# If Utilities Aren't Careful, Distributed Renewables Are Going to Eat Their Lunch



## EVDL Archive (Jul 26, 2007)

Between warnings from the Economist and Amory Lovins' Rocky Mountain Institute, large electric utilities have been warned, their current business model is being eclipsed by distributed renewables.

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## aeroscott (Jan 5, 2008)

Long read! but wow the fall of EU's power generating corps. No wounder they worked so hard and long to postpone solar .time to dump power co. stocks.


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## PhantomPholly (Aug 20, 2008)

Yep this is inevitable for two reasons - one is the rise of renewables, the second is the improvements in efficiency brought about by better insulation; lights; and more efficient HVAC equipment.

For those who hate hearing me preach about "unintended consequences," this is another one. If we see thrashing in the market it will be because we pushed too hard to "go green right now." A more gradual adoption of green would lead to self-adjustment by attrition (oldest plants going off line first); accelerated greenage may result in brownouts.


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## aeroscott (Jan 5, 2008)

I was taking to my solar guy about how the euro grid is loosing market sharer.
He pulls out his smart phone and shows me a real time view of PG&E power and points out that the peak power has been completely "lost to the solar input". With great pride he says, we did this. There has been a long battle with PG&E and rate payers who were trying to switch from PG&E to SMUD (Sacramento Municipal Utility District). The movement is dead, he claims because the activists went solar and have no reason to fight. And so is PG&E's most profitable segment of the market. 
Now with ever increasing solar and storage I advocate going off grid for this reason, When they fail (to big to fail) who will be held responsible, the rate payers .
Now lets move on to the little deception about coal consumption as it relates to the grid , watched Bill Mare say 75% of EU's grid power came from alternative energy , but is corrected by his guest that it is peak power. And goes on to say that coal use is up in the EU.
How did he come up with this , time for a little research . If you go to the coal sponsored sites.they show use to the end of 2011 , a temporary increase because of EU co2 credits expiring in 2012 . If you look at the latest info
first half of 2013 (latest) EU coal use is down 8%.
Then I was watching Mad Money Crammer a few days ago and he was 
hyping coal, using this misleading data , saying that the falling coal prices have bottomed and stocks have diva-dens . I think it's time for the big boys to find a sucker to get them out of a falling stock.


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## aeroscott (Jan 5, 2008)

PhantomPholly said:


> Yep this is inevitable for two reasons - one is the rise of renewables, the second is the improvements in efficiency brought about by better insulation; lights; and more efficient HVAC equipment.
> 
> For those who hate hearing me preach about "unintended consequences," this is another one. If we see thrashing in the market it will be because we pushed too hard to "go green right now." A more gradual adoption of green would lead to self-adjustment by attrition (oldest plants going off line first); accelerated greenage may result in brownouts.


 At least for me, I have intended my removal from the grid and oil for 40 years .
Now I just need to get my mother to dump her utility stocks before it's to late.


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