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Mayor Ed Lee drives a Chevy Volt).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although there are more than 100 public charging stations in San Francisco, electric car drivers can’t always find a place to plug in.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘We need more chargers and we need them yesterday.’\u003ccite>Maureen Blanc, Charge Across Town\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Standing in front of city hall near a row of private chargers reserved for the city’s electric fleet, Maureen Blanc shakes her head.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we don’t see here, which is very frustrating and they are probably buried in the parking garage,” she says, “are the public chargers for everyday people to use.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blanc says chargers are not always accessible. Many are inside parking garages where drivers have to pay to use them. Beyond that, she says, “There are a lot of broken chargers where you pull into a garage and they are broken or they are old.” Or, Blanc says, they are in use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aiming to grow the charging network in California, Blanc helped start an advocacy group called \u003ca href=\"http://www.chargeacrosstown.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Charge Across Town\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even though most of us charge at home,” she says, “you still want to know that when you’re traveling, whether it’s to Marin or the south bay or even up to Lake Tahoe, that you’re going to get there and not have to worry about finding an electric vehicle outlet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_713858\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-713858\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0170-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Electric Car Driver Maureen Blanc\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0170-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0170-400x300.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0170-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0170-1440x1080.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0170-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0170-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0170-960x720.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0170.jpg 2016w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Electric car driver Maureen Blanc \u003ccite>(Andrea Kissack/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But chargers cost money, says Dan Sperling, a member of the California Air Resources Board. He stresses that building charging stations can be a tough business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The amount of revenue generated is fifty cents, a dollar per charge,” he says, “and so you are not going to make a lot of money from that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Private companies have relied, in part, on federal and state grants to help build much of California’s public charging network and now some of those grants are running out. That’s tough timing for the state’s efforts to reach its ambitious clean air goals. California has set a goal of building an infrastructure to support a million clean cars by 2020 — that’s five times the number of electric cars on the roads now. So the public charging network is going to need to scale up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are just over 9,000 public charging points, or outlets, in California right now. Those include 120v and 220v stations, plus fast chargers, which juice up a car in less than 20 minutes. But to keep pace with efforts to get more electric cars on the roads, the state needs at least 40,000 more charging points by 2020, according to one estimate by the California Energy Commission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”7iRpbksr6A4bO4sLtkOgbq30DJPt3ZAJ”]By the way, those numbers don’t include Tesla’s proprietary network, which only Tesla drivers can access.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To give the electric car charging network another jump start, state regulators have invited California’s major utilities into the market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E has submitted \u003ca href=\"http://greenlining.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/JtMotiontoAdoptSettlementAll-03-21-16.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a plan\u003c/a> to roll out thousands of electric car chargers across its service area, in central and northern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our electric vehicle charging program is really targeted at multi-unit dwellings and workplace charging,” says PG&E vice president Aaron Johnson. “The idea is to deploy about 7500 chargers across that area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here’s the Controversial Part\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E wants to build, own and operate the charging stations itself. To do that, the utility wants to charge ratepayers 22 cents a month. Johnson says the plan is meant to make it easier for customers to communicate with PG&E for all of their charging needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The actual site host, the customer that is going to install the charging infrastructure, won’t have to work with multiple entities,” he explains. “They will be able to just work with us and then choose from a number of providers who are available, and we’ll also perform the maintenance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But PG&E’s proposal to own the stations does not sit well with private charging companies or utility reform groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_713859\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-713859\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0118-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Scott Mercer and Abdellah Cherkaoui with the electric car charging service, Volta\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0118-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0118-400x300.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0118-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0118-1440x1080.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0118-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0118-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0118-960x720.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0118.jpg 2016w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Scott Mercer and Abdellah Cherkaoui with the electric car charging service, Volta \u003ccite>(Andrea Kissack/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“PG&E is charging rate payers for the capital expenses to build a charging network,” says Scott Mercer, CEO of Volta, a San Francisco start-up that builds free plug-in charging stations and makes its money by selling ads on them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mercer believes PG&E’s plan is akin to a utility wanting to own a gas station.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If PG&E came to me and said I would be required to pay to build the gasoline infrastructure that would give them a monopoly to profit on selling gasoline,” he says, “I’d feel a little weird about that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mercer says utilities can help open up under-served markets like apartment buildings but he thinks PG&E’s current proposal would stifle the growth of companies like his.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“EV charging is still very much in its early days,” he says, “so to hand over to a utility company what is a practical monopoly seems like a very dangerous thing to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">California Public Utilities Commission\u003c/a> will decide on the PG&E plan this summer.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Automakers plan to roll out more electric cars in the next few years. But will there be enough stations to charge them up? ",
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"title": "Utilities Want To Plug In More Electric Drivers | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>What region leads the nation in electric car sales? Here’s a hint, one of the city mayors drives a plug-in hybrid and Tesla Motors is located there. Well, that was kind of a big hint. Yes, the number one market for electric vehicle adoption is the San Francisco Bay Area (S.F. Mayor Ed Lee drives a Chevy Volt).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Although there are more than 100 public charging stations in San Francisco, electric car drivers can’t always find a place to plug in.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘We need more chargers and we need them yesterday.’\u003ccite>Maureen Blanc, Charge Across Town\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Standing in front of city hall near a row of private chargers reserved for the city’s electric fleet, Maureen Blanc shakes her head.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What we don’t see here, which is very frustrating and they are probably buried in the parking garage,” she says, “are the public chargers for everyday people to use.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Blanc says chargers are not always accessible. Many are inside parking garages where drivers have to pay to use them. Beyond that, she says, “There are a lot of broken chargers where you pull into a garage and they are broken or they are old.” Or, Blanc says, they are in use.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Aiming to grow the charging network in California, Blanc helped start an advocacy group called \u003ca href=\"http://www.chargeacrosstown.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Charge Across Town\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Even though most of us charge at home,” she says, “you still want to know that when you’re traveling, whether it’s to Marin or the south bay or even up to Lake Tahoe, that you’re going to get there and not have to worry about finding an electric vehicle outlet.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_713858\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-713858\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0170-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Electric Car Driver Maureen Blanc\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0170-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0170-400x300.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0170-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0170-1440x1080.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0170-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0170-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0170-960x720.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0170.jpg 2016w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Electric car driver Maureen Blanc \u003ccite>(Andrea Kissack/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>But chargers cost money, says Dan Sperling, a member of the California Air Resources Board. He stresses that building charging stations can be a tough business.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The amount of revenue generated is fifty cents, a dollar per charge,” he says, “and so you are not going to make a lot of money from that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Private companies have relied, in part, on federal and state grants to help build much of California’s public charging network and now some of those grants are running out. That’s tough timing for the state’s efforts to reach its ambitious clean air goals. California has set a goal of building an infrastructure to support a million clean cars by 2020 — that’s five times the number of electric cars on the roads now. So the public charging network is going to need to scale up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are just over 9,000 public charging points, or outlets, in California right now. Those include 120v and 220v stations, plus fast chargers, which juice up a car in less than 20 minutes. But to keep pace with efforts to get more electric cars on the roads, the state needs at least 40,000 more charging points by 2020, according to one estimate by the California Energy Commission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>By the way, those numbers don’t include Tesla’s proprietary network, which only Tesla drivers can access.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To give the electric car charging network another jump start, state regulators have invited California’s major utilities into the market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E has submitted \u003ca href=\"http://greenlining.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/JtMotiontoAdoptSettlementAll-03-21-16.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a plan\u003c/a> to roll out thousands of electric car chargers across its service area, in central and northern California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our electric vehicle charging program is really targeted at multi-unit dwellings and workplace charging,” says PG&E vice president Aaron Johnson. “The idea is to deploy about 7500 chargers across that area.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Here’s the Controversial Part\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>PG&E wants to build, own and operate the charging stations itself. To do that, the utility wants to charge ratepayers 22 cents a month. Johnson says the plan is meant to make it easier for customers to communicate with PG&E for all of their charging needs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The actual site host, the customer that is going to install the charging infrastructure, won’t have to work with multiple entities,” he explains. “They will be able to just work with us and then choose from a number of providers who are available, and we’ll also perform the maintenance.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But PG&E’s proposal to own the stations does not sit well with private charging companies or utility reform groups.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_713859\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-713859\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0118-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Scott Mercer and Abdellah Cherkaoui with the electric car charging service, Volta\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0118-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0118-400x300.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0118-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0118-1440x1080.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0118-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0118-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0118-960x720.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/IMG_0118.jpg 2016w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Scott Mercer and Abdellah Cherkaoui with the electric car charging service, Volta \u003ccite>(Andrea Kissack/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“PG&E is charging rate payers for the capital expenses to build a charging network,” says Scott Mercer, CEO of Volta, a San Francisco start-up that builds free plug-in charging stations and makes its money by selling ads on them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mercer believes PG&E’s plan is akin to a utility wanting to own a gas station.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If PG&E came to me and said I would be required to pay to build the gasoline infrastructure that would give them a monopoly to profit on selling gasoline,” he says, “I’d feel a little weird about that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mercer says utilities can help open up under-served markets like apartment buildings but he thinks PG&E’s current proposal would stifle the growth of companies like his.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“EV charging is still very much in its early days,” he says, “so to hand over to a utility company what is a practical monopoly seems like a very dangerous thing to do.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The \u003ca href=\"http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">California Public Utilities Commission\u003c/a> will decide on the PG&E plan this summer.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Biking to Work: Cheap and Safer Than Ever",
"headTitle": "Biking to Work: Cheap and Safer Than Ever | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>A crowd of helmeted cyclists cheered as Oakland Mayor Libby Shaff and councilmembers from Oakland and Piedmont cut the ribbon to celebrate the opening of a bright green dedicated bike lane on Grand Avenue, connecting the two cities. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yesterday’s event, marking the 22nd annual Bay Area Bike to Work Day, was one of four ribbon-cutting ceremonies for new dedicated bike lanes in Oakland, Piedmont and Berkeley. \u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘Changes are happening, they’re happening fast, and we have a lot to celebrate.’\u003ccite>Renee Rivera, Bike East Bay\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>This year, more than 19,000 participants rolled onto East Bay streets to commute to work and take advantage of various Energizer Stations that provided snacks, raffles, and support for the commuters. The huge turnout reflects a broader trend; now more than ever, East Bay residents are choosing bikes for their morning commutes. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now, everybody bikes. Our councilmembers bike, our mayor bikes,” says Kristine Shaff, spokeswoman for the city’s Public Works department. “People of every color, shape, and size were in the plaza and on the roadways.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_695222\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 960px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Grand-Ave-ribbon-cutting-2-credit-Timothy-Rood-3.jpg\" alt=\"Oakland Mayor Libby Shaaf, Oakland City Council member Abel Guillén, Piedmont City Council member Timothy Rood and Bike East Bay's Renee Rivera cut the ribbon to celebrate a new dedicated bike lane.\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" class=\"size-full wp-image-695222\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Grand-Ave-ribbon-cutting-2-credit-Timothy-Rood-3.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Grand-Ave-ribbon-cutting-2-credit-Timothy-Rood-3-400x300.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Grand-Ave-ribbon-cutting-2-credit-Timothy-Rood-3-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Grand-Ave-ribbon-cutting-2-credit-Timothy-Rood-3-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland Mayor Libby Shaaf, Oakland City Council member Abel Guillén, Piedmont City Council member Timothy Rood and Bike East Bay’s Renee Rivera cut the ribbon to celebrate a new dedicated bike lane. \u003ccite>(Timothy Rood )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The number of bike commuters in Alameda County has doubled in the past five years, says Renee Rivera, executive director of Bike East Bay. The nonprofit advocacy group has been helping design and lobby for the new bike lanes. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was a huge turnout, lots of people out celebrating,” Rivera says. “There’s a feeling of momentum right now. Changes are happening, they’re happening fast, and we have a lot to celebrate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bike Commuting Made Safer\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three of the four new bike lanes have protective barriers between cyclists and the traffic. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It feels relaxed, it feels much safer. It completely transforms the experience of riding on the streets,” Rivera says. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On many bikeways, cyclists ride in a narrow lane with traffic on one side and parked cars on the other, says Rivera. This can set riders up for “dooring,” in which the door of a parked car flies open and the cyclist crashes into the door and hurtles through space over the front of the door. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a protected bike lane, the parked cars or another barrier like flexible posts separate the cyclist from traffic, and the cyclist rides closest to the curb. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Emeryville completed a two-way protected bike lane on Christie Ave, connecting the Bay Trail north of Powell Street to the Bay Bridge bike path.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley opened a protected lane on Fulton Street that connects the UC Berkeley campus and Oxford Street to Channing Way Bicycle Boulevard. The lane fills in a dangerous, two-block gap in the bike network, a project the city approved after a serious accident occurred in February. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_695225\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Fulton-Street-credit-Bike-East-Bay-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Flexible posts block traffic from driving into a new protected bike lane in Berkeley.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-695225\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Fulton-Street-credit-Bike-East-Bay-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Fulton-Street-credit-Bike-East-Bay-400x300.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Fulton-Street-credit-Bike-East-Bay-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Fulton-Street-credit-Bike-East-Bay-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Fulton-Street-credit-Bike-East-Bay-960x720.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Fulton-Street-credit-Bike-East-Bay.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Flexible posts block traffic from driving into a new protected bike lane in Berkeley. \u003ccite>(Bike East Bay)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Oakland opened its first protected bike lane earlier in the week on Telegraph Ave. between 20th and 29th. Some 1,200 commuters travel the corridor every day. The new set-up uses parked cars to separate the riders. The city plans on extending the bike lane to 40th St, and eventually all the way to the Oakland border. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new projects are funded partly through Alameda County’s Measure BB, a transportation sales tax meant to pay for improvements in modes of transportation, including for bicycles. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Bikes are important for Oakland because we’re a little more spread out,” Shaff says. “Owning a car is not feasible for everyone. We want to make cycling as comfortable as we can for everyone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_695223\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 4000px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/BikeToWork.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/BikeToWork.jpg\" alt=\"Morning commuters pedal through the Mission District in San Francisco on Bike To Work Day. \" width=\"4000\" height=\"3000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-695223\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/BikeToWork.jpg 4000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/BikeToWork-400x300.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/BikeToWork-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/BikeToWork-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/BikeToWork-1440x1080.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/BikeToWork-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/BikeToWork-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/BikeToWork-960x720.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 4000px) 100vw, 4000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Morning commuters pedal through the Mission District in San Francisco on Bike To Work Day. \u003ccite>(Lisa Marie Potter/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>San Francisco Loves Cycling\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, thousands of people commuted for Bike to Work Day; a counter on Market Street ticked off 2,360 people riding for their morning commute, says Chris Cassidy, communications director for the San Francisco Bike Coalition. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Riding to work has always been popular in San Francisco, home to the monthly Critical Mass cycling event. And bike commuting continues to grow, with an 8.5 percent increase in 2015 alone. The city has varying degrees of protected bike lanes: fully protected lanes that prevent cars from driving into them, lanes protected by parking, and a pilot elevated bike lane. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a core principle among safer-street advocates: If you build it, then they will come,” says Cassidy. “People will walk, and bike and enjoy safer and more welcoming streets.” \u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A crowd of helmeted cyclists cheered as Oakland Mayor Libby Shaff and councilmembers from Oakland and Piedmont cut the ribbon to celebrate the opening of a bright green dedicated bike lane on Grand Avenue, connecting the two cities. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yesterday’s event, marking the 22nd annual Bay Area Bike to Work Day, was one of four ribbon-cutting ceremonies for new dedicated bike lanes in Oakland, Piedmont and Berkeley. \u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘Changes are happening, they’re happening fast, and we have a lot to celebrate.’\u003ccite>Renee Rivera, Bike East Bay\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>This year, more than 19,000 participants rolled onto East Bay streets to commute to work and take advantage of various Energizer Stations that provided snacks, raffles, and support for the commuters. The huge turnout reflects a broader trend; now more than ever, East Bay residents are choosing bikes for their morning commutes. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now, everybody bikes. Our councilmembers bike, our mayor bikes,” says Kristine Shaff, spokeswoman for the city’s Public Works department. “People of every color, shape, and size were in the plaza and on the roadways.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_695222\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 960px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Grand-Ave-ribbon-cutting-2-credit-Timothy-Rood-3.jpg\" alt=\"Oakland Mayor Libby Shaaf, Oakland City Council member Abel Guillén, Piedmont City Council member Timothy Rood and Bike East Bay's Renee Rivera cut the ribbon to celebrate a new dedicated bike lane.\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" class=\"size-full wp-image-695222\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Grand-Ave-ribbon-cutting-2-credit-Timothy-Rood-3.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Grand-Ave-ribbon-cutting-2-credit-Timothy-Rood-3-400x300.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Grand-Ave-ribbon-cutting-2-credit-Timothy-Rood-3-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Grand-Ave-ribbon-cutting-2-credit-Timothy-Rood-3-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland Mayor Libby Shaaf, Oakland City Council member Abel Guillén, Piedmont City Council member Timothy Rood and Bike East Bay’s Renee Rivera cut the ribbon to celebrate a new dedicated bike lane. \u003ccite>(Timothy Rood )\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The number of bike commuters in Alameda County has doubled in the past five years, says Renee Rivera, executive director of Bike East Bay. The nonprofit advocacy group has been helping design and lobby for the new bike lanes. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There was a huge turnout, lots of people out celebrating,” Rivera says. “There’s a feeling of momentum right now. Changes are happening, they’re happening fast, and we have a lot to celebrate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bike Commuting Made Safer\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Three of the four new bike lanes have protective barriers between cyclists and the traffic. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It feels relaxed, it feels much safer. It completely transforms the experience of riding on the streets,” Rivera says. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On many bikeways, cyclists ride in a narrow lane with traffic on one side and parked cars on the other, says Rivera. This can set riders up for “dooring,” in which the door of a parked car flies open and the cyclist crashes into the door and hurtles through space over the front of the door. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a protected bike lane, the parked cars or another barrier like flexible posts separate the cyclist from traffic, and the cyclist rides closest to the curb. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Emeryville completed a two-way protected bike lane on Christie Ave, connecting the Bay Trail north of Powell Street to the Bay Bridge bike path.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Berkeley opened a protected lane on Fulton Street that connects the UC Berkeley campus and Oxford Street to Channing Way Bicycle Boulevard. The lane fills in a dangerous, two-block gap in the bike network, a project the city approved after a serious accident occurred in February. \u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_695225\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Fulton-Street-credit-Bike-East-Bay-800x600.jpg\" alt=\"Flexible posts block traffic from driving into a new protected bike lane in Berkeley.\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-695225\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Fulton-Street-credit-Bike-East-Bay-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Fulton-Street-credit-Bike-East-Bay-400x300.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Fulton-Street-credit-Bike-East-Bay-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Fulton-Street-credit-Bike-East-Bay-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Fulton-Street-credit-Bike-East-Bay-960x720.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/Fulton-Street-credit-Bike-East-Bay.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Flexible posts block traffic from driving into a new protected bike lane in Berkeley. \u003ccite>(Bike East Bay)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Oakland opened its first protected bike lane earlier in the week on Telegraph Ave. between 20th and 29th. Some 1,200 commuters travel the corridor every day. The new set-up uses parked cars to separate the riders. The city plans on extending the bike lane to 40th St, and eventually all the way to the Oakland border. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new projects are funded partly through Alameda County’s Measure BB, a transportation sales tax meant to pay for improvements in modes of transportation, including for bicycles. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Bikes are important for Oakland because we’re a little more spread out,” Shaff says. “Owning a car is not feasible for everyone. We want to make cycling as comfortable as we can for everyone.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_695223\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 4000px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/BikeToWork.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/BikeToWork.jpg\" alt=\"Morning commuters pedal through the Mission District in San Francisco on Bike To Work Day. \" width=\"4000\" height=\"3000\" class=\"size-full wp-image-695223\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/BikeToWork.jpg 4000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/BikeToWork-400x300.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/BikeToWork-800x600.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/BikeToWork-768x576.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/BikeToWork-1440x1080.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/BikeToWork-1920x1440.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/BikeToWork-1180x885.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/BikeToWork-960x720.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 4000px) 100vw, 4000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Morning commuters pedal through the Mission District in San Francisco on Bike To Work Day. \u003ccite>(Lisa Marie Potter/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>San Francisco Loves Cycling\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In San Francisco, thousands of people commuted for Bike to Work Day; a counter on Market Street ticked off 2,360 people riding for their morning commute, says Chris Cassidy, communications director for the San Francisco Bike Coalition. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Riding to work has always been popular in San Francisco, home to the monthly Critical Mass cycling event. And bike commuting continues to grow, with an 8.5 percent increase in 2015 alone. The city has varying degrees of protected bike lanes: fully protected lanes that prevent cars from driving into them, lanes protected by parking, and a pilot elevated bike lane. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a core principle among safer-street advocates: If you build it, then they will come,” says Cassidy. “People will walk, and bike and enjoy safer and more welcoming streets.” \u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "By 2040 We'll Only See a Slight Fall in Fossil Fuels, Says Forecast",
"headTitle": "By 2040 We’ll Only See a Slight Fall in Fossil Fuels, Says Forecast | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Despite the urgency to cut greenhouse gas emissions as climate change bears down on the globe, fossil fuel use is not likely to change much in the coming decades. Though renewable energy will grow quickly though 2040, gasoline and diesel will still move most of the world’s vehicles, and coal will still be the largest single source of carbon emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”C3eZwAnQafrt6zGQCUiaNR9W1uNgpYHX”]Those are the conclusions of \u003ca href=\"https://www.eia.gov/forecasts/ieo/exec_summ.cfm\">a forecast\u003c/a> released by the federal government on Wednesday for how the world will use energy and what its carbon dioxide emissions will be over the next 25 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are five things to know about the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s World Energy Outlook 2016 and what it might mean for the climate:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>1. Carbon Emissions Will Continue Ballooning\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Global carbon emissions from energy consumption are expected to grow at an average rate of 1 percent per year between 2012 and 2040, growing a total 34 percent in that time as fossil fuels provide the world with more than three quarters of its energy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With existing policies and regulations, worldwide energy-related carbon dioxide emissions will go from about 32 billion metric tons in 2012 to something like 43 billion metric tons out to the year 2040,” EIA administrator Adam Sieminski said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Developed countries are expected see their carbon emissions increase about 9 percent through 2040, but in the developing world, those emissions will spike 51 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because developing countries, particularly China and India, are likely to continue to rely mainly on fossil fuels for their energy. Those countries alone account for 59 percent of the growth in global carbon emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>2. Coal Will Still Be King of Carbon in 2040\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unless there are unexpected changes in global climate policy over the next 25 years, coal will still be the world’s king of carbon emissions in 2040.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coal is expected to account for 38 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions in 2040, down from 43 percent in 2012. Annual growth of coal use by that time is expected to be about 0.6 percent. In 1990, coal was responsible for 39 percent of global carbon emissions. Natural gas, by comparison, will account for 26 percent of global carbon emissions in 2040, up from 20 percent in 2012.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>China is the world’s leader in coal consumption. With \u003ca href=\"http://www.climatecentral.org/news/china-coal-use-continues-to-fall-20084\">recent announcements\u003c/a> that the country will reduce its use of coal by closing down power plants and shuttering mines, the EIA expects the country’s coal use to peak by 2025 thanks to the its economic slowdown and pledge to cut emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>India is where coal will be used the most in the coming decades as its population, expected to surpass China’s by 2022, explodes and energy demand spikes. Coal produced 72 percent of India’s electricity in 2012, and that’s expected to grow 2.6 percent annually through 2040.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>3. Renewables Growth Soars\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wind, solar, hydropower and other renewables will be the globe’s fastest-growing electricity source in 2040, growing 2.9 percent annually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That growth means that by 2040, renewables, coal and natural gas will each generate about 30 percent of the world’s electricity, with nuclear power and petroleum accounting for the rest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other words, electricity generation from renewables will equal that of coal in 25 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a catch, though: If you ignore hydropower and look mainly at wind, solar and geothermal, those will generate only about 14 percent of the world’s electricity, up from 5 percent in 2012.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Solar power will see the most growth among all the renewables, growing by 8.3 percent each year. That doesn’t add up to much power production overall, though. Solar will account for 15 percent of newly-built renewables through 2040, with hydro and wind each accounting for 33 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>4. Electric Vehicles: Still Not a Hit in 2040\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Electric vehicles may seem poised to be the next big thing to take over the highways in the U.S. today, but globally through the next 25 years, they’re likely to be tiny players. So small that only 1 percent of the global transportation sector is projected to run on electricity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The transportation sector of the future is likely to slurp fossil fuels in 2040. About 80 percent of all global transportation will run on gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, and 11 percent will run on natural gas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Electricity remains a minor fuel for the world’s transportation energy use, although its importance in passenger rail remains high: In 2040, electricity will account for 40 percent of total passenger rail energy consumption,” the forecast says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>5. Paris, Technology Are Big Wild Cards\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate policies, such as the Paris Climate Agreement, and advancements in technology are major wild cards when it comes to developing computer models meant to divine how the world will actually use energy in the coming decades and what that will mean for greenhouse gas emissions, Sieminski said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What actually happens in the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement will be really important,” he said. “2040 is 25 years away. There’s plenty of time for things to change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Technology is also likely to change, and it could bring about a revolution in how the world uses energy. Advancements in battery technology could allow for the storage of more electricity more affordably, while declining costs in renewable electricity could bring major changes in transportation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All of that is extremely difficult to model,” Sieminski said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, previous forecasts missed the U.S. shale oil, gas and fracking boom that occurred over the last decade. No one guessed a decade ago that the U.S. would become the world’s chief crude oil producer as advancements in hydraulic fracturing technology flooded the U.S. market with oil and gas. That boom helped to drive down prices and encourage electric power utilities to move toward natural gas and away from coal-fired power plants.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Despite the urgency to cut greenhouse gas emissions as climate change bears down on the globe, fossil fuel use is not likely to change much in the coming decades. Though renewable energy will grow quickly though 2040, gasoline and diesel will still move most of the world’s vehicles, and coal will still be the largest single source of carbon emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>Those are the conclusions of \u003ca href=\"https://www.eia.gov/forecasts/ieo/exec_summ.cfm\">a forecast\u003c/a> released by the federal government on Wednesday for how the world will use energy and what its carbon dioxide emissions will be over the next 25 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are five things to know about the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s World Energy Outlook 2016 and what it might mean for the climate:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>1. Carbon Emissions Will Continue Ballooning\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Global carbon emissions from energy consumption are expected to grow at an average rate of 1 percent per year between 2012 and 2040, growing a total 34 percent in that time as fossil fuels provide the world with more than three quarters of its energy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“With existing policies and regulations, worldwide energy-related carbon dioxide emissions will go from about 32 billion metric tons in 2012 to something like 43 billion metric tons out to the year 2040,” EIA administrator Adam Sieminski said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Developed countries are expected see their carbon emissions increase about 9 percent through 2040, but in the developing world, those emissions will spike 51 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s because developing countries, particularly China and India, are likely to continue to rely mainly on fossil fuels for their energy. Those countries alone account for 59 percent of the growth in global carbon emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>2. Coal Will Still Be King of Carbon in 2040\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Unless there are unexpected changes in global climate policy over the next 25 years, coal will still be the world’s king of carbon emissions in 2040.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coal is expected to account for 38 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions in 2040, down from 43 percent in 2012. Annual growth of coal use by that time is expected to be about 0.6 percent. In 1990, coal was responsible for 39 percent of global carbon emissions. Natural gas, by comparison, will account for 26 percent of global carbon emissions in 2040, up from 20 percent in 2012.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>China is the world’s leader in coal consumption. With \u003ca href=\"http://www.climatecentral.org/news/china-coal-use-continues-to-fall-20084\">recent announcements\u003c/a> that the country will reduce its use of coal by closing down power plants and shuttering mines, the EIA expects the country’s coal use to peak by 2025 thanks to the its economic slowdown and pledge to cut emissions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>India is where coal will be used the most in the coming decades as its population, expected to surpass China’s by 2022, explodes and energy demand spikes. Coal produced 72 percent of India’s electricity in 2012, and that’s expected to grow 2.6 percent annually through 2040.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>3. Renewables Growth Soars\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Wind, solar, hydropower and other renewables will be the globe’s fastest-growing electricity source in 2040, growing 2.9 percent annually.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That growth means that by 2040, renewables, coal and natural gas will each generate about 30 percent of the world’s electricity, with nuclear power and petroleum accounting for the rest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In other words, electricity generation from renewables will equal that of coal in 25 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There’s a catch, though: If you ignore hydropower and look mainly at wind, solar and geothermal, those will generate only about 14 percent of the world’s electricity, up from 5 percent in 2012.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Solar power will see the most growth among all the renewables, growing by 8.3 percent each year. That doesn’t add up to much power production overall, though. Solar will account for 15 percent of newly-built renewables through 2040, with hydro and wind each accounting for 33 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>4. Electric Vehicles: Still Not a Hit in 2040\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Electric vehicles may seem poised to be the next big thing to take over the highways in the U.S. today, but globally through the next 25 years, they’re likely to be tiny players. So small that only 1 percent of the global transportation sector is projected to run on electricity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The transportation sector of the future is likely to slurp fossil fuels in 2040. About 80 percent of all global transportation will run on gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, and 11 percent will run on natural gas.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Electricity remains a minor fuel for the world’s transportation energy use, although its importance in passenger rail remains high: In 2040, electricity will account for 40 percent of total passenger rail energy consumption,” the forecast says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>5. Paris, Technology Are Big Wild Cards\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Climate policies, such as the Paris Climate Agreement, and advancements in technology are major wild cards when it comes to developing computer models meant to divine how the world will actually use energy in the coming decades and what that will mean for greenhouse gas emissions, Sieminski said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What actually happens in the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement will be really important,” he said. “2040 is 25 years away. There’s plenty of time for things to change.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Technology is also likely to change, and it could bring about a revolution in how the world uses energy. Advancements in battery technology could allow for the storage of more electricity more affordably, while declining costs in renewable electricity could bring major changes in transportation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“All of that is extremely difficult to model,” Sieminski said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, previous forecasts missed the U.S. shale oil, gas and fracking boom that occurred over the last decade. No one guessed a decade ago that the U.S. would become the world’s chief crude oil producer as advancements in hydraulic fracturing technology flooded the U.S. market with oil and gas. That boom helped to drive down prices and encourage electric power utilities to move toward natural gas and away from coal-fired power plants.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Fracking Hits Milestone as Natural Gas Use Rises in U.S.",
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"content": "\u003cp>More natural gas in the U.S. is coming from wells that have been hydraulically fractured than ever before, and fracking’s share of the country’s gas supply is continuing to rise, according to \u003ca href=\"http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=26112\">new data\u003c/a> from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, the fracking boom in the U.S. has led to a major boost in natural gas consumption, and for the first time last year, natural gas contributed about the same level of greenhouse gas emissions as coal, the globe’s largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sixty-seven percent of natural gas produced in the U.S. came from fractured wells in 2015, according to the data. That represented a total of 53 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, up from 50 billion cubic feet in 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2000, only 3.6 billion cubic feet of gas came from fractured wells — roughly 7 percent of total U.S. natural gas production that year. About a third of the gas produced in the U.S. is used to generate electricity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The natural gas and crude oil production boom over the last decade was enabled by fracking — the process of injecting large amounts of water, sand and chemicals into wells at high pressure to release crude oil and natural gas locked within solid rock, usually shale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The boom led to the U.S. becoming the world’s largest producer of oil and flooded the market with natural gas, driving down prices. That encouraged utilities to build more electric power plants that run on natural gas instead of coal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_687259\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 550px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-687259\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/EIA_fracking.png\" alt=\"U.S. Energy Information Administration\" width=\"550\" height=\"287\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/EIA_fracking.png 550w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/EIA_fracking-400x209.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. Energy Information Administration\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The shale gas boom is one of the main reasons that more electricity was generated with natural gas than coal for the \u003ca href=\"http://www.climatecentral.org/news/natural-gas-to-surpass-coal-for-electricity-20154\">first time\u003c/a> last year, and 2016 is poised to be the first full calendar year that natural gas is expected to eclipse coal as the nation’s chief source of electricity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though natural gas emits about half the carbon dioxide emissions as coal, EIA \u003ca href=\"http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/pdf/mer.pdf\">data\u003c/a> show that carbon dioxide emissions from the two energy sources have begun to nearly match each other in the U.S. as natural gas use spikes and coal consumption falls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coal consumption in the U.S. emitted about 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2015 while at the same time natural gas use emitted 1.48 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though emissions are now about the same, natural gas contains more energy and can power more homes than coal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You almost get twice as much energy for the same amount of emissions,” EIA analyst Perry Lindstrom said. “For the amount of energy consumed, natural gas produces fewer CO2 emissions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shale gas and oil production is also susceptible to methane leaks and possible groundwater contamination, concerns that led New York state to ban fracking last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Methane is about 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a climate change-driving greenhouse gas over a period of 20 years. A Harvard University \u003ca href=\"http://www.climatecentral.org/news/us-60-percent-of-global-methane-growth-20037\">study\u003c/a> published in February showed that the U.S. may be responsible for up to 60 percent of the growth in global atmospheric methane concentrations, possibly because of the nation’s shale gas boom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If (methane) leak rates are any greater than tiny, there is probably not a climate benefit” to using natural gas, said Duke University atmospheric scientist \u003ca href=\"https://nicholas.duke.edu/people/faculty/shindell\">Drew Shindell\u003c/a>. “Fracking can be worse in some cases as sometimes small companies don’t pay much attention to leaks, but the leak issue applied to all sources, storage, and transmission.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reining in methane leaks from oil and gas wells is a top priority of the Environmental Protection Agency, which is expected to announce a \u003ca href=\"http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060030955\">new regulation\u003c/a> aiming to control leaks from new oil and gas wells this month.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>More natural gas in the U.S. is coming from wells that have been hydraulically fractured than ever before, and fracking’s share of the country’s gas supply is continuing to rise, according to \u003ca href=\"http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=26112\">new data\u003c/a> from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At the same time, the fracking boom in the U.S. has led to a major boost in natural gas consumption, and for the first time last year, natural gas contributed about the same level of greenhouse gas emissions as coal, the globe’s largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Sixty-seven percent of natural gas produced in the U.S. came from fractured wells in 2015, according to the data. That represented a total of 53 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, up from 50 billion cubic feet in 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In 2000, only 3.6 billion cubic feet of gas came from fractured wells — roughly 7 percent of total U.S. natural gas production that year. About a third of the gas produced in the U.S. is used to generate electricity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The natural gas and crude oil production boom over the last decade was enabled by fracking — the process of injecting large amounts of water, sand and chemicals into wells at high pressure to release crude oil and natural gas locked within solid rock, usually shale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The boom led to the U.S. becoming the world’s largest producer of oil and flooded the market with natural gas, driving down prices. That encouraged utilities to build more electric power plants that run on natural gas instead of coal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_687259\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 550px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-687259\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/EIA_fracking.png\" alt=\"U.S. Energy Information Administration\" width=\"550\" height=\"287\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/EIA_fracking.png 550w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/EIA_fracking-400x209.png 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 550px) 100vw, 550px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">U.S. Energy Information Administration\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The shale gas boom is one of the main reasons that more electricity was generated with natural gas than coal for the \u003ca href=\"http://www.climatecentral.org/news/natural-gas-to-surpass-coal-for-electricity-20154\">first time\u003c/a> last year, and 2016 is poised to be the first full calendar year that natural gas is expected to eclipse coal as the nation’s chief source of electricity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though natural gas emits about half the carbon dioxide emissions as coal, EIA \u003ca href=\"http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/pdf/mer.pdf\">data\u003c/a> show that carbon dioxide emissions from the two energy sources have begun to nearly match each other in the U.S. as natural gas use spikes and coal consumption falls.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Coal consumption in the U.S. emitted about 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2015 while at the same time natural gas use emitted 1.48 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even though emissions are now about the same, natural gas contains more energy and can power more homes than coal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You almost get twice as much energy for the same amount of emissions,” EIA analyst Perry Lindstrom said. “For the amount of energy consumed, natural gas produces fewer CO2 emissions.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shale gas and oil production is also susceptible to methane leaks and possible groundwater contamination, concerns that led New York state to ban fracking last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Methane is about 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a climate change-driving greenhouse gas over a period of 20 years. A Harvard University \u003ca href=\"http://www.climatecentral.org/news/us-60-percent-of-global-methane-growth-20037\">study\u003c/a> published in February showed that the U.S. may be responsible for up to 60 percent of the growth in global atmospheric methane concentrations, possibly because of the nation’s shale gas boom.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If (methane) leak rates are any greater than tiny, there is probably not a climate benefit” to using natural gas, said Duke University atmospheric scientist \u003ca href=\"https://nicholas.duke.edu/people/faculty/shindell\">Drew Shindell\u003c/a>. “Fracking can be worse in some cases as sometimes small companies don’t pay much attention to leaks, but the leak issue applied to all sources, storage, and transmission.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Reining in methane leaks from oil and gas wells is a top priority of the Environmental Protection Agency, which is expected to announce a \u003ca href=\"http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060030955\">new regulation\u003c/a> aiming to control leaks from new oil and gas wells this month.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Solar Airplane Lands in Phoenix After Flight From Silicon Valley",
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"content": "\u003cp>The Solar Impulse 2 landed in the Phoenix area Monday night, welcomed by spectators at Goodyear Airport as the plane’s pilots continue their quest to be the world’s first solar powered airplane to fly around the Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 745-mile trip took nearly 16 hours — less time than expected, largely due to powerful tailwinds. The plane reached a maximum altitude of 22,000 feet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From \u003ca href=\"http://kjzz.org/\">member station KJZZ \u003c/a>in Phoenix, Andrew Bernier tells our Newscast unit:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>“The average speed of Solar Impulse 2 is 45 mph. But the tailwinds were too strong for some portions of the flight — so to slow down, the pilot had to sometimes turn the plane around and fly into the headwinds, essentially flying backward toward Phoenix. Other than that, the pilot said it was a great and sunny flight over the desert.”\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg was at the controls for the plane’s 10th stage of a round-the-world flight. Borschberg alternates flying duties with project founder Bertrand Piccard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fuel-free flight project started in March 2015, but it was put on hold in July after the plane’s batteries developed problems during a five-day flight from Japan to Hawaii. It resumed its journey last month, \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/24/475473222/experimental-solar-powered-plane-completes-journey-across-the-pacific\">completing a three-day trip\u003c/a> from Hawaii to Mountain View, Calif.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Solar Impulse 2 uses energy gathered from 17,000 solar cells on its surface to power itself. The craft weighs roughly 5,000 pounds and has a wingspan of 236 feet — wider than a Boeing 747.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the Two-Way reported \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/21/475113210/experimental-solar-powered-plane-takes-flight-after-9-month-delay\">when the plane left Hawaii\u003c/a>, the team hopes to end the journey \u003ca href=\"http://www.solarimpulse.com/adventure\">where it began\u003c/a> last spring, in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Solar+Airplane+Lands+In+Phoenix+After+Flight+From+Silicon+Valley&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The Solar Impulse 2 landed in the Phoenix area Monday night, welcomed by spectators at Goodyear Airport as the plane’s pilots continue their quest to be the world’s first solar powered airplane to fly around the Earth.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 745-mile trip took nearly 16 hours — less time than expected, largely due to powerful tailwinds. The plane reached a maximum altitude of 22,000 feet.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>From \u003ca href=\"http://kjzz.org/\">member station KJZZ \u003c/a>in Phoenix, Andrew Bernier tells our Newscast unit:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>“The average speed of Solar Impulse 2 is 45 mph. But the tailwinds were too strong for some portions of the flight — so to slow down, the pilot had to sometimes turn the plane around and fly into the headwinds, essentially flying backward toward Phoenix. Other than that, the pilot said it was a great and sunny flight over the desert.”\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Swiss pilot Andre Borschberg was at the controls for the plane’s 10th stage of a round-the-world flight. Borschberg alternates flying duties with project founder Bertrand Piccard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The fuel-free flight project started in March 2015, but it was put on hold in July after the plane’s batteries developed problems during a five-day flight from Japan to Hawaii. It resumed its journey last month, \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/24/475473222/experimental-solar-powered-plane-completes-journey-across-the-pacific\">completing a three-day trip\u003c/a> from Hawaii to Mountain View, Calif.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Solar Impulse 2 uses energy gathered from 17,000 solar cells on its surface to power itself. The craft weighs roughly 5,000 pounds and has a wingspan of 236 feet — wider than a Boeing 747.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As the Two-Way reported \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/21/475113210/experimental-solar-powered-plane-takes-flight-after-9-month-delay\">when the plane left Hawaii\u003c/a>, the team hopes to end the journey \u003ca href=\"http://www.solarimpulse.com/adventure\">where it began\u003c/a> last spring, in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Solar+Airplane+Lands+In+Phoenix+After+Flight+From+Silicon+Valley&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Buildings Must Improve Their Energy Use; Here's What That Means for You",
"headTitle": "Buildings Must Improve Their Energy Use; Here’s What That Means for You | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Rows of newly minted model homes unspool across a verdant, rolling landscape in El Dorado Hills, a sprawling master-planned community near Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Solar panels glint across 1,000 acres of rooftops. On a tidy cul-de-sac, a faux-grass lawn flanks the driveway to the home of the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘It’s important that sustainability not be defined just in terms of environmental sustainability, but equality and income sustainability .’\u003ccite>Tyson Slocum, Public Citizen energy program director\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The two-story residence brims with state-of-the-art energy-saving technology: highly efficient heating and cooling systems, dense wall insulation, triple-paned windows, smog-gobbling roof tiles and “smart” appliances that spring into action when power demand is lowest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Power-sipping homes like this will be critical to the state’s recalibrated energy policies. Those policies now include a law that requires California’s built environment—tens of millions of structures—to operate twice as efficiently by the year 2030, slashing consumption of electricity and natural gas to half their projected levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mandate, intended to reduce the state’s need for carbon-spewing power plants, is part of California’s mission to address climate change by cutting greenhouse-gas emissions. Residential and commercial buildings account for about 20 percent of those pollutants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-672472 size-full\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963.jpg\" alt=\"energy_home_001\" width=\"1930\" height=\"1947\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963.jpg 1930w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-400x404.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-800x807.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-768x775.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-1440x1453.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-1920x1937.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-1180x1190.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-960x968.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-32x32.jpg 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-64x64.jpg 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-96x96.jpg 96w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-128x128.jpg 128w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1930px) 100vw, 1930px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Exactly how the state’s ambitious goal will be achieved is unclear, and agreement on the price tag is elusive. What is certain is that making homes and other buildings use energy more efficiently will cost money up front, in a state that has some of the country’s most expensive real estate and is struggling to create more affordable housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California home prices are more than twice the national average, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials and some builders insist that consumers and businesses will save money in the long run as utility bills shrink and the resale value of houses and commercial structures increases.\u003cbr>\nOthers view the goal as something more akin to the well-appointed homes in El Dorado Hills: a lovely thing to aspire to, difficult to reach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is, however, wide agreement on the enormity of the task, which builds on policies requiring more reliance on renewable-energy sources such as sun and wind and fostering mass transit to get cars off the road.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a long-term project,” said Andrew McAllister, a member of the California Energy Commission. “Everyone has to play a part. There’s no one big solution, no silver bullet. There is a lot of silver buckshot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new law, created last year by Gov. Jerry Brown and the legislature, offers no blueprint for implementing a policy that could touch millions of homes and nearly every school, church, office building and shopping center in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No action is required for existing homes or commercial buildings unless they undergo significant renovations. And the law stipulates that its implementation not be financially onerous for Californians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But important questions of exactly how much the policy will ultimately cost and who will pay are unresolved, despite related legislation passed to help with the expense.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_672475\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 700px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-672475\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/ENERGY-USE.png\" alt=\"A new building code will cover many existing structures.\" width=\"700\" height=\"700\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/ENERGY-USE.png 700w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/ENERGY-USE-400x400.png 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/ENERGY-USE-32x32.png 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/ENERGY-USE-64x64.png 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/ENERGY-USE-96x96.png 96w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/ENERGY-USE-128x128.png 128w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/ENERGY-USE-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A new building code will cover many existing structures. \u003ccite>(Val B. Mina for CALmatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There are other fundamental questions as well, such as exactly how to measure efficiency, where to start — Brown has suggested beginning with state-owned structures — and how energy upgrades will affect the state’s scarce low-income housing supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The task of figuring things out lies largely with the Energy Commission and the Public Utilities Commission. The agencies say they hope to know by the middle of next year how to update a tangle of existing building codes and other regulations, modernize the state’s electricity grid to incorporate more renewable energy and craft an educational campaign to inform consumers of what’s coming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Air Resources Board, which regulates air quality in California, will help, as will the major utilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The details are not fleshed out. But to reach our climate targets, investing in energy efficiency is important,” said Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), author of a landmark California law, signed in 2006 by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, that launched a comprehensive effort to combat climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to be costly,” Pavley said. “…To me, the challenge is how to implement the upfront capital cost.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Brown signed the energy-efficiency bill into law last year, he described the changing climate as a “catastrophe” and called on Californians to do their part.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, California has been on an energy diet for decades. Many of the state’s energy programs date to Brown’s first tenure as governor in the 1970s, a response to an oil embargo that sent gasoline prices into the stratosphere. His administration wrote energy efficiency into the building code, and California became the first state to create strict energy standards for appliances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Per capita electricity consumption here has remained mostly flat since 1975, while national energy use has gone up 50 percent, according to the federal Energy Information Assn. Additionally, even though electricity rates in California exceed the national average, residents’ annual bills are among the lowest in the country. California’s aggressive appliance standards, for example, have saved consumers $75 billion since appliance efficiency programs launched in 1978, a state analysis says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state energy commission estimates that new building codes alone will save Californians $1.6 billion over the next 30 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, although the building code is ratcheted up periodically to reflect technological advances, at least half of existing structures were erected before 1978, according to the state commission. Residential and commercial buildings account for about two-thirds of statewide electricity use, so there’s a lot of catching up to do in some quarters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the moment, and until the state’s approach is fleshed out, progress toward the government’s new targets rests heavily on the building code, which is revised every three years. It won’t fully reflect the new law until 2020, but the latest update, to take effect Jan. 1 of next year, does require a higher degree of efficiency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_672476\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1874px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-672476\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/electricity_consumption_sector-1.png\" alt=\"Residential and commercial users consume most of California's available power. \" width=\"1874\" height=\"2031\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/electricity_consumption_sector-1.png 1874w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/electricity_consumption_sector-1-400x434.png 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/electricity_consumption_sector-1-800x867.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/electricity_consumption_sector-1-768x832.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/electricity_consumption_sector-1-1440x1561.png 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/electricity_consumption_sector-1-1180x1279.png 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/electricity_consumption_sector-1-960x1040.png 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1874px) 100vw, 1874px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Residential and commercial users consume most of California’s available power. \u003ccite>(Source: California Energy Commission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Starting in January, homeowners who embark on major renovations—the type that trigger permits and inspections—may have new requirements for walls and attics, need high-performance lighting or require tankless water heaters, among other items. And inspections for compliance will be, at least in the near term, the most important tool for advancing the energy-efficiency goals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Homeowners, however, are less than assiduous about getting permits even when they are required: The energy commission estimates that 90 percent of residential heating and cooling upgrades, for example, are performed without official permission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Enforcement is easier for work performed on large commercial structures, which is more likely to come to the attention of inspectors and can incur heavy violation penalties. And businesses are worried.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Matthew Hargrove, Senior Vice President of governmental affairs at the California Business Properties Assn., represents owners of commercial buildings, who are concerned about the cost of upgrades. He said the last code update, in 2014, required advancements that tripled the cost of redoing lighting systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mandate seemed simple enough, he said, but “we had lighting contractors saying the requirements were so expensive that their businesses died on the vine” when many building owners chose not to upgrade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Refurbishing buildings that have modern, more efficient infrastructures may be relatively affordable, but those structures are poor candidates to reap significant energy savings, Hargrove said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The real savings are to be found in older commercial buildings, but those are often held by owners who can least afford upgrades, Hargrove said. When a commercial building erected in the 1920s or 1930s requires major work, the cost of bringing it to code may be prohibitive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the unknowns, it seems certain that maximum residential efficiency will come with some sticker shock for homeowners. Estimates vary dramatically, depending on the extent of efficiency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jacob Atalla is Vice President of Sustainability for KB Home, which is building the technologically sophisticated houses in El Dorado Hills. He said the systems in those structures save about $1,000 annually in utility expenses. But the price tag for those houses runs about $50,000 more than for homes without so many energy-saving bells and whistles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The energy commission, however, estimates it will cost only an additional $2,700 for a new home to simply meet the building code taking effect Jan. 1. The agency estimates that over the life of a 30-year mortgage, those code requirements would save a homeowner $7,400 in energy and maintenance expenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, a commission report last year acknowledged that most Californians stay in homes only five to eight years and “may not recoup the value of a deep retrofit project while they own the home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials point out there are ways to soften the blow. Utility companies currently offer $1 billion a year for programs, some funded by their customers, to encourage energy efficiency. Major utilities and state agencies offer rebates for homeowners who upgrade, and myriad programs help low-income families use less energy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, state funds have been set aside to help aging schools upgrade. Schools spent $300 million last year on such improvements as newer windows and modern heating and cooling systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nonetheless, there is concern that the burden of complying with the requirements will fall heavily on the poorest Californians. Nearly a third of the state’s utility customers are categorized as low-income, according to the Public Utilities Commission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They currently receive about $30 million a year in federal weatherproofing assistance, according to the Public Utilities Commission. But they may need more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s important that sustainability not be defined just in terms of environmental sustainability, but equality and income sustainability,” said Tyson Slocum, director of the energy program at Public Citizen, the non-partisan public interest group. “Cost can’t be a barrier to participate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Proponents note that as technology evolves, it gets less expensive. A 2015 state report envisions an $8 billion annual private-sector efficiency marketplace, in which technology companies innovate with products and services to make energy savings reachable for more people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials vow that California will find a way to slash its energy footprint as it educates residents about how, and why, to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Part of the challenge is a relatively basic education, so that people can understand what their actions imply in terms of energy consumption,” McAllister said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The conditions are absolutely there to achieve our goals,” said, “We can do it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>CALmatters is a non-profit journalism venture dedicated to exploring state policies and politics. For more stories by Julie Cart go to calmatters.org/about/staff/julie-cart/\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Rows of newly minted model homes unspool across a verdant, rolling landscape in El Dorado Hills, a sprawling master-planned community near Sacramento.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Solar panels glint across 1,000 acres of rooftops. On a tidy cul-de-sac, a faux-grass lawn flanks the driveway to the home of the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘It’s important that sustainability not be defined just in terms of environmental sustainability, but equality and income sustainability .’\u003ccite>Tyson Slocum, Public Citizen energy program director\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>The two-story residence brims with state-of-the-art energy-saving technology: highly efficient heating and cooling systems, dense wall insulation, triple-paned windows, smog-gobbling roof tiles and “smart” appliances that spring into action when power demand is lowest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Power-sipping homes like this will be critical to the state’s recalibrated energy policies. Those policies now include a law that requires California’s built environment—tens of millions of structures—to operate twice as efficiently by the year 2030, slashing consumption of electricity and natural gas to half their projected levels.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mandate, intended to reduce the state’s need for carbon-spewing power plants, is part of California’s mission to address climate change by cutting greenhouse-gas emissions. Residential and commercial buildings account for about 20 percent of those pollutants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-672472 size-full\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963.jpg\" alt=\"energy_home_001\" width=\"1930\" height=\"1947\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963.jpg 1930w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-400x404.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-800x807.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-768x775.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-1440x1453.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-1920x1937.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-1180x1190.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-960x968.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-32x32.jpg 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-64x64.jpg 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-96x96.jpg 96w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-128x128.jpg 128w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/energy_home_001-e1462201168963-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1930px) 100vw, 1930px\">\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Exactly how the state’s ambitious goal will be achieved is unclear, and agreement on the price tag is elusive. What is certain is that making homes and other buildings use energy more efficiently will cost money up front, in a state that has some of the country’s most expensive real estate and is struggling to create more affordable housing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California home prices are more than twice the national average, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials and some builders insist that consumers and businesses will save money in the long run as utility bills shrink and the resale value of houses and commercial structures increases.\u003cbr>\nOthers view the goal as something more akin to the well-appointed homes in El Dorado Hills: a lovely thing to aspire to, difficult to reach.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There is, however, wide agreement on the enormity of the task, which builds on policies requiring more reliance on renewable-energy sources such as sun and wind and fostering mass transit to get cars off the road.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a long-term project,” said Andrew McAllister, a member of the California Energy Commission. “Everyone has to play a part. There’s no one big solution, no silver bullet. There is a lot of silver buckshot.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new law, created last year by Gov. Jerry Brown and the legislature, offers no blueprint for implementing a policy that could touch millions of homes and nearly every school, church, office building and shopping center in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No action is required for existing homes or commercial buildings unless they undergo significant renovations. And the law stipulates that its implementation not be financially onerous for Californians.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But important questions of exactly how much the policy will ultimately cost and who will pay are unresolved, despite related legislation passed to help with the expense.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_672475\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 700px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-672475\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/ENERGY-USE.png\" alt=\"A new building code will cover many existing structures.\" width=\"700\" height=\"700\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/ENERGY-USE.png 700w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/ENERGY-USE-400x400.png 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/ENERGY-USE-32x32.png 32w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/ENERGY-USE-64x64.png 64w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/ENERGY-USE-96x96.png 96w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/ENERGY-USE-128x128.png 128w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/ENERGY-USE-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">A new building code will cover many existing structures. \u003ccite>(Val B. Mina for CALmatters)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>There are other fundamental questions as well, such as exactly how to measure efficiency, where to start — Brown has suggested beginning with state-owned structures — and how energy upgrades will affect the state’s scarce low-income housing supply.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The task of figuring things out lies largely with the Energy Commission and the Public Utilities Commission. The agencies say they hope to know by the middle of next year how to update a tangle of existing building codes and other regulations, modernize the state’s electricity grid to incorporate more renewable energy and craft an educational campaign to inform consumers of what’s coming.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Air Resources Board, which regulates air quality in California, will help, as will the major utilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The details are not fleshed out. But to reach our climate targets, investing in energy efficiency is important,” said Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills), author of a landmark California law, signed in 2006 by then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, that launched a comprehensive effort to combat climate change.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s going to be costly,” Pavley said. “…To me, the challenge is how to implement the upfront capital cost.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Brown signed the energy-efficiency bill into law last year, he described the changing climate as a “catastrophe” and called on Californians to do their part.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In fact, California has been on an energy diet for decades. Many of the state’s energy programs date to Brown’s first tenure as governor in the 1970s, a response to an oil embargo that sent gasoline prices into the stratosphere. His administration wrote energy efficiency into the building code, and California became the first state to create strict energy standards for appliances.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Per capita electricity consumption here has remained mostly flat since 1975, while national energy use has gone up 50 percent, according to the federal Energy Information Assn. Additionally, even though electricity rates in California exceed the national average, residents’ annual bills are among the lowest in the country. California’s aggressive appliance standards, for example, have saved consumers $75 billion since appliance efficiency programs launched in 1978, a state analysis says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The state energy commission estimates that new building codes alone will save Californians $1.6 billion over the next 30 years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For example, although the building code is ratcheted up periodically to reflect technological advances, at least half of existing structures were erected before 1978, according to the state commission. Residential and commercial buildings account for about two-thirds of statewide electricity use, so there’s a lot of catching up to do in some quarters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For the moment, and until the state’s approach is fleshed out, progress toward the government’s new targets rests heavily on the building code, which is revised every three years. It won’t fully reflect the new law until 2020, but the latest update, to take effect Jan. 1 of next year, does require a higher degree of efficiency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_672476\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1874px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-672476\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/electricity_consumption_sector-1.png\" alt=\"Residential and commercial users consume most of California's available power. \" width=\"1874\" height=\"2031\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/electricity_consumption_sector-1.png 1874w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/electricity_consumption_sector-1-400x434.png 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/electricity_consumption_sector-1-800x867.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/electricity_consumption_sector-1-768x832.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/electricity_consumption_sector-1-1440x1561.png 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/electricity_consumption_sector-1-1180x1279.png 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/05/electricity_consumption_sector-1-960x1040.png 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1874px) 100vw, 1874px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Residential and commercial users consume most of California’s available power. \u003ccite>(Source: California Energy Commission)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Starting in January, homeowners who embark on major renovations—the type that trigger permits and inspections—may have new requirements for walls and attics, need high-performance lighting or require tankless water heaters, among other items. And inspections for compliance will be, at least in the near term, the most important tool for advancing the energy-efficiency goals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Homeowners, however, are less than assiduous about getting permits even when they are required: The energy commission estimates that 90 percent of residential heating and cooling upgrades, for example, are performed without official permission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Enforcement is easier for work performed on large commercial structures, which is more likely to come to the attention of inspectors and can incur heavy violation penalties. And businesses are worried.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Matthew Hargrove, Senior Vice President of governmental affairs at the California Business Properties Assn., represents owners of commercial buildings, who are concerned about the cost of upgrades. He said the last code update, in 2014, required advancements that tripled the cost of redoing lighting systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mandate seemed simple enough, he said, but “we had lighting contractors saying the requirements were so expensive that their businesses died on the vine” when many building owners chose not to upgrade.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Refurbishing buildings that have modern, more efficient infrastructures may be relatively affordable, but those structures are poor candidates to reap significant energy savings, Hargrove said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The real savings are to be found in older commercial buildings, but those are often held by owners who can least afford upgrades, Hargrove said. When a commercial building erected in the 1920s or 1930s requires major work, the cost of bringing it to code may be prohibitive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Despite the unknowns, it seems certain that maximum residential efficiency will come with some sticker shock for homeowners. Estimates vary dramatically, depending on the extent of efficiency.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jacob Atalla is Vice President of Sustainability for KB Home, which is building the technologically sophisticated houses in El Dorado Hills. He said the systems in those structures save about $1,000 annually in utility expenses. But the price tag for those houses runs about $50,000 more than for homes without so many energy-saving bells and whistles.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The energy commission, however, estimates it will cost only an additional $2,700 for a new home to simply meet the building code taking effect Jan. 1. The agency estimates that over the life of a 30-year mortgage, those code requirements would save a homeowner $7,400 in energy and maintenance expenses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>However, a commission report last year acknowledged that most Californians stay in homes only five to eight years and “may not recoup the value of a deep retrofit project while they own the home.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Officials point out there are ways to soften the blow. Utility companies currently offer $1 billion a year for programs, some funded by their customers, to encourage energy efficiency. Major utilities and state agencies offer rebates for homeowners who upgrade, and myriad programs help low-income families use less energy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition, state funds have been set aside to help aging schools upgrade. Schools spent $300 million last year on such improvements as newer windows and modern heating and cooling systems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nonetheless, there is concern that the burden of complying with the requirements will fall heavily on the poorest Californians. Nearly a third of the state’s utility customers are categorized as low-income, according to the Public Utilities Commission.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They currently receive about $30 million a year in federal weatherproofing assistance, according to the Public Utilities Commission. But they may need more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s important that sustainability not be defined just in terms of environmental sustainability, but equality and income sustainability,” said Tyson Slocum, director of the energy program at Public Citizen, the non-partisan public interest group. “Cost can’t be a barrier to participate.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Proponents note that as technology evolves, it gets less expensive. A 2015 state report envisions an $8 billion annual private-sector efficiency marketplace, in which technology companies innovate with products and services to make energy savings reachable for more people.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State officials vow that California will find a way to slash its energy footprint as it educates residents about how, and why, to do so.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Part of the challenge is a relatively basic education, so that people can understand what their actions imply in terms of energy consumption,” McAllister said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The conditions are absolutely there to achieve our goals,” said, “We can do it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>CALmatters is a non-profit journalism venture dedicated to exploring state policies and politics. For more stories by Julie Cart go to calmatters.org/about/staff/julie-cart/\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Was your heating bill a bit friendlier to your wallet this winter? If so, there’s a good chance you can thank El Niño.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The exceptionally strong El Niño in the Pacific has been driving \u003ca href=\"http://www.climatecentral.org/news/monster-el-nino-transforms-worlds-weather-20138\">chaotic weather\u003c/a> across the globe for months, but it also contributed to a mild winter in the U.S., which was about 15 percent warmer than the winter of 2014-2015.\u003cbr>\n[contextly_sidebar id=”zVCqv5TKYC3HFMByoxD0YLpimFkWBXMg”]\u003cbr>\nThe milder temperatures led people to use less energy to heat their homes compared to the previous winter, a new U.S. Department of Energy \u003ca href=\"http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=25952\">report\u003c/a> shows. Above-normal temperatures contributed to a 16 percent drop in demand for propane used for heating, a 45 percent drop in heating oil consumption and a 6 percent decrease in electricity consumption compared to the winter of 2014-2015.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heating demand nationwide declined as much as 27 percent in December compared to the average of the previous 10 winters as measured in \u003ca href=\"https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=about_degree_days\">heating degree days\u003c/a>, a measure of how much utility bills increase as a result of the weather, according to the report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though heating demand in January matched the 10-year average, February demand was 17 percent below normal and March was 26 percent below normal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Slade Johnson, an analyst for the U.S. Energy Information Administration, said it’s too early to know if such a dramatic fall in energy demand for home heating has been seen before until at least late spring when the nation’s heating season has passed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The El Niño event is still occurring, although it is expected to dissipate by late spring or early summer,” Johnson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The energy used for home heating is a contributor to climate change because of its use of natural gas, oil and electricity. Home heating accounts for about 63 percent of residential natural gas consumption, for example.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heating oil is often used in place of natural gas and electricity in the northeast. Heating oil is a highly-polluting crude oil product that emits about the\u003ca href=\"http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=73&t=11\">same amount\u003c/a> of carbon dioxide as diesel fuel — less than coal but more than gasoline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About half of all households in the U.S. heat their homes with natural gas, the cleanest fossil fuel used for home heating, which emits roughly half the carbon dioxide as coal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It won’t be possible to know the exact effect that El Niño had on U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from energy use this winter until the final numbers are tallied later this year, but emissions from U.S. energy consumption were down by 2.5 percent in 2015 compared to the previous year, EIA analyst Perry Lindstrom said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some of that was because of the warmer heating season — especially at the end of the year,” he said. “The other emissions effect is that, as a result of the above, natural gas prices were low and natural gas pushed out coal in electricity generation.”\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Was your heating bill a bit friendlier to your wallet this winter? If so, there’s a good chance you can thank El Niño.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The exceptionally strong El Niño in the Pacific has been driving \u003ca href=\"http://www.climatecentral.org/news/monster-el-nino-transforms-worlds-weather-20138\">chaotic weather\u003c/a> across the globe for months, but it also contributed to a mild winter in the U.S., which was about 15 percent warmer than the winter of 2014-2015.\u003cbr>\n\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cbr>\nThe milder temperatures led people to use less energy to heat their homes compared to the previous winter, a new U.S. Department of Energy \u003ca href=\"http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.cfm?id=25952\">report\u003c/a> shows. Above-normal temperatures contributed to a 16 percent drop in demand for propane used for heating, a 45 percent drop in heating oil consumption and a 6 percent decrease in electricity consumption compared to the winter of 2014-2015.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heating demand nationwide declined as much as 27 percent in December compared to the average of the previous 10 winters as measured in \u003ca href=\"https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/index.cfm?page=about_degree_days\">heating degree days\u003c/a>, a measure of how much utility bills increase as a result of the weather, according to the report.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Though heating demand in January matched the 10-year average, February demand was 17 percent below normal and March was 26 percent below normal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Slade Johnson, an analyst for the U.S. Energy Information Administration, said it’s too early to know if such a dramatic fall in energy demand for home heating has been seen before until at least late spring when the nation’s heating season has passed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The El Niño event is still occurring, although it is expected to dissipate by late spring or early summer,” Johnson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The energy used for home heating is a contributor to climate change because of its use of natural gas, oil and electricity. Home heating accounts for about 63 percent of residential natural gas consumption, for example.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Heating oil is often used in place of natural gas and electricity in the northeast. Heating oil is a highly-polluting crude oil product that emits about the\u003ca href=\"http://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.cfm?id=73&t=11\">same amount\u003c/a> of carbon dioxide as diesel fuel — less than coal but more than gasoline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>About half of all households in the U.S. heat their homes with natural gas, the cleanest fossil fuel used for home heating, which emits roughly half the carbon dioxide as coal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It won’t be possible to know the exact effect that El Niño had on U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from energy use this winter until the final numbers are tallied later this year, but emissions from U.S. energy consumption were down by 2.5 percent in 2015 compared to the previous year, EIA analyst Perry Lindstrom said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Some of that was because of the warmer heating season — especially at the end of the year,” he said. “The other emissions effect is that, as a result of the above, natural gas prices were low and natural gas pushed out coal in electricity generation.”\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Experimental Solar-Powered Plane Completes Journey Across the Pacific",
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"content": "\u003cp>Experimental solar-powered plane Solar Impulse 2 has landed in Mountain View, Calif., after a three-day flight across the Pacific.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Good morning, California!” the plane’s visibly emotional pilot Bertrand Piccard told a cheering crowd at Moffett Airfield, where he landed at 11:44 p.m. local time. He’s soon handed an extra large bottle of champagne.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Solar Impulse team is attempting to fly around the world using only the power of the sun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/21/475113210/experimental-solar-powered-plane-takes-flight-after-9-month-delay\">As we reported\u003c/a>, Piccard took off from Hawaii early Thursday after a nine-month delay for repairs. The previous leg, a five-day long trip from Japan to Hawaii, broke a world record for the longest duration nonstop solo flight. But it also fried the plane’s batteries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>https://twitter.com/solarimpulse/status/724670652129640448\u003cbr>\nhttps://twitter.com/solarimpulse/status/724601229431721984\u003cbr>\nhttps://twitter.com/solarimpulse/status/724217612297748480\u003cbr>\nThe journey across the Pacific was the ninth leg in their journey, which started in Abu Dhabi. The team hopes to eventually end there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s meant to send a message about clean energy, the team says in a statement:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\n\u003cp>“By attempting the first solar flight around the world, pushing back the boundaries of the possible, going into the unknown, and taking on a project deemed impossible by industry experts, Bertrand Piccard and [alternating pilot] André Borschberg want to support concrete actions for sustainability and show that the world can be run on clean technologies.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Experimental+Solar-Powered+Plane+Completes+Journey+Across+The+Pacific&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Experimental solar-powered plane Solar Impulse 2 has landed in Mountain View, Calif., after a three-day flight across the Pacific.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Good morning, California!” the plane’s visibly emotional pilot Bertrand Piccard told a cheering crowd at Moffett Airfield, where he landed at 11:44 p.m. local time. He’s soon handed an extra large bottle of champagne.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The Solar Impulse team is attempting to fly around the world using only the power of the sun.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/21/475113210/experimental-solar-powered-plane-takes-flight-after-9-month-delay\">As we reported\u003c/a>, Piccard took off from Hawaii early Thursday after a nine-month delay for repairs. The previous leg, a five-day long trip from Japan to Hawaii, broke a world record for the longest duration nonstop solo flight. But it also fried the plane’s batteries.\u003c/p>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cbr>\nThe journey across the Pacific was the ninth leg in their journey, which started in Abu Dhabi. The team hopes to eventually end there.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s meant to send a message about clean energy, the team says in a statement:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\n\u003cp>“By attempting the first solar flight around the world, pushing back the boundaries of the possible, going into the unknown, and taking on a project deemed impossible by industry experts, Bertrand Piccard and [alternating pilot] André Borschberg want to support concrete actions for sustainability and show that the world can be run on clean technologies.”\u003c/p>\n\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=Experimental+Solar-Powered+Plane+Completes+Journey+Across+The+Pacific&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Solar Plane Successfully Departs From Hawaii and Heads Toward California",
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"content": "\u003cp>After some uncertainty about the winds, the Solar Impulse team has taken off from Hawaii, venturing off on another leg of their solar-powered, around-the-world journey nearly 10 months after landing in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The aircraft landed in Hawaii last July but was forced to stay in the islands after the plane’s battery system sustained heat damage on its trip from Japan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”p9oQOTG1a3PYHqszMsA2jzrSPjdHxUlC”]The Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2 left Hawaii early Thursday and was on course to land in Mountain View, California, in about three days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The aircraft started its journey in March 2015 from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, then made stops in Oman, Myanmar, China and Japan. It’s on the ninth leg of its circumnavigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Piccard said the idea of crossing the ocean in a solar-powered plane a few years ago stressed him out, but Thursday morning he was confident things would go according to plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Piccard also said the flight’s destination, in the heart of Silicon Valley, is fitting. He said on his way to the airfield that when the plane lands there, it will land “in the middle of the pioneering spirit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Piccard’s co-pilot Andre Borschberg, who flew the leg from Japan to Hawaii, told Piccard he greatly admires his dedication and strength.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the plane “represents what we could do on the ground in our communities, in our cities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The team was delayed in Asia, as well. When first attempting to fly from Nanjing, China, to Hawaii, the crew had to end their trip early and divert to Japan because of unfavorable weather and a damaged wing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A month later, when the weather conditions were right, the plane departed from an airport in Nagoya in central Japan for Hawaii.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That trans-Pacific leg was the riskiest part of the plane’s global travels, as there was nowhere for it to land in an emergency. The same is true for the trip from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The plane’s ideal flight speed is about 28 mph, though that can double during the day when the sun’s rays are strongest. The carbon-fiber aircraft weighs more than 5,000 pounds, or about as much as a minivan or midsize truck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The wings of Solar Impulse 2, which stretch wider than those of a Boeing 747, are equipped with 17,000 solar cells that power propellers and charge batteries. The plane runs on stored energy at night.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "Two Swiss pioneers want to complete the first ever around-the-world solar flight with Solar Impulse 2, a solar airplane capable of flying day and night without any fuel.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>After some uncertainty about the winds, the Solar Impulse team has taken off from Hawaii, venturing off on another leg of their solar-powered, around-the-world journey nearly 10 months after landing in the state.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The aircraft landed in Hawaii last July but was forced to stay in the islands after the plane’s battery system sustained heat damage on its trip from Japan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>The Swiss-made Solar Impulse 2 left Hawaii early Thursday and was on course to land in Mountain View, California, in about three days.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The aircraft started its journey in March 2015 from Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, then made stops in Oman, Myanmar, China and Japan. It’s on the ninth leg of its circumnavigation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Piccard said the idea of crossing the ocean in a solar-powered plane a few years ago stressed him out, but Thursday morning he was confident things would go according to plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Piccard also said the flight’s destination, in the heart of Silicon Valley, is fitting. He said on his way to the airfield that when the plane lands there, it will land “in the middle of the pioneering spirit.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Piccard’s co-pilot Andre Borschberg, who flew the leg from Japan to Hawaii, told Piccard he greatly admires his dedication and strength.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He said the plane “represents what we could do on the ground in our communities, in our cities.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The team was delayed in Asia, as well. When first attempting to fly from Nanjing, China, to Hawaii, the crew had to end their trip early and divert to Japan because of unfavorable weather and a damaged wing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A month later, when the weather conditions were right, the plane departed from an airport in Nagoya in central Japan for Hawaii.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That trans-Pacific leg was the riskiest part of the plane’s global travels, as there was nowhere for it to land in an emergency. The same is true for the trip from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The plane’s ideal flight speed is about 28 mph, though that can double during the day when the sun’s rays are strongest. The carbon-fiber aircraft weighs more than 5,000 pounds, or about as much as a minivan or midsize truck.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The wings of Solar Impulse 2, which stretch wider than those of a Boeing 747, are equipped with 17,000 solar cells that power propellers and charge batteries. The plane runs on stored energy at night.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Inside Tesla’s Mysterious Desert Battery Factory",
"headTitle": "Inside Tesla’s Mysterious Desert Battery Factory | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>Tesla’s Gigafactory is a lot like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory: it’s mysterious, it’s big and few people have been inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For almost two years now, the company has been building the largest battery factory on the planet high in the Nevada desert—a factory that it says could revolutionize the way consumers use energy at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s tucked away in a dusty valley, half an hour east of Reno. Driving up Electric Avenue, the factory is a stark contrast on the horizon. It’s a sleek white building with a red stripe, almost like one of the company’s cars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Listen to the Story:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nhttp://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/science/2016/04/WEBTeslaGigafactorySommer160418.mp3\u003cbr>\n“It’s really hard to get a sense of scale,” says Tesla co-founder and Chief Technical Officer JB Straubel. “I mean, it’s huge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’re up on the roof of the Gigafactory, the small piece that has been built already, trying to get a glimpse of that scale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So you can see the building footprint that would be in front of us to the west and north,” he says, pointing to the flat expanse of land where the rest of the factory will go—all 5.8 million square feet of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not a huge football fan but I think it’s on the order of around a hundred football fields,” Straubel says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like Willy Wonka’s factory, there’s a lot of hype about this place, both for the records it’s breaking and the company’s mystique. People have been caught sneaking onto the property to see it under construction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_641708\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-641708\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside2.jpg\" alt=\"Tesla begins battery production while the neighboring sections of the factory are still under construction.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"624\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside2.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside2-400x208.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside2-800x416.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside2-768x399.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside2-1180x614.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside2-960x499.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tesla is beginning battery production while neighboring sections of the factory are still under construction. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With its multiple floors, it’ll be one of the largest factories in the U.S., period. Its main rival is Boeing’s factory in Everett, Washington where 747s are assembled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevada beat out several states by luring Tesla with an incentive package worth more than a billion dollars. Lawmakers here are watching like hawks for the economic benefits, like making sure Nevadans make up a big part of the factory’s construction crew and 6,000 permanent workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Baking Batteries\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inside the factory, that workforce is going full steam ahead. Workers are welding steel, pouring concrete and installing highly specialized machines, shrouded in plastic. It goes on for room after room after room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_641713\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-641713\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside1.jpg\" alt=\"Production is underway for Tesla's home battery, the Powerwall.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"655\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside1.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside1-400x218.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside1-800x437.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside1-768x419.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside1-1180x644.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside1-960x524.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Production is underway for Tesla’s home battery, the Powerwall. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“So this is a pretty exciting room,” Straubel says. It’s filled with huge metal tanks, almost like an insanely-large industrial kitchen. “This is where we will actually mix the materials, the raw materials, we mix them into what’s called a slurry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The main pieces of the lithium-ion batteries, the anode and cathode, are baked by huge machines in yet another room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a little bit like a giant baking oven except it’s a few hundred feet long,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As each section of the Gigafactory is completed, Tesla moves in and starts battery production immediately. It will eventually be connected by rail to Tesla’s car-assembly plant in Fremont, California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Straubel says the Gigafactory will even run on renewable energy from solar panels covering the roof, as well as off-site renewable projects and batteries, of course.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_641717\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-641717\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside3.jpg\" alt=\"Tesla CTO JB Straubel in front of Powerpacks, refrigerator-size batteries for factories or electric utilities.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"693\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside3.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside3-400x231.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside3-800x462.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside3-768x444.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside3-1180x681.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside3-960x554.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tesla CTO JB Straubel in front of Powerpacks, refrigerator-size batteries for factories or electric utilities. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>All About Scale\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tesla expects the factory, created in partnership with Panasonic, to double the world’s capacity for lithium-ion battery production, eventually making 35 gigawatt-hours of energy storage annually. That would supply 500,000 of its electric cars, a significant leap over what the company is producing now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not just about building a lot more batteries but it’s about reducing the cost,” Straubel says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_641710\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 355px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-641710\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla_V06_160415-400x711.png\" alt=\"Tesla_V06_160415\" width=\"355\" height=\"631\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla_V06_160415-400x711.png 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla_V06_160415.png 750w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 355px) 100vw, 355px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Tesla. Graphics by Teodros Hailye/KQED\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Tesla is known for its pricey cars. Its sedan, the Model S, starts at $76,500 before tax credits, and batteries are a big part of the sticker price. Analysts estimate that most battery packs cost well over $10,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Which is why, Straubel says, the Gigafactory is about scale. He believes scaling up could drive down the cost of batteries 30 percent or more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We think we’ll probably be able to exceed that,” Straubel says. “Our vehicles can be more affordable. More people can have access to them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s what the company is going for with the new \u003ca href=\"https://www.teslamotors.com/model3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Model 3\u003c/a>, its first mass market car, announced last month. It’ll run around $28,000 dollars after the federal tax credit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It won’t come out until late next year, but customers lined up in droves to put down $1,000 deposits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have today over 325,000 reservations for Model 3, representing this enormous backlog of orders,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The catch is that Tesla can’t fill those orders without this factory up and running.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s part of why we’re trying to go so fast and accelerate the construction here, so we are ready ahead of time,” Straubel says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_641809\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-641809\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside3-800x436.jpg\" alt=\"Under Nevada’s tax incentive package, half of the workers hired must be Nevada residents.\" width=\"800\" height=\"436\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside3-800x436.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside3-400x218.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside3-768x418.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside3-1440x785.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside3-1180x643.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside3-960x523.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside3.jpg 1472w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Under Nevada’s tax incentive package, half of the workers hired must be Nevada residents. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A Home Battery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just one room over, the part of the Gigafactory that is running is making something else: the \u003ca href=\"https://www.teslamotors.com/powerwall\">Powerwall\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a flat battery, about 4 feet long, 3 feet wide, and it’s Tesla’s first battery for your house. There are stacks of them on the factory floor, ready to ship to customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If someone has solar on their house and they install a Powerwall, what this lets you do is store your surplus solar energy,” Straubel says. Homeowners could then use around 7 kilowatt-hours of that stored energy at night, which is several hours’ worth, depending on energy demand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_641719\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-641719\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Powerwall-400x344.jpg\" alt=\"Tesla's home battery, designed to store solar energy for use at night.\" width=\"400\" height=\"344\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Powerwall-400x344.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Powerwall.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Powerwall-768x660.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tesla’s home battery, designed to store solar energy for use at night. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The production floor is also stacked with Powerpacks, a larger version of the battery about the size of a refrigerator. They’re designed to store electricity at factories, industrial sites, or on the grid itself by electric utilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The machines humming in this part of the plant are part of Tesla’s ultimate vision for their customers: an electric car in the garage and batteries that store all the solar power they need. It’s a future free of fossil fuels, Straubel says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Batteries are the missing piece in allowing sustainable energy to scale up to 100 percent of our energy needs,” he says. “We’re confident that eventually just about every vehicle on the road will move to being electric.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s changing the transportation landscape. That’s changing the energy landscape. It is changing the world,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It probably doesn’t need to be said: trying to change the world is a major gamble.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gamble in the Desert\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Is [Tesla CEO] Elon Musk far-seeing and investing in the future? Or is he making big bets that could all collapse at once?” says Severin Borenstein, an energy economist at UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to fighting climate change, Borenstien says the world could use lots of electric cars and low-cost, solar batteries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_641722\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-641722\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla-Aerial-Perspective-800x389.jpg\" alt=\"An artist rendering of the Gigafactory, covered in solar panels that will power the facility.\" width=\"800\" height=\"389\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla-Aerial-Perspective-800x389.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla-Aerial-Perspective-400x195.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla-Aerial-Perspective-768x374.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla-Aerial-Perspective-1440x701.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla-Aerial-Perspective-1180x574.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla-Aerial-Perspective-960x467.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla-Aerial-Perspective.jpg 1878w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An artist rendering of the Gigafactory, covered in solar panels that will power the facility. \u003ccite>(Tesla)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“If we could figure out a way to produce batteries at large-scale and low-cost, it would really be a game changer for reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The question, he says, is whether consumers are ready to buy into Tesla’s vision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gas prices have been extremely low, which hurts demand for efficient cars. And then there’s the $3,000 Powerwall battery. Electric rates in many states make it hard to actually save money storing your own electricity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California and some other states, solar customers are paid by their electric utilities for the extra solar power they put onto the grid, a policy known as “\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/12/07/with-rooftop-solar-booming-california-utilities-want-to-charge-more/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">net-energy metering\u003c/a>.” That creates little financial incentive to store solar energy at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A battery could save someone money if electricity costs a lot more at night than it does during the day. Borenstein says few states have those kind of electricity prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Average households are not going to get much or any value from these batteries,” Borenstein says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_641724\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-641724\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside2-800x403.jpg\" alt=\"Tesla's Powerwall production line.\" width=\"800\" height=\"403\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside2-800x403.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside2-400x202.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside2-768x387.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside2-1180x595.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside2-960x484.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside2.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tesla’s Powerwall production line. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Early adopters may not care, though.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re people who like that and feel good about it and they’re mostly pretty darn rich,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tesla is betting that cheaper batteries will make everyone else want a home battery and electric car, too, something that could finally lead the company to profitability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The $5 billion Gigafactory is exactly that gamble. If Tesla stays on schedule, the factory will be fully open in four years.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Tesla’s Gigafactory is a lot like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory: it’s mysterious, it’s big and few people have been inside.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For almost two years now, the company has been building the largest battery factory on the planet high in the Nevada desert—a factory that it says could revolutionize the way consumers use energy at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s tucked away in a dusty valley, half an hour east of Reno. Driving up Electric Avenue, the factory is a stark contrast on the horizon. It’s a sleek white building with a red stripe, almost like one of the company’s cars.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Listen to the Story:\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nhttp://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/science/2016/04/WEBTeslaGigafactorySommer160418.mp3\u003cbr>\n“It’s really hard to get a sense of scale,” says Tesla co-founder and Chief Technical Officer JB Straubel. “I mean, it’s huge.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We’re up on the roof of the Gigafactory, the small piece that has been built already, trying to get a glimpse of that scale.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So you can see the building footprint that would be in front of us to the west and north,” he says, pointing to the flat expanse of land where the rest of the factory will go—all 5.8 million square feet of it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m not a huge football fan but I think it’s on the order of around a hundred football fields,” Straubel says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like Willy Wonka’s factory, there’s a lot of hype about this place, both for the records it’s breaking and the company’s mystique. People have been caught sneaking onto the property to see it under construction.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_641708\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-641708\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside2.jpg\" alt=\"Tesla begins battery production while the neighboring sections of the factory are still under construction.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"624\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside2.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside2-400x208.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside2-800x416.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside2-768x399.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside2-1180x614.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside2-960x499.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tesla is beginning battery production while neighboring sections of the factory are still under construction. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>With its multiple floors, it’ll be one of the largest factories in the U.S., period. Its main rival is Boeing’s factory in Everett, Washington where 747s are assembled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nevada beat out several states by luring Tesla with an incentive package worth more than a billion dollars. Lawmakers here are watching like hawks for the economic benefits, like making sure Nevadans make up a big part of the factory’s construction crew and 6,000 permanent workers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Baking Batteries\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Inside the factory, that workforce is going full steam ahead. Workers are welding steel, pouring concrete and installing highly specialized machines, shrouded in plastic. It goes on for room after room after room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_641713\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-641713\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside1.jpg\" alt=\"Production is underway for Tesla's home battery, the Powerwall.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"655\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside1.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside1-400x218.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside1-800x437.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside1-768x419.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside1-1180x644.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside1-960x524.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Production is underway for Tesla’s home battery, the Powerwall. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“So this is a pretty exciting room,” Straubel says. It’s filled with huge metal tanks, almost like an insanely-large industrial kitchen. “This is where we will actually mix the materials, the raw materials, we mix them into what’s called a slurry.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The main pieces of the lithium-ion batteries, the anode and cathode, are baked by huge machines in yet another room.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s a little bit like a giant baking oven except it’s a few hundred feet long,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As each section of the Gigafactory is completed, Tesla moves in and starts battery production immediately. It will eventually be connected by rail to Tesla’s car-assembly plant in Fremont, California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Straubel says the Gigafactory will even run on renewable energy from solar panels covering the roof, as well as off-site renewable projects and batteries, of course.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_641717\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-641717\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside3.jpg\" alt=\"Tesla CTO JB Straubel in front of Powerpacks, refrigerator-size batteries for factories or electric utilities.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"693\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside3.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside3-400x231.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside3-800x462.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside3-768x444.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside3-1180x681.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside3-960x554.jpg 960w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tesla CTO JB Straubel in front of Powerpacks, refrigerator-size batteries for factories or electric utilities. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>All About Scale\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tesla expects the factory, created in partnership with Panasonic, to double the world’s capacity for lithium-ion battery production, eventually making 35 gigawatt-hours of energy storage annually. That would supply 500,000 of its electric cars, a significant leap over what the company is producing now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s not just about building a lot more batteries but it’s about reducing the cost,” Straubel says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_641710\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 355px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-641710\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla_V06_160415-400x711.png\" alt=\"Tesla_V06_160415\" width=\"355\" height=\"631\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla_V06_160415-400x711.png 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla_V06_160415.png 750w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 355px) 100vw, 355px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: Tesla. Graphics by Teodros Hailye/KQED\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Tesla is known for its pricey cars. Its sedan, the Model S, starts at $76,500 before tax credits, and batteries are a big part of the sticker price. Analysts estimate that most battery packs cost well over $10,000.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Which is why, Straubel says, the Gigafactory is about scale. He believes scaling up could drive down the cost of batteries 30 percent or more.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We think we’ll probably be able to exceed that,” Straubel says. “Our vehicles can be more affordable. More people can have access to them.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s what the company is going for with the new \u003ca href=\"https://www.teslamotors.com/model3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Model 3\u003c/a>, its first mass market car, announced last month. It’ll run around $28,000 dollars after the federal tax credit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It won’t come out until late next year, but customers lined up in droves to put down $1,000 deposits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We have today over 325,000 reservations for Model 3, representing this enormous backlog of orders,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The catch is that Tesla can’t fill those orders without this factory up and running.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s part of why we’re trying to go so fast and accelerate the construction here, so we are ready ahead of time,” Straubel says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_641809\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-641809\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside3-800x436.jpg\" alt=\"Under Nevada’s tax incentive package, half of the workers hired must be Nevada residents.\" width=\"800\" height=\"436\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside3-800x436.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside3-400x218.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside3-768x418.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside3-1440x785.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside3-1180x643.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside3-960x523.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Outside3.jpg 1472w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Under Nevada’s tax incentive package, half of the workers hired must be Nevada residents. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>A Home Battery\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Just one room over, the part of the Gigafactory that is running is making something else: the \u003ca href=\"https://www.teslamotors.com/powerwall\">Powerwall\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s a flat battery, about 4 feet long, 3 feet wide, and it’s Tesla’s first battery for your house. There are stacks of them on the factory floor, ready to ship to customers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If someone has solar on their house and they install a Powerwall, what this lets you do is store your surplus solar energy,” Straubel says. Homeowners could then use around 7 kilowatt-hours of that stored energy at night, which is several hours’ worth, depending on energy demand.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_641719\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-641719\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Powerwall-400x344.jpg\" alt=\"Tesla's home battery, designed to store solar energy for use at night.\" width=\"400\" height=\"344\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Powerwall-400x344.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Powerwall.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Powerwall-768x660.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tesla’s home battery, designed to store solar energy for use at night. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The production floor is also stacked with Powerpacks, a larger version of the battery about the size of a refrigerator. They’re designed to store electricity at factories, industrial sites, or on the grid itself by electric utilities.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The machines humming in this part of the plant are part of Tesla’s ultimate vision for their customers: an electric car in the garage and batteries that store all the solar power they need. It’s a future free of fossil fuels, Straubel says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Batteries are the missing piece in allowing sustainable energy to scale up to 100 percent of our energy needs,” he says. “We’re confident that eventually just about every vehicle on the road will move to being electric.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s changing the transportation landscape. That’s changing the energy landscape. It is changing the world,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It probably doesn’t need to be said: trying to change the world is a major gamble.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Gamble in the Desert\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Is [Tesla CEO] Elon Musk far-seeing and investing in the future? Or is he making big bets that could all collapse at once?” says Severin Borenstein, an energy economist at UC Berkeley.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When it comes to fighting climate change, Borenstien says the world could use lots of electric cars and low-cost, solar batteries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_641722\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-641722\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla-Aerial-Perspective-800x389.jpg\" alt=\"An artist rendering of the Gigafactory, covered in solar panels that will power the facility.\" width=\"800\" height=\"389\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla-Aerial-Perspective-800x389.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla-Aerial-Perspective-400x195.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla-Aerial-Perspective-768x374.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla-Aerial-Perspective-1440x701.jpg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla-Aerial-Perspective-1180x574.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla-Aerial-Perspective-960x467.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Tesla-Aerial-Perspective.jpg 1878w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An artist rendering of the Gigafactory, covered in solar panels that will power the facility. \u003ccite>(Tesla)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“If we could figure out a way to produce batteries at large-scale and low-cost, it would really be a game changer for reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The question, he says, is whether consumers are ready to buy into Tesla’s vision.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Gas prices have been extremely low, which hurts demand for efficient cars. And then there’s the $3,000 Powerwall battery. Electric rates in many states make it hard to actually save money storing your own electricity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In California and some other states, solar customers are paid by their electric utilities for the extra solar power they put onto the grid, a policy known as “\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2015/12/07/with-rooftop-solar-booming-california-utilities-want-to-charge-more/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">net-energy metering\u003c/a>.” That creates little financial incentive to store solar energy at home.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A battery could save someone money if electricity costs a lot more at night than it does during the day. Borenstein says few states have those kind of electricity prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Average households are not going to get much or any value from these batteries,” Borenstein says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_641724\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 800px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-641724\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside2-800x403.jpg\" alt=\"Tesla's Powerwall production line.\" width=\"800\" height=\"403\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside2-800x403.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside2-400x202.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside2-768x387.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside2-1180x595.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside2-960x484.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/Inside2.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tesla’s Powerwall production line. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Early adopters may not care, though.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They’re people who like that and feel good about it and they’re mostly pretty darn rich,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tesla is betting that cheaper batteries will make everyone else want a home battery and electric car, too, something that could finally lead the company to profitability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The $5 billion Gigafactory is exactly that gamble. If Tesla stays on schedule, the factory will be fully open in four years.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Largest U.S. Coal Company Files for Bankruptcy",
"headTitle": "Largest U.S. Coal Company Files for Bankruptcy | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>A coal-mining giant has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid an industrywide slump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peabody Energy — which is the biggest coal miner in the U.S. and says it is the largest private-sector coal company in the world — is looking to restructure its heavy debt load and gain relief from its creditors. It hopes to continue operations unimpeded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The St. Louis-based company said \u003ca href=\"https://mscusppegrs01.blob.core.windows.net/mmfiles/sitemedia/ch11/announcement%20press%20release.pdf\">in a statement\u003c/a> that the pressure on the coal industry is “unprecedented.” It cited a drop in prices, weaker demand from China, the rise of competition from fracking and “ongoing regulatory challenges” as reasons for the restructuring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this year, Arch Coal — the second-largest coal miner in the U.S. — \u003ca href=\"http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-11/arch-coal-files-for-bankruptcy-reaches-4-5-billion-debt-deal\">filed for bankruptcy\u003c/a>. Bloomberg noted that three other major coal miners went bankrupt \u003ca href=\"http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-21/the-coal-miner-on-everybody-s-list-as-next-bankruptcy-victim\">the year before that\u003c/a>, and many industry watchers had expected Peabody to follow suit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dashed dreams of China-powered prosperity contributed to the coal giant’s financial woes. Peabody bought Australian mining firm MacArthur in 2011 for \u003ca href=\"http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/peabody-energy-takes-full-control-of-macarthur-coal/\">nearly $5 billion\u003c/a>. It was \u003ca href=\"http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/with-macarthur-acquisition-peabody-lays-heavier-bet-on-asia/article_6d55d79b-c6d1-5a22-9189-f869ce985bcf.html\">a bet on Asian growth\u003c/a>, planned at a time when coal prices had been on the rise for two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That same year, coal prices \u003ca href=\"https://www.quandl.com/data/EIA/COAL\">began to drop\u003c/a>. The industry entered a long slump — \u003ca href=\"http://www.google.com/finance?chdnp=1&chdd=1&chds=1&chdv=1&chvs=maximized&chdeh=0&chfdeh=0&chdet=1460549465977&chddm=984147&chls=IntervalBasedLine&q=INDEXDJX:DJUSCL&ntsp=0&ei=GjcOV6OZAoKymAHdh5-gCQ\">where it remains today\u003c/a>. And instead of surging, growth in China \u003ca href=\"http://www.scmp.com/business/economy/article/1409527/stagnant-growth-adds-pressure-rebalancing-chinas-economy\">was stagnant\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, Peabody carries a heavy debt burden. \u003ca href=\"http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-11/peabody's-demise-parallels-the-decline-of-king-coal/7241246\">Australia’s ABC News reports\u003c/a> that Peabody owes $10.1 billion and has $10.9 billion in assets — and that the company lost $2 billion in 2015.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the statement announcing the Chapter 11 restructuring, Peabody also revealed that a planned \u003ca href=\"http://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/23/peabody-energy-to-sell-new-mexico-colorado-assets-for-358-mln.html\">sale of its New Mexico and Colorado mines\u003c/a> has fallen through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mine operations are continuing as usual, Peabody said in the statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, Inside Energy’s Leigh Paterson \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/2016/03/25/471817223/bankruptcies-fuel-uncertainty-in-coal-communities\">reported for NPR\u003c/a> on what bankruptcy means in the coal industry. She noted that a bankrupt Peabody subsidiary recently raised ire by trying to cut insurance for retired employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And cleanup liabilities are often among the debts that a bankrupt coal-mining company is attempting to negotiate, Paterson says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peabody said in its statement that the company is proud of its work in land restoration, or repairing areas damaged by mining, and will “meet its reclamation obligations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shale gas, increasingly produced in the U.S. through the practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, was named by Peabody as a factor in its bankruptcy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the long-term, as NPR’s Jeff Brady \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/2016/02/17/466033966/from-the-ashes-of-some-coal-plants-new-energy-rises\">reported in February\u003c/a>, there’s another challenge facing the coal industry:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>“The renewable \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/2015/12/29/460812946/tax-breaks-falling-costs-are-boosting-wind-and-solar\">energy building boom\u003c/a> also is stressing the industry. Once solar and wind projects are built, the power is cheap to produce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>” ‘Gas puts the immediate threat to coal, but the combination of gas and renewables places a longer-term threat to coal,’ says Andy Roberts, analyst in international thermal coal markets for the consulting firm Wood Mackenzie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He says last year was tough for coal companies, and the future likely will be \u003ca href=\"http://www.woodmac.com/blog/happy-new-year-coal-producers-or-maybe-not/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">even more painful\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>” ‘Probably, over the long, long time, only the strongest of them are going to survive,’ Roberts says.”\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One way companies can strengthen their position in the struggling industry? Declaring bankruptcy, Jeff wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=U.S.+Coal+Giant+Peabody+Energy+Files+For+Bankruptcy&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\" alt=\"\">\u003c/div>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "As the coal industry struggles with falling prices, weak Chinese demand, regulatory changes and competition from fracking, St. Louis-based Peabody has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>A coal-mining giant has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid an industrywide slump.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peabody Energy — which is the biggest coal miner in the U.S. and says it is the largest private-sector coal company in the world — is looking to restructure its heavy debt load and gain relief from its creditors. It hopes to continue operations unimpeded.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The St. Louis-based company said \u003ca href=\"https://mscusppegrs01.blob.core.windows.net/mmfiles/sitemedia/ch11/announcement%20press%20release.pdf\">in a statement\u003c/a> that the pressure on the coal industry is “unprecedented.” It cited a drop in prices, weaker demand from China, the rise of competition from fracking and “ongoing regulatory challenges” as reasons for the restructuring.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Earlier this year, Arch Coal — the second-largest coal miner in the U.S. — \u003ca href=\"http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-11/arch-coal-files-for-bankruptcy-reaches-4-5-billion-debt-deal\">filed for bankruptcy\u003c/a>. Bloomberg noted that three other major coal miners went bankrupt \u003ca href=\"http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-21/the-coal-miner-on-everybody-s-list-as-next-bankruptcy-victim\">the year before that\u003c/a>, and many industry watchers had expected Peabody to follow suit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dashed dreams of China-powered prosperity contributed to the coal giant’s financial woes. Peabody bought Australian mining firm MacArthur in 2011 for \u003ca href=\"http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/peabody-energy-takes-full-control-of-macarthur-coal/\">nearly $5 billion\u003c/a>. It was \u003ca href=\"http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/with-macarthur-acquisition-peabody-lays-heavier-bet-on-asia/article_6d55d79b-c6d1-5a22-9189-f869ce985bcf.html\">a bet on Asian growth\u003c/a>, planned at a time when coal prices had been on the rise for two years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That same year, coal prices \u003ca href=\"https://www.quandl.com/data/EIA/COAL\">began to drop\u003c/a>. The industry entered a long slump — \u003ca href=\"http://www.google.com/finance?chdnp=1&chdd=1&chds=1&chdv=1&chvs=maximized&chdeh=0&chfdeh=0&chdet=1460549465977&chddm=984147&chls=IntervalBasedLine&q=INDEXDJX:DJUSCL&ntsp=0&ei=GjcOV6OZAoKymAHdh5-gCQ\">where it remains today\u003c/a>. And instead of surging, growth in China \u003ca href=\"http://www.scmp.com/business/economy/article/1409527/stagnant-growth-adds-pressure-rebalancing-chinas-economy\">was stagnant\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Today, Peabody carries a heavy debt burden. \u003ca href=\"http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-11/peabody's-demise-parallels-the-decline-of-king-coal/7241246\">Australia’s ABC News reports\u003c/a> that Peabody owes $10.1 billion and has $10.9 billion in assets — and that the company lost $2 billion in 2015.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the statement announcing the Chapter 11 restructuring, Peabody also revealed that a planned \u003ca href=\"http://www.cnbc.com/2015/11/23/peabody-energy-to-sell-new-mexico-colorado-assets-for-358-mln.html\">sale of its New Mexico and Colorado mines\u003c/a> has fallen through.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mine operations are continuing as usual, Peabody said in the statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, Inside Energy’s Leigh Paterson \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/2016/03/25/471817223/bankruptcies-fuel-uncertainty-in-coal-communities\">reported for NPR\u003c/a> on what bankruptcy means in the coal industry. She noted that a bankrupt Peabody subsidiary recently raised ire by trying to cut insurance for retired employees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And cleanup liabilities are often among the debts that a bankrupt coal-mining company is attempting to negotiate, Paterson says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Peabody said in its statement that the company is proud of its work in land restoration, or repairing areas damaged by mining, and will “meet its reclamation obligations.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Shale gas, increasingly produced in the U.S. through the practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, was named by Peabody as a factor in its bankruptcy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the long-term, as NPR’s Jeff Brady \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/2016/02/17/466033966/from-the-ashes-of-some-coal-plants-new-energy-rises\">reported in February\u003c/a>, there’s another challenge facing the coal industry:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>“The renewable \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/2015/12/29/460812946/tax-breaks-falling-costs-are-boosting-wind-and-solar\">energy building boom\u003c/a> also is stressing the industry. Once solar and wind projects are built, the power is cheap to produce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>” ‘Gas puts the immediate threat to coal, but the combination of gas and renewables places a longer-term threat to coal,’ says Andy Roberts, analyst in international thermal coal markets for the consulting firm Wood Mackenzie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He says last year was tough for coal companies, and the future likely will be \u003ca href=\"http://www.woodmac.com/blog/happy-new-year-coal-producers-or-maybe-not/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">even more painful\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>” ‘Probably, over the long, long time, only the strongest of them are going to survive,’ Roberts says.”\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One way companies can strengthen their position in the struggling industry? Declaring bankruptcy, Jeff wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cdiv class=\"fullattribution\">Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.\u003cimg decoding=\"async\" src=\"http://www.google-analytics.com/__utm.gif?utmac=UA-5828686-4&utmdt=U.S.+Coal+Giant+Peabody+Energy+Files+For+Bankruptcy&utme=8(APIKey)9(MDAxOTAwOTE4MDEyMTkxMDAzNjczZDljZA004)\" alt=\"\">\u003c/div>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Too Much Solar in California? Not If You Bottle It",
"headTitle": "Too Much Solar in California? Not If You Bottle It | KQED",
"content": "\u003cp>The cost of solar power has plummeted in recent years, which has led to a renewable energy boom in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there’s a big hang-up: solar energy doesn’t provide a 24-hour supply. When the sun sets, the power from solar farms drops off, just as California needs it most.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s sparked new interest in technology that stores electricity. And the energy storage technology race is going far beyond your typical battery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Solar Peaking\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Pretty much everyday, we hit peak output,” says Michael Wheeler, a vice president at \u003ca href=\"http://recurrentenergy.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Recurrent Energy\u003c/a> in San Francisco, looking at a screen showing the solar farms his company manages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But earlier this spring, something happened that, at first, doesn’t seem to make sense.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘We’ve built these solar projects and to the extent that we have to turn them off more and more often, it doesn’t make a lot of sense.’\u003ccite>Michael Wheeler,\u003cbr>\nRecurrent Energy\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>It was the middle of the day, when one of the solar farms was cranking out electricity, and his company got a message.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The grid operator is telling us they don’t need all of it,” Wheeler says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was too much electricity on the grid. The electric grid managers were telling solar farms to shut down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The project went from almost peak output to zero for about two hours,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This happens on sunny, spring days when there is plenty of solar power but Californians aren’t using a lot of air conditioning yet, so demand for power is low.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The solar and wind power comes in on top of what natural gas power plants are generating. Because renewable energy production goes up and down with passing clouds and wind conditions, grid operators say they need the continuous supply from natural gas to make up for those fluctuations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_626879\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-626879\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/PGEbattery-web.jpg\" alt=\"PG&E's battery in San Jose can store more than six hours of energy.\" width=\"640\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/PGEbattery-web.jpg 640w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/PGEbattery-web-400x276.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">PG&E’s battery in San Jose can store more than six hours of energy. \u003ccite>(PG&E)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Shutting down natural gas would leave the power supply less stable. Many gas plants can take between four and eight hours to restart, once they’re turned off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As more solar farms come online, the pressure to shut them down on mild, sunny days is only expected to become greater. California plans to get 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve built these solar projects and to the extent that we have to turn them off more and more often, it doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Wheeler says. “It would be a lot better to find uses for that electricity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Shifting Solar\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s grid operators have proposed \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2016/04/04/what-will-california-do-with-too-much-solar/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">linking the state’s grid\u003c/a> to other Western states, so the excess solar energy could be shared.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another solution is to store the solar energy, because there’s an obvious need for power in the evening, right as the sun goes down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[contextly_sidebar id=”l7OdPh3xOLqw1w8wvqvYo5vgdvoYG5Li”]“Everybody comes home from work and they turn on their lights and that uses a lot of power,” says Shayle Kann who analyzes renewable energy at \u003ca href=\"https://www.greentechmedia.com/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Greentech Media\u003c/a> in Boston.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s electricity demand peaks in the evening. Storing solar power for just a few hours would allow solar farms to help meet that peak.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It makes that solar energy dispatchable,” he says. “In other words, you can control when it goes into the grid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Listen to the Story:\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nhttp://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/science/2016/04/WEBEnergyStorageSommer160411.mp3\u003cbr>\nSince California regulators don’t want to see solar farms turn off, they’re \u003ca href=\"http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/General.aspx?id=3462\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">requiring utilities\u003c/a> to build energy storage on the grid. All together, Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric must install 1.3 gigawatts of energy storage by 2020, which is about the same as a couple power plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That mandate is the first of its kind in the country. So far, batteries have been the dominant technology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Batteries in consumer electronics—you’re used to your Duracell batteries and things—we’ve had those for a very long time,” says Kann. “What’s new is deploying that on a large scale for the grid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are a handful of \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2013/05/24/the-biggest-battery-you-havent-seen/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">large banks of batteries\u003c/a> on the grid already, some the size of a semi-truck, which can store electricity for several hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bottling Electricity\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Batteries are coming down in cost dramatically, but they’re still relatively expensive compared to other sources of power.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s launched start-up companies looking for a different way to store energy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So what you’re looking at, really, is best described as a giant scuba tank,” says Steve Crane, pointing to a 25-foot tank in the warehouse of his company, \u003ca href=\"http://www.lightsail.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LightSail Energy\u003c/a> in Berkeley, California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_626973\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 900px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-626973\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/LightSail-900-2.jpg\" alt=\"Steve Crane of LightSail Energy at their headquarters in Berkeley. \" width=\"900\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/LightSail-900-2.jpg 900w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/LightSail-900-2-400x237.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/LightSail-900-2-800x474.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/LightSail-900-2-768x455.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steve Crane of LightSail Energy at their headquarters in Berkeley. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A scuba tank is the inspiration for his technology, which compresses air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The electrical energy is hard to hold on to,” says Crane. “Compressed air is relatively easy to store for hours or even days.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s how it works: when there’s extra electricity, Crane turns on a giant air pump. It fills the tank, compressing the air by 200 times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then when electricity is needed, the air is released to drive an electric generator. The hard part has been dealing with all the heat this makes; Crane’s technology uses water to capture some of the heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any air compressor that you use, even a bicycle pump, creates heat,” says Crane. “A bicycle pump will feel warm after you’ve used it for a while.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The idea of storing energy by compressing air isn’t new, but other projects have stored the air in \u003ca href=\"http://caes.pnnl.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">large underground caverns\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By using tanks, LightSail’s technology would be more modular. It’s still in the early stages, with the company working on its first pilot projects. But Crane hopes it will have an edge over batteries, because it’s likely going to be cheaper and it lasts longer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you have a laptop or cell phone,” he says, “you know that after two to three years, you start to see significant deterioration.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Crane says interest has sky-rocketed for energy storage technology like his and other other non-battery approaches, such as \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/04/05/470810118/solar-and-wind-energy-may-be-nice-but-how-can-we-store-it\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ice, molten salt\u003c/a> or mechanical machines \u003ca href=\"http://amberkinetics.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">called flywheels\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nobody had ever heard of energy storage when I got into this field six or seven years ago,” he says. “Now it’s something that the governor of California talks about. However, the funding that is available for new technology in this area is pretty much zero.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Research and development can take years and venture capital firms like to see faster results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But if California is to meet its ambitious renewable energy goals, energy storage technology will have to catch up.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "On sunny spring days, California's solar plants sometimes have to shut down because there's more energy on the grid than we need. But some innovators have better ideas.",
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"description": "On sunny spring days, California's solar plants sometimes have to shut down because there's more energy on the grid than we need. But some innovators have better ideas.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>The cost of solar power has plummeted in recent years, which has led to a renewable energy boom in California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But there’s a big hang-up: solar energy doesn’t provide a 24-hour supply. When the sun sets, the power from solar farms drops off, just as California needs it most.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s sparked new interest in technology that stores electricity. And the energy storage technology race is going far beyond your typical battery.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Solar Peaking\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Pretty much everyday, we hit peak output,” says Michael Wheeler, a vice president at \u003ca href=\"http://recurrentenergy.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Recurrent Energy\u003c/a> in San Francisco, looking at a screen showing the solar farms his company manages.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But earlier this spring, something happened that, at first, doesn’t seem to make sense.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘We’ve built these solar projects and to the extent that we have to turn them off more and more often, it doesn’t make a lot of sense.’\u003ccite>Michael Wheeler,\u003cbr>\nRecurrent Energy\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>It was the middle of the day, when one of the solar farms was cranking out electricity, and his company got a message.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The grid operator is telling us they don’t need all of it,” Wheeler says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There was too much electricity on the grid. The electric grid managers were telling solar farms to shut down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The project went from almost peak output to zero for about two hours,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This happens on sunny, spring days when there is plenty of solar power but Californians aren’t using a lot of air conditioning yet, so demand for power is low.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The solar and wind power comes in on top of what natural gas power plants are generating. Because renewable energy production goes up and down with passing clouds and wind conditions, grid operators say they need the continuous supply from natural gas to make up for those fluctuations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_626879\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-626879\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/PGEbattery-web.jpg\" alt=\"PG&E's battery in San Jose can store more than six hours of energy.\" width=\"640\" height=\"441\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/PGEbattery-web.jpg 640w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/PGEbattery-web-400x276.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">PG&E’s battery in San Jose can store more than six hours of energy. \u003ccite>(PG&E)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Shutting down natural gas would leave the power supply less stable. Many gas plants can take between four and eight hours to restart, once they’re turned off.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>As more solar farms come online, the pressure to shut them down on mild, sunny days is only expected to become greater. California plans to get 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve built these solar projects and to the extent that we have to turn them off more and more often, it doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Wheeler says. “It would be a lot better to find uses for that electricity.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Shifting Solar\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s grid operators have proposed \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2016/04/04/what-will-california-do-with-too-much-solar/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">linking the state’s grid\u003c/a> to other Western states, so the excess solar energy could be shared.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another solution is to store the solar energy, because there’s an obvious need for power in the evening, right as the sun goes down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>“Everybody comes home from work and they turn on their lights and that uses a lot of power,” says Shayle Kann who analyzes renewable energy at \u003ca href=\"https://www.greentechmedia.com/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Greentech Media\u003c/a> in Boston.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California’s electricity demand peaks in the evening. Storing solar power for just a few hours would allow solar farms to help meet that peak.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It makes that solar energy dispatchable,” he says. “In other words, you can control when it goes into the grid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Listen to the Story:\u003cbr>\n\u003c/strong>\u003cbr>\nhttp://www.kqed.org/.stream/anon/radio/science/2016/04/WEBEnergyStorageSommer160411.mp3\u003cbr>\nSince California regulators don’t want to see solar farms turn off, they’re \u003ca href=\"http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/General.aspx?id=3462\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">requiring utilities\u003c/a> to build energy storage on the grid. All together, Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric must install 1.3 gigawatts of energy storage by 2020, which is about the same as a couple power plants.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That mandate is the first of its kind in the country. So far, batteries have been the dominant technology.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Batteries in consumer electronics—you’re used to your Duracell batteries and things—we’ve had those for a very long time,” says Kann. “What’s new is deploying that on a large scale for the grid.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are a handful of \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/2013/05/24/the-biggest-battery-you-havent-seen/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">large banks of batteries\u003c/a> on the grid already, some the size of a semi-truck, which can store electricity for several hours.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Bottling Electricity\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Batteries are coming down in cost dramatically, but they’re still relatively expensive compared to other sources of power.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s launched start-up companies looking for a different way to store energy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“So what you’re looking at, really, is best described as a giant scuba tank,” says Steve Crane, pointing to a 25-foot tank in the warehouse of his company, \u003ca href=\"http://www.lightsail.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LightSail Energy\u003c/a> in Berkeley, California.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_626973\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 900px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-626973\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/LightSail-900-2.jpg\" alt=\"Steve Crane of LightSail Energy at their headquarters in Berkeley. \" width=\"900\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/LightSail-900-2.jpg 900w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/LightSail-900-2-400x237.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/LightSail-900-2-800x474.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/04/LightSail-900-2-768x455.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Steve Crane of LightSail Energy at their headquarters in Berkeley. \u003ccite>(Lauren Sommer/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>A scuba tank is the inspiration for his technology, which compresses air.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The electrical energy is hard to hold on to,” says Crane. “Compressed air is relatively easy to store for hours or even days.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s how it works: when there’s extra electricity, Crane turns on a giant air pump. It fills the tank, compressing the air by 200 times.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Then when electricity is needed, the air is released to drive an electric generator. The hard part has been dealing with all the heat this makes; Crane’s technology uses water to capture some of the heat.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Any air compressor that you use, even a bicycle pump, creates heat,” says Crane. “A bicycle pump will feel warm after you’ve used it for a while.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The idea of storing energy by compressing air isn’t new, but other projects have stored the air in \u003ca href=\"http://caes.pnnl.gov/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">large underground caverns\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>By using tanks, LightSail’s technology would be more modular. It’s still in the early stages, with the company working on its first pilot projects. But Crane hopes it will have an edge over batteries, because it’s likely going to be cheaper and it lasts longer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If you have a laptop or cell phone,” he says, “you know that after two to three years, you start to see significant deterioration.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Crane says interest has sky-rocketed for energy storage technology like his and other other non-battery approaches, such as \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/04/05/470810118/solar-and-wind-energy-may-be-nice-but-how-can-we-store-it\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ice, molten salt\u003c/a> or mechanical machines \u003ca href=\"http://amberkinetics.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">called flywheels\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nobody had ever heard of energy storage when I got into this field six or seven years ago,” he says. “Now it’s something that the governor of California talks about. However, the funding that is available for new technology in this area is pretty much zero.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Research and development can take years and venture capital firms like to see faster results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"tagline": "Exploring the Bay Area, one question at a time",
"info": "KQED’s new podcast, Bay Curious, gets to the bottom of the mysteries — both profound and peculiar — that give the Bay Area its unique identity. And we’ll do it with your help! You ask the questions. You decide what Bay Curious investigates. And you join us on the journey to find the answers.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bay-Curious-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Bay Curious",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/news/series/baycurious",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 3
},
"link": "/podcasts/baycurious",
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"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious",
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}
},
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"id": "bbc-world-service",
"title": "BBC World Service",
"info": "The day's top stories from BBC News compiled twice daily in the week, once at weekends.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9pm-10pm, TUE-FRI 1am-2am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/BBC-World-Service-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live:bbc_world_service",
"meta": {
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"source": "BBC World Service"
},
"link": "/radio/program/bbc-world-service",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/global-news-podcast/id135067274?mt=2",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/BBC-World-Service-p455581/",
"rss": "https://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0gn.rss"
}
},
"californiareport": {
"id": "californiareport",
"title": "The California Report",
"tagline": "California, day by day",
"info": "KQED’s statewide radio news program providing daily coverage of issues, trends and public policy decisions.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-California-Report-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED The California Report",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareport",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 8
},
"link": "/californiareport",
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"amazon": "https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/26099305-72af-4542-9dde-ac1807fe36d5/kqed-s-the-california-report",
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"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcram/feed/podcast"
}
},
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"id": "californiareportmagazine",
"title": "The California Report Magazine",
"tagline": "Your state, your stories",
"info": "Every week, The California Report Magazine takes you on a road trip for the ears: to visit the places and meet the people who make California unique. The in-depth storytelling podcast from the California Report.",
"airtime": "FRI 4:30pm-5pm, 6:30pm-7pm, 11pm-11:30pm",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/californiareportmagazine",
"meta": {
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"order": 10
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM3NjkwNjk1OTAz",
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"rss": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/tag/tcrmag/feed/podcast"
}
},
"city-arts": {
"id": "city-arts",
"title": "City Arts & Lectures",
"info": "A one-hour radio program to hear celebrated writers, artists and thinkers address contemporary ideas and values, often discussing the creative process. Please note: tapes or transcripts are not available",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/05/cityartsandlecture-300x300.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.cityarts.net/",
"airtime": "SUN 1pm-2pm, TUE 10pm, WED 1am",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "City Arts & Lectures"
},
"link": "https://www.cityarts.net",
"subscribe": {
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/radio/City-Arts-and-Lectures-p692/",
"rss": "https://www.cityarts.net/feed/"
}
},
"closealltabs": {
"id": "closealltabs",
"title": "Close All Tabs",
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"info": "Close All Tabs breaks down how digital culture shapes our world through thoughtful insights and irreverent humor.",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/CAT_2_Tile-scaled.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 1
},
"link": "/podcasts/closealltabs",
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"code-switch-life-kit": {
"id": "code-switch-life-kit",
"title": "Code Switch / Life Kit",
"info": "\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em>, which listeners will hear in the first part of the hour, has fearless and much-needed conversations about race. Hosted by journalists of color, the show tackles the subject of race head-on, exploring how it impacts every part of society — from politics and pop culture to history, sports and more.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em>, which will be in the second part of the hour, guides you through spaces and feelings no one prepares you for — from finances to mental health, from workplace microaggressions to imposter syndrome, from relationships to parenting. The show features experts with real world experience and shares their knowledge. Because everyone needs a little help being human.\u003cbr />\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch\">\u003cem>Code Switch\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />\u003ca href=\"https://www.npr.org/lifekit\">\u003cem>Life Kit\u003c/em> offical site and podcast\u003c/a>\u003cbr />",
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"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Code-Switch-Life-Kit-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/code-switch-life-kit",
"subscribe": {
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cubnByLm9yZy9yc3MvcG9kY2FzdC5waHA_aWQ9NTEwMzEy",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510312/podcast.xml"
}
},
"commonwealth-club": {
"id": "commonwealth-club",
"title": "Commonwealth Club of California Podcast",
"info": "The Commonwealth Club of California is the nation's oldest and largest public affairs forum. As a non-partisan forum, The Club brings to the public airwaves diverse viewpoints on important topics. The Club's weekly radio broadcast - the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1924 - is carried across the nation on public radio stations and is now podcasting. Our website archive features audio of our recent programs, as well as selected speeches from our long and distinguished history. This podcast feed is usually updated twice a week and is always un-edited.",
"airtime": "THU 10pm, FRI 1am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Commonwealth-Club-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.commonwealthclub.org/podcasts",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "Commonwealth Club of California"
},
"link": "/radio/program/commonwealth-club",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/commonwealth-club-of-california-podcast/id976334034?mt=2",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5jb21tb253ZWFsdGhjbHViLm9yZy9hdWRpby9wb2RjYXN0L3dlZWtseS54bWw",
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}
},
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"id": "forum",
"title": "Forum",
"tagline": "The conversation starts here",
"info": "KQED’s live call-in program discussing local, state, national and international issues, as well as in-depth interviews.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 9am-11am, 10pm-11pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Forum-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED Forum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/forum",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 9
},
"link": "/forum",
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"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kqeds-forum/id73329719",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5NTU3MzgxNjMz",
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}
},
"freakonomics-radio": {
"id": "freakonomics-radio",
"title": "Freakonomics Radio",
"info": "Freakonomics Radio is a one-hour award-winning podcast and public-radio project hosted by Stephen Dubner, with co-author Steve Levitt as a regular guest. It is produced in partnership with WNYC.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/freakonomicsRadio.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://freakonomics.com/",
"airtime": "SUN 1am-2am, SAT 3pm-4pm",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WNYC"
},
"link": "/radio/program/freakonomics-radio",
"subscribe": {
"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/4s8b",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/freakonomics-radio/id354668519",
"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/WNYC-Podcasts/Freakonomics-Radio-p272293/",
"rss": "https://feeds.feedburner.com/freakonomicsradio"
}
},
"fresh-air": {
"id": "fresh-air",
"title": "Fresh Air",
"info": "Hosted by Terry Gross, \u003cem>Fresh Air from WHYY\u003c/em> is the Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues. One of public radio's most popular programs, Fresh Air features intimate conversations with today's biggest luminaries.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 7pm-8pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Fresh-Air-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
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"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
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"link": "/radio/program/fresh-air",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=214089682&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/381444908/podcast.xml"
}
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"here-and-now": {
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"title": "Here & Now",
"info": "A live production of NPR and WBUR Boston, in collaboration with stations across the country, Here & Now reflects the fluid world of news as it's happening in the middle of the day, with timely, in-depth news, interviews and conversation. Hosted by Robin Young, Jeremy Hobson and Tonya Mosley.",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510051/podcast.xml"
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},
"hidden-brain": {
"id": "hidden-brain",
"title": "Hidden Brain",
"info": "Shankar Vedantam uses science and storytelling to reveal the unconscious patterns that drive human behavior, shape our choices and direct our relationships.",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/series/423302056/hidden-brain",
"airtime": "SUN 7pm-8pm",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "NPR"
},
"link": "/radio/program/hidden-brain",
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"tuneIn": "https://tunein.com/podcasts/Science-Podcasts/Hidden-Brain-p787503/",
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},
"how-i-built-this": {
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"title": "How I Built This with Guy Raz",
"info": "Guy Raz dives into the stories behind some of the world's best known companies. How I Built This weaves a narrative journey about innovators, entrepreneurs and idealists—and the movements they built.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2018/05/howIBuiltThis.png",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this",
"airtime": "SUN 7:30pm-8pm",
"meta": {
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"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/how-i-built-this",
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"npr": "https://rpb3r.app.goo.gl/3zxy",
"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-built-this-with-guy-raz/id1150510297?mt=2",
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},
"hyphenacion": {
"id": "hyphenacion",
"title": "Hyphenación",
"tagline": "Where conversation and cultura meet",
"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Hyphenacion_FinalAssets_PodcastTile.png",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
"meta": {
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"order": 15
},
"link": "/podcasts/hyphenacion",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/2p3Fifq96nw9BPcmFdIq0o?si=39209f7b25774f38",
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},
"jerrybrown": {
"id": "jerrybrown",
"title": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown",
"tagline": "Lessons from a lifetime in politics",
"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/The-Political-Mind-of-Jerry-Brown-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"officialWebsiteLink": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
"meta": {
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"source": "kqed",
"order": 18
},
"link": "/podcasts/jerrybrown",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1492194549",
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}
},
"latino-usa": {
"id": "latino-usa",
"title": "Latino USA",
"airtime": "MON 1am-2am, SUN 6pm-7pm",
"info": "Latino USA, the radio journal of news and culture, is the only national, English-language radio program produced from a Latino perspective.",
"imageSrc": "https://ww2.kqed.org/radio/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2018/04/latinoUsa.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "http://latinousa.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/latino-usa",
"subscribe": {
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?s=143441&mt=2&id=79681317&at=11l79Y&ct=nprdirectory",
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"rss": "https://feeds.npr.org/510016/podcast.xml"
}
},
"marketplace": {
"id": "marketplace",
"title": "Marketplace",
"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 4pm-4:30pm, MON-WED 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Marketplace-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.marketplace.org/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "American Public Media"
},
"link": "/radio/program/marketplace",
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"rss": "https://feeds.publicradio.org/public_feeds/marketplace-pm/rss/rss"
}
},
"masters-of-scale": {
"id": "masters-of-scale",
"title": "Masters of Scale",
"info": "Masters of Scale is an original podcast in which LinkedIn co-founder and Greylock Partner Reid Hoffman sets out to describe and prove theories that explain how great entrepreneurs take their companies from zero to a gazillion in ingenious fashion.",
"airtime": "Every other Wednesday June 12 through October 16 at 8pm (repeats Thursdays at 2am)",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Masters-of-Scale-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://mastersofscale.com/",
"meta": {
"site": "radio",
"source": "WaitWhat"
},
"link": "/radio/program/masters-of-scale",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "http://mastersofscale.app.link/",
"rss": "https://rss.art19.com/masters-of-scale"
}
},
"mindshift": {
"id": "mindshift",
"title": "MindShift",
"tagline": "A podcast about the future of learning and how we raise our kids",
"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Mindshift-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
"imageAlt": "KQED MindShift: How We Will Learn",
"officialWebsiteLink": "/mindshift/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "kqed",
"order": 12
},
"link": "/podcasts/mindshift",
"subscribe": {
"apple": "https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mindshift-podcast/id1078765985",
"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
"npr": "https://www.npr.org/podcasts/464615685/mind-shift-podcast",
"stitcher": "https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/kqed/stories-teachers-share",
"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/0MxSpNYZKNprFLCl7eEtyx"
}
},
"morning-edition": {
"id": "morning-edition",
"title": "Morning Edition",
"info": "\u003cem>Morning Edition\u003c/em> takes listeners around the country and the world with multi-faceted stories and commentaries every weekday. Hosts Steve Inskeep, David Greene and Rachel Martin bring you the latest breaking news and features to prepare you for the day.",
"airtime": "MON-FRI 3am-9am",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Morning-Edition-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.npr.org/programs/morning-edition/",
"meta": {
"site": "news",
"source": "npr"
},
"link": "/radio/program/morning-edition"
},
"onourwatch": {
"id": "onourwatch",
"title": "On Our Watch",
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