NDN and the New Policy Institute seek a Washington, DC based Staff Director/Project Coordinator to help launch and manage our Electricity 2.0 Project.
Electricity 2.0 is a vision for an open, connected, modernized electricity network capable of allowing the innovation necessary to foster a clean technology and renewable energy revolution. We are seeking a Project Coordinator who shares this cutting edge vision and is committed to playing a key role in launching a multi-year campaign to make it a reality.
Responsibilities include:
Overall in-house coordination of the Electricity 2.0 project
Providing key operational and logistical support to the Electricity 2.0 Chairman, Senior Fellow, and other principals;
Helping to represent the project and vision to Washington DC stakeholders, Congress and the Administration through advocacy, arranging meetings, designing and executing events, and other outreach;
Performing ongoing outreach to and communication with project partners, regional stakeholders, and Electricity 2.0 evangelists;
Managing a communications strategy that includes traditional press, new media, and coordinating public speaking opportunities for project principals;
Producing, coordinating, and contributing substantively to written content and research, including white papers, blogs, essays and op-eds on the subject of Electricity 2.0 and related topics;
Producing and coordinating the production and promotion of operational content, including fundraising proposals, press releases, and marketing materials;
Working with the rest of the NDN and New Policy Institute team to advance Electricity 2.0 and the mission of NDN and the New Policy Institute.
Job Requirements:
3+ years experience in the electricity, utility, clean technology/renewable energy, and/or policy fields;
Deep knowledge of and desire to reform the nation's electricity system;
Knowledge of smart grid, clean and renewable technology and clean energy space;
Connections to Washington-based policy community and/or stakeholders;
Writing ability and experience; proficiency with computer and web tools and software; good communications skills;
Academic degree in economics, political science, technology or energy policy, or related field.
Additional Qualifications:
Masters degree in public policy, energy policy, or related field
Political/Administration/Hill/Campaign experience
Salary commensurate with experience and qualifications. Excellent benefits provided.
The good people at the Truman National Security Project are out with a new study today on the costs to American security of reliance on oil. Truman COO and Iraq veteran Jon Powers' op-ed on Huffington Post previews the study and includes a telling quote from former CIA Director James Woolsey:
Except for our own Civil War, this [the war on terror] is the only war that we have fought where we are paying for both sides. We pay Saudi Arabia $160 billion for its oil, and $3 or $4 billion of that goes to the Wahhabis, who teach children to hate. We are paying for these terrorists with our SUVs.
From an economic perspective, the reliance on oil is also tremendously costly. This graph (via calculatedrisk) illustrates that more than half of America's trade deficit now consists of imported oil:
Last week, NDN released my paper on Electricity 2.0: Unlocking the Power of the Open Electricity Network and since then, talking about E2.0 with many in the electricity and energy world, producers, consumers and other leaders, I am move convinced more than ever of the need to upgrade our electricity architecture.
In a nutshell, the argument I make in the paper is that the US will not recognize the promise of clean energy without fundamental redesign of the network at the core of the energy system: the electricity network. The electricity network is the only portion of the wider energy network where energy moves at close to the speed of light as opposed to the speed of a tanker or truck. It translates energy from carbonized plants, falling water and the atom to usable form. It is the only part of the network able to let falling water in one time zone simultaneously light a city in another. But our antiquated architecture restricts its amazing qualities.
Many have commented on the antiquated physical state of America's grid. But the deeper question is why is the grid so underfunded, undersized and unintelligent? The answer is that America has the grid that the current system was designed to create. For many years, R&D in the highly regulated electricity sector outside of the industry consortium, EPRI, has been virtually nil. Our balkanized system operates under a patchwork of multi-tiered regulation. Since utilities realize no reward for risk and receive a guaranteed rate of return on capital, they have no incentive to innovate. The incentives all work against clean energy and new technology. Resistance to innovation, in turn, works its way back up the value chain, constraining purchase of new technology and clean energy developed by others, be they Fortune 500 companies or high tech start-ups. The clean energy promise has captivated everyone from President Obama to Silicon Valley--largely due to gap between what we have and what is possible. However, we won't achieve what is possible without an upgrade to Electricity 2.0.
Electricity 2.0 involves an upgrade at multiple levels.
It involves the upgrade of our physical wires--network modernization.
It requires the upgrade of the software and switches guiding the network--a smarter network.
However, far beyond that it requires, a new open, plug and play architecture to facilitate many-to-many connections, richer information exchange between consumer and producer, the blending of the consumer and producer distinction as more people trade with one another and the rollout of innovative new products and services across an electricity commerce platform that leverages the power of an open network.
To make all this happen, it requires the rearchitecting and modernization of the regulatory framework underlying the system to reward risk, create competition and create opportunity for incumbents and new players alike. Absent a new architecture, the system will remain frozen in time and investments in meters or new transmission will fail to achieve their goals.
To do these four things, while making the network more reliable and secure, we need nothing less than a Big Bang at the federal and state and local level to consist of federal and state legislation and federal and state rulemaking to create a 21st Century platform for electricity delivery and exchange. As a starting point, we should look to the model that unleashed innovation and unlocked wealth in the highly regulated telecom world at the start of the Internet era, the 1996 Telecommunications Act.
Ultimately, we cannot expect regulated utilities to lead a revolution. In the case of the telecom revolution, people designing websites, configuring cellphones and writing code late at night made the revolution. The American people have the energy, drive and desire to lead a clean energy revolution as well, but we must give them the tools they need to do so.
The stakes are huge. If we succeed, we will realize the opportunity of clean energy and launch a renewable revolution. We can lower electricity costs, freeing up purchasing power in household budgets and make American industry competitive in the coming century.
If we fail, and continue with the current system, we will not see clean energy come online at scale, we will see few innovative energy products and the competitiveness of our industry will erode.
Electricity 1.0 served the country well in its day. But that day is past. It is time to upgrade our century-old architecture to Electricity 2.0 if America is to stay competitive in the 21st Century.
In coming months, NDN will be working with stakeholders to develop a framework for America to upgrade to Electricity 2.0.
This morning, readers of the San Francisco Chronicle opened to page A-10 and saw this op-ed from NDN Green Project Director Michael Moynihan:
To get clean energy, upgrade to Electricity 2.0
While clean energy has captured the imagination of everyone from Silicon Valley venture capitalists to President Obama, it has yet to fulfill its job-creation promise. Non-hydro renewable power accounts for just 3.5 percent of electricity in the United States, compared with 28 percent in Denmark, a leader in the transition to renewable energy. In a study released today, I examine why progress has been so slow in the electricity industry - the network at the center of the wider energy network. The answer turns out to be that our highly regulated system, uniquely complex by global standards, is blocking progress.
Put simply, only by upgrading from Electricity 1.0 - the closed, highly regulated network created a century ago - to Electricity 2.0 - an open, distributed network - can America unlock the potential of clean technology and experience a renewable energy revolution.
It is often said that an inadequate electric grid is slowing the rollout of clean renewable energy. But why is the grid inadequate? Because the regulatory regime of Electricity 1.0 guarantees the current state of affairs. While the industry research consortium, Electric Power Research Institute, has done an outstanding job in improving the reliability of the network, utilities do virtually no research and development. Laws bar them from trying new business models, innovating and taking risks. This bias against innovation prevents utilities from purchasing technologies developed by others. Thus, entrepreneurs find the gates of the network closed. It should not be surprising that a highly regulated industry cannot lead a revolution.
So, how can America upgrade to Electricity 2.0? As with telecom reform, Electricity 2.0 will require nothing less than a Big Bang that includes federal legislation as well as close cooperation with the states to harmonize rules of the road. Partial reform, such as has taken place in Texas and California, is a start, but it is not enough. What's needed is an entirely new plug-and-play architecture that opens the grid to everyone, making connection the norm not the exception.
For more on Moynihan's compelling vision for Electricity 2.0, join NDN at 12pm today for a presentation of the paper. Copies of the paper, entitled "Electricity 2.0: Unlocking the Power of the Open Energy Network," will be available for distribution.
Electricity 2.0: Unlocking the Power of the Open Energy Network Thursday, February 4, 12 p.m. NDN: 729 15th St. NW, 1st Floor RSVP
If you are unable to join us in person, alive webcast will begin at 12:15 p.m. ET.
Clean energy has captured the imagination of people from Silicon Valley, who invested $5.4 billion in the sector last year, to President Obama, who highlighted it in his State of the Union Address. However, it has yet to fulfill its economic promise and displace legacy fuels in America’s electricity sector, especially when compared with the significant progress made in other countries. Today, non-hydro renewables account for just 3.5% of electricity in the US.
This Thursday, NDN and New Policy Institute Green Project Director Michael Moynihan will release a study examining the electricity industry – the network at the center of the wider energy system – to understand why progress has been so slow. He argues that the answer lies in the outdated and complex structure of Electricity 1.0, a closed, highly regulated network created a century ago, fundamentally incompatible with clean technology and renewable power.
Moynihan will argue that America must upgrade to Electricity 2.0, an open, distributed network, or there will be no clean energy revolution, no explosion of wealth, and no creation of millions of jobs. But if we do make this shift, America can unlock the potential of clean technology and experience a renewable revolution.
On Thursday at 12pm, Moynihan, a former Senior Advisor on E-Commerce to Treasury Secretaries Summers and Rubin, will describe the transformative power of Electricity 2.0 and will outline the steps America needs to take to achieve this vision. Copies of the paper will be available for distribution, and lunch will be served. If you are unable to join us in person, the event will be live webcast beginning at 12:15pm, and copies of the paper will be posted on the NDN and New Policy Institute websites later in the afternoon.
Electricity 2.0: Unlocking the Power of the Open Energy Network Thursday, February 4, 12 p.m. NDN: 729 15th St. NW, 1st Floor A live webcast will begin at 12:15 p.m. ET RSVP : Watch Webcast
I look forward to seeing you on Thursday for this important presentation.
Last night's compelling and in many ways inspiring State of the Union speech by President Obama should come as good news to the clean technology community and anyone who cares about the climate, energy independence and American economic leadership. The President not only higlighted clean energy throughout his speech, but also signaled his continuing view, shared by many, that it must be at the heart of America's economic revival.
While clean energy has advanced since last year's clean-weighted stimulus bill, the critical stage of moving clean technology from a promising funding category in Silicon Valey to a major engine of economic revival remains ahead. Here is how to accelerate that process.
First, as the president indicated, innovation is key. But innovation is not just about advanced research and grants to large companies--the focus of last year's stimulus. To really get the job machine revving, we need to move innovation into the marketplace. And we need small companies to turn into large ones. That is where job creation really occurs--in the transformation of a startup consiting of a two enrepreneurs into a massive global company employing tens of thousands. (Think Apple, Yahoo or Google.) As I have long been arguing, the major obstacle here is a complex and highly regulated energy landscape that presents a roadblock to the purchase and uptake of clean technologies. It is time to change that landscape.
Second, we need to direct R&D funding toward smaller businesses. Since the 1980s, American industry has had a problem that while we may invent great technologies in our universities, other countries reap the commercial benefits because of a lower cost structure and also because they have efficient networks of small companies backed by large ones or other sources of funding able to exploit cutting edge American technology. We are seeing in batterty technology today precisely what we saw in semiconductors and LCDs in the 1980s.
During the 1990s, Silicon Valley helped address this problem by funding the stage between reserach and commercial exploitation in California, specifically around Stanford University. A disproportionate share of entrepreneurs came from Stanford and the surrounding community. But there is great science going on around the country that needs development funding to begin producing American jobs.
The answer to this problem are programs such as the Advanced Technology Program introduced in the 1990s to help startups survive the Valley of Death, more small business innnovation and research (SBIR) grants and other funding opportunities available on a peer reviewed bases to startups. Virtually all of the smart grid money in the first stimulus went to large utilities. However one 50 million grant to a utility could fund 500 grants of 100,000 to startups. The latter is, by far, the better bet for our nation's money.
Third, it's not just about money. In many cases, the key to innovation is getting government out of the way. This was essential during the Internet era. Many policy efforts currently are focused on getting the government more involved in the energy space, when in fact, the more cure--since government is already heavily involved in protecting incumbents is to remove those protections so as to give new technologies and new players a shot.
Finally and most importantly, the public must be engaged. Only people can make a revolution. Until consumers are part of the action, clean technology will move forward awkwardly. During the Internet era, consumers downloading new software, building websits, rigging up home networks, starting online stores and staying up to write code were critical to the revolution. To move clean tech into high gear, we need to empower the American people to generate power, use new technologies and fight climate change. At NDN, we have been working a great deal on how to empower people to lead the clean technology revolution and I will be debuting a paper on the subject shortly.
The president has set the correct overall direction. It's up to his policy experts, those in Congress and stakeholders to craft a set of policies. But it will be up to the American people to create the clean technology revolution.
NDN and the New Policy Institute are pleased to announce the release of a major new paper on clean technology and the nation’s electricity system by NDN Green Project Director Michael Moynihan. A former Senior Advisor on Electronic Commerce to Treasury Secretaries Rubin and Summers, Moynihan will lay out a compelling vision on breaking down barriers to a low-carbon economy.
An op-ed by Moynihan on this subject in today's San Francisco Chronicle is available here.
The paper release will occur at 12pm on Thursday, February 4 at NDN.
This event will be live webcast. The webcast will begin at 12:15 pm. Watch the webcast here.
Join NDN and the New Policy Institute on Thursday at 12pm for the release of a major new paper by NDN Green Project Director Michael Moynihan.
The New York Times"Wheels" blog delivers some interesting news on the Nissan “Leaf” (not sure about that name), the company’s new electric vehicle that is being introduced in Los Angeles today.
The Leaf, an all-electric five-door hatchback, will have a 100-mile range, Nissan said.
Mr. Ghosn said last month, in introducing the Leaf at the Tokyo Motor Show, that the vehicle would be priced “competitively” compared with other cars its size. This has been estimated at $25,000 to $33,000. But the price won’t include the lithium-ion battery packs; those will be available for lease separately. The spent battery packs will be recycled by Nissan and reused.
The Times writes those last two sentences (emphasis added) as if leasing the battery packs is some kind of "catch" in the pricing. It's not. Rather, the battery pack and the electricity to charge it are analogs to gasoline in conventional vehicles, which is never sold with the car.
For this reason, Nissan is on to something with the battery leasing. Like Better Place, which is building infrastructure for electric vehicles (and is teamed up with Renault-Nissan), Nissan knows that the key is not to build a car with a battery for the same price as a conventional gasoline car. Rather, the key is building a battery-less car for the same price as a conventional car. And once that happens, because electricity is far cheaper than gasoline, all one has to do to beat conventional cars is make the lease cost of a battery plus the electricity costs competitive with the cost of gasoline over the same period (which is already a reality in many countries). Incorporating the battery and its cost into the vehicle is likely not the right way to go for so many reasons, but on the financing side the cost of actually making a car go is always an addition to the purchase cost.
Fully electric cars have some way to go – charging infrastructure needs to be built out and standardized, battery costs still have to come down, and capacity should go up – but getting the cost structure right is crucial in creating this piece of the low-carbon economy. Electric vehicles will ultimately offer tremendous benefits to consumers, from price stability to never having to go to the gas station, and to the electricity system, as the aggregate storage capacity in batteries will provide a demand response capability. And while I might prefer a name that connotes a bit more strength, the Leaf is a nice step forward.
Yesterday, NDN hosted three experts in the automobile industry to discuss the future of clean transportation. NDN Green Project Director Michael Moynihan moderated this wide-ranging and well attended discussion, the video of which can be found below.
Kim Hill, the Associate Director of Research at the Center for Automotive Research and the Director of the Sustainable Transportation and Communities Group, spoke about a recent study he conducted on the economic impact ATT’s shift to a more efficient vehicle fleet. The short version: the conversion to CNG and hybrid vehicles saved fuel and money and created jobs. The detailed study can be found here.
Mike Granoff, the Head of Oil Independence Policies for Better Place, the first service provider for electric cars, building infrastructure, software and the user interfaces to make electric cars available for mass adoption, spoke about the Better Place vision and business model and updated us on Better Place's progress. During the session, he mentioned the video of the battery swap station at work, which can be found here on the Better Place website.
Finally, Dr. Kathryn Clay, the Director of Research for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers spoke about the industry's efforts to innovate to cut greenhouse gas emissions and the regulatory environment around those efforts. More on the Auto Alliance can be found here.
One of the most important pieces for the future of transportation, energy, and climate is how we power automobiles. An interesting piece from the Wall Street Journal's "Environmental Capital" blog discusses a new study on the future of global oil supplies:
Here's an intriguing thought: Global oil supplies are indeed set to peak within a few years, and no, that is not bullish for oil. Quite the contrary—it will spell the end of the "oil age."
That's the take from Deutsche Bank's new report, "The Peak Oil Market." In a nutshell: The oil industry chronically under invests in finding new supplies, exemplified both by Big Oil’s recent love of share buybacks and under-investment by big oil-producing nations. That spells a looming supply crunch.
That will send oil to $175 a barrel by 2016—and will simultaneously put the final nail in oil's coffin and send prices plummeting back to $70 by 2030. That’s because there's an even more important "peak" moment on the horizon: A global peak in oil demand. That has already begun in the world’s biggest oil-consuming nation, Deutsche Bank notes:
US demand is the key. It is the last market-priced, oil inefficient, major oil consumer. We believe Obama’s environmental agenda, the bankruptcy of the US auto industry, the war in Iraq, and global oil supply challenges have dovetailed to spell the end of the oil era.
The big driver? The coming-of-age of electric and hybrid vehicles, which promise massive fuel-economy gains for short-hop commuting but which so far have not been economic.
Peak Oil, which used to be dismissed by many as kind of wacky theory (even though the idea was originally formulated by an oil company geologist), seems to have arrived firmly in the mainstream with the likes of Deutsche Bank onboard. Some argue that the arrival of peak oil will generate a massive shock to civilization, but, true or not, it will certainly be a game-changer that necessitates and speeds the deployment of new technologies. So if the Peak Oil believers are right, it's incumbent on us to start investing in these technologies today: Oil prices spikes have generally been economically problematic – or worse – some have triggered recessions.
For more on the "coming-of-age of electric and hybrid vehicles" and the general future of clean transportation and automaking, join us at NDN at noon today for Insights into the future of Clean Transportation, which will showcase speakers from the Center for Automobile Research, the Auto Alliance, and Better Place. If you can't make it, watch the event live online.
Clean energy has captured the imagination of people from Silicon Valley, who invested $5.4 billion in the sector last year, to President Obama, who highlighted it in his State of the Union Address. However, it has yet to fulfill its economic promise and displace legacy fuels in America’s electricity sector, especially when compared with the significant progress made in other countries. Today, non-hydro renewables account for just 3.5% of electricity in the US.
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