicling the twists and turns in the road to evolve smart grid technology. Here is his summation of the eight lessons learned about the Smart Grid trials to date.

Lesson #1: Be skeptical of the fanfare. Smart grids sound downright sexy, if you will, but there are multiple dimensions to the challenge. The hurdle to achieve what the trade and even the mainstream media have been buzzing about is quite tall. We're talking about very complex systems here.

Lesson #2: Expect resistance from regulators and consumers alike. Outside of homeowners, business owners and government financial officers with very high solar IQs, consumers will be a tough sell, especially if they are not subject to variable pricing. And short of where time-of-use pricing is in place for certain users in California and New York, for example, there is no incentive today to assess the bottom line impact.

Lesson #3: Utilities want ratepayers picking up a big part of the tab. The headlong rush toward smart grids in certain cities without rate structures reflecting the costs involved may slow to a crawl. Funds from Federal Stimulus projects appear ready to flow to jump-start efforts for utilities with applications on file. But how far will this money really take us? And for how long?

Lesson #4: We need systems to handle a ton of new data and we've got a long way to go to develop most of them. To be sure, there are a LOT of smart IT, telecommunications and electrical engineers sharply focused on a variety of promising applications. Just be sure to temper your expectations.

Lesson #5: Free stuff from vendors will only take you so far. Mature and early stage companies scrambling for a sustainable share of the smart grid economy are willing to donate software, equipment and a panoply of "solutions." But demonstration projects don't make a business.

Lesson #6: The more you know about all the pieces - and the terminology - that comprise a smart grid, the better able you will be to see how they work and fit together. Let's start with advanced metering infrastructure (aka "AMI" and touted by some as "killer app") and networking / two-way communications; followed by demand response systems, grid optimization and distribution automation. There is whole new world of software, solutions and applications out there and then there are the home area networks and energy management systems emerging on the scene.

Lesson #7: It's never too soon to engage your local and regional officials, your local utility, together with county economic development officials interested in creating "green" jobs, about the steps necessary to make your grid smarter. We at Standard Solar are in the middle of an effort by Montgomery County, Maryland (just north of Washington, DC) to do exactly this, which leads to another lesson...

Lesson #8: Whatever the smart grid becomes, most, if not all, utilities want to play a major role in its development. If anything they want to protect and defend their way of doing business. But some might see more in the crystal ball. Within a matter of days last month, two utilities in Maryland serving economically ambitious jurisdictions - Potomac Electric Power Co. serving Washington, DC and the close-in Maryland counties, and Baltimore Gas & Electric Co. - announced smart grid initiatives. It was evident they want not only "stimulus" cash but also future rate increases from the Maryland Public Service Commission to help pay for them.

We at Solar Pie believe the most important lesson in our safe, clean, renewable energy future is that we show up, have trials, have demonstration projects, fund research because all of these elements make for a rich mix to fuel an evolution and a brighter future.

Every day we make choices that affect our future. How are our core values reflected in what we choose? One of our core values is the wise use of the resources we have been given. We see the safe, clean, renewable energy of the sun enough to power our world wasted every day.

What will we choose? What would you choose if the decision were yours?

Will it be sustainable or will it remain focused on short term profits? Will it be efficient and flexible enough to allow small-scale clean and renewable sources into the game, or wasteful and protective of business, as usual? Will our energy policy help keep America safe, or will it increase threats to our national security? Will it foster democracy or centralize authority? Will it push us to support foreign dictators, eroding our moral authority in the world and making us vulnerable to the enemies of our “friends?”

The truth is that energy policy is not primarily about energy. Energy — how we get it and how we use it — is, above all, about our values. The new energy system we’re building (through cases like the one before the ACC) will tell us, and the world, who we are as a people. In this energy and environmental crisis, we've been given an opportunity to reaffirm our best American values. We mustn't let it slip away.

Quote From Mother Jones
Read more here:
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2009/07/americas-energy-american-values

Lisa P, Jackson is the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency wrote and eloquent and simple piece on the challenges and opportunities we face in the future. We appreciate her balanced and fair view of the road ahead. We share her confidence that we can meet our environmental challenges and preserve even grow our economy.

Read more here:
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20090723_Agreeing_on_energy_choices.html