Commercial, Demand Management, Energy Efficiency, Energy Procurement, Regulation, Finance, Regulation, Solar, Wind  -  December 3, 2016

Weekend reads: Ivanka Trump as climate czar; solar roads; the purple haze of LED lights & more

Every Saturday, we'll bring you five most interesting — or quirky; it is the weekend after all — energy stories from the prior week that you may have missed from around the web. This weekend's reads:

Ivanka Trump, climate czar? (POLITICO): In September, as Donald Trump railed against the media and sold himself as the candidate of the forgotten man, Ivanka Trump ventured into the lair of the liberal media and power elite that was laughing at her father. She jetted off to Aspen with her husband, Jared Kushner, to attend "Weekend with Charlie Rose," an off-the-record gathering at which 90 percent of invitees were Trump haters.

Solar-Panel Roads to Be Built on Four Continents Next Year (Bloomberg): Electric avenues that can transmit the sun's energy onto power grids may be coming to a city near you. A subsidiary of Bouygues SA has designed rugged solar panels, capable of withstand the weight of an 18-wheeler truck, that they’re now building into road surfaces. After nearly five years of research and laboratory tests, they’re constructing 100 outdoor test sites and plan to commercialize the technology in early 2018.

Where Marijuana Plants Flourish Under Energy-Saving LED Lights (The New York Times): Behind the covered windows of a nondescript two-story building near the Olympia Regional Airport, hundreds of marijuana plants were flowering recently in the purple haze of 40 LED lights. It was part of a high-stakes experiment in energy conservation — an undertaking subsidized by the local electric company. With cannabis cultivation poised to become a big business in some parts of the country, power companies and government officials hope it will grow into a green industry.

Illinois passes sweeping energy bill with support for Exelon nuclear plants (Utility Dive): Both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly late on Thursday voted in favor of a massive energy bill that includes financial supports for two Exelon nuclear plants at risk of closing. The legislation, which has been called one of the most comprehensive state energy bills ever crafted, heads to the governor’s office where it will likely be signed into law.

Wind Surges to Nearly 15 Percent of Texas Power Supply (Greentech Media): Texas grid operator ERCOT announced a new record for wind on Monday. For the first time, wind provided more than 15,000 megawatts of electricity to the state on a single day. The record wind on Sunday supplied an average of 41 percent of electricity throughout the day. But it was not an all-time record for wind in Texas. On one day in March, wind supplied more than 48 percent of load during one hour.

Read These Related Articles:

• Weekend Reads: COP29 on Energy Efficiency; Unscrambling Hydrogen
• Weekend Reads: Five Things to Know About COP29; Rethinking Gas Stations
• Weekend Reads: Where Climate Triumphed at the Polls; Iceland Goes to Space for Solar
• Weekend Reads: Candidates Avoid Clean Energy; Costco (Cautiously) Adds EV Charging
• Weekend Reads: The Carbon Offset Debate; New Powder Captures CO2

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