Stories by Robert Fares

In July 1930, the magazine Popular Science ran an article announcing start of operations at the first U.S. "ten-mile storage battery"—or pumped-hydro energy storage plant—near New Milford, Connecticut.

Since I first wrote about the price of oil last December, the global oil price has fallen to levels not seen in over five years. For many, the recent price decline brings back memories of the 1980s oil price collapse, which followed the 70s oil price spike and drew attention away from renewable energy and [...]

On Monday, the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory released a report showing that homes with solar panels typically sell for $15,000 greater than those without solar panels installed.

It seems like every day we hear about another incremental breakthrough in battery technology. By tweaking existing battery chemistries or inventing new chemistries altogether, university researchers and startup companies have managed to increase the energy density, cycle life, energy efficiency, and safety of numerous potential grid battery technologies.

Earlier this month, prestigious academic journal Nature published a news feature titled "Natural gas: the fracking fallacy," casting doubt on the long-term prospects of the U.S.

On Thursday, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), an economic cartel responsible for approximately one third of global oil production, announced it would not decrease its rate of oil production.

Early last week, Texas transmission and distribution company Oncor announced a proposal to install 5,000 megawatts of battery energy storage on the Texas grid.

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to attend Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak's keynote presentation during the 2014 Energy Thought Summit in Austin.

Nowadays, it seems like every big company promotes an image of sustainability. A common example is the now-ubiquitous hotel-bathroom notice invoking images of ocean animals or pastoral scenery in an effort to convince guests to reuse their towels for the sake of the environment.

The following is a guest post by Dr. Joshua Rhodes, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in The Webber Energy Group and the Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin.

As I introduced in my last post, I recently traveled to Germany as a member of a transatlantic delegation of young American energy professionals and academics working in the areas of smart grids and energy storage.

Last month, I had the distinct pleasure of traveling to Germany as a member of the German-American Chamber of Commerce Transatlantic Program for Young Technology Leaders delegation.

Last month, General Electric (GE) consulting presented the results of a U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) sponsored study testing if wind turbines can be controlled to manage the stability of the electric grid.

In July 2012, Frontier Texas, an Old West museum located in Abilene, received an electric bill nearly $4,000 higher than expected. Oddly enough, the museum hadn't used an unusual amount of power that month.

As a researcher working in the area of energy technology and policy, I often find myself drawn into debates surrounding certain energy technologies, and what role they should play in the future energy system.

Previously, I've written about the potential for a future smart grid, where homes with solar panels and batteries intelligently interconnect to form a cleaner, more-robust distributed power system.

A vital factor affecting the economics of any energy source is transportation: where is the fuel extracted, where is it used, and how does it get from point A to point B?

So many debates about our transforming electricity system surround the economics of electricity production. The solar advocates continually remind us that the price breakthrough for solar panels is just around the corner, while industry advocates insist the economy will suffer if we place any meaningful limits on carbon pollution.