Author Archives: kxr272

About kxr272

Hello my name is Katie Loyd, I am a sophomore majoring in the ESP program at Penn State World Campus.

Loyd_Dencentralization of Power Generation

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Times have changed, and if we do not diversify our energy sources today, we are all heading down the road of infinite environmental troubles and consequences. The importance of energy security and energy stability is the nation’s top priority in order to promote economic growth and remain in accordance with current and future environmental policies. Decentralization of power generation will lead to considerable effects on the environment, economy, efficiency, security, and reliability of the current network. First, a decentralized energy system will expand energy sources with new renewable energy companies, expanding the field of renewable energy and thereby reducing the environmental impacts such as CO2 emissions. Second, a DE system will increase competition as it will be more so based on a free market system with limited regulation. The greater number of players in the field of embedded generation will encourage firms to operate in the most cost-effective, efficient manner as possible. In essence, the companies want to offer energy at lower costs than competitors to become successful. Therefore, companies will create or adapt new technologies that increase the efficiency and profitability of the firm. Such techniques that may be considered could be more improved storage infrastructures for renewable energy plants to sell electricity during peak hours. Currently, a significant hurdle in the distribution system is that the supply must be generated as needed. Thus, when supply exceeds demand (as with the case of most renewable energy sources) the excess energy is sold at very low prices on the flooded market. Therefore, I believe that we can expect to see large advances within storage technologies such as improved batteries for PV (Photovoltaic) units, and hydro storage infrastructures that would store energy more efficiently to sell during peak hours. In addition to storage technologies, there will be a higher demand for smart infrastructures such as smart meters and smart grids to manage grid stability. These types of technologies would become invaluable in a decentralized energy system for it would allow real-time monitoring and communication between the producers and the consumers.
Implementation of a DE system would spawn job growth and create numerous market possibilities within the energy and technical sector. I can imagine myself creating a business that would either focus on improving a plants efficiency by improved technology that is original to the market or becoming a consulting business to educate future investors and companies. The renewable energy market is growing at a remarkable pace and with the help from renewable energy payments and rebates, it is only expected to increase. Thus, two years from now, equipment used today may be outdated and not as efficient. Therefore, I believe that there is a niche in the market to keep firms updated and educated in the technological advancements. Perhaps, I could create a sale representing company that conducts business audits as well to ensure that they are operating at an optimum level. If and only if renewable energy technology continues to improve, I could present companies with new more efficient technologies. I also could offer discount rates if they would sell me the old equipment. Then, I could sell this used equipment to start-up businesses or residential units that are searching for less expensive systems. Another niche would be to start a consulting company to help new businesses learn the “ropes” of the decentralized control system to diminish the chance for failure and increase the potential for success. Overall, there are significant opportunities in starting a business catered to the decentralization of power generation; but I feel that these activities would lead to great success for the fact that they both focus outside the industrial market and power plants. The companies can be integrated on a full scale both commercially and residentially increasing the likelihood of expansion.

Low carbon Green Road map for Asia and Pacific. “Decentralized Energy Systems” UNESCAP. Nd. Mozilla Firefox. November 05 2014. Found here: http://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/14.%20FS-Decentralized-energy-system.pdf

Klitgaard, Thomas. Reddy, Rekha. “Lowering Electric Prices through Deregulation”. Federal Reserve Bank of New York. December 2000. Mozilla Firefox. November 5 2014. Found here: http://www.newyorkfed.org/research/current_issues/ci6-14.pdf

Whats Behind the Wheels of Investing: Loyd

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Any project in renewable energy must first begin with implementations and feedback for economics, social, and environmental policies as these are the driving forces behind sustainable development. The key elements towards successful funding and ongoing operations are analyzing the risks, costs, evaluations, and monitoring guidelines. The risks of renewable energy come with any business venture for if the objectives, costs, and effectiveness are overvalued or undervalued the system can be a failure to the bottom line. As we know, renewable energy projects must make sense to the bottom line for the opportunity cost of investments are high. “Will this project help my business more than, let’s say additional capital, technology, etc.?” Therefore, it is extremely important that the funder knows what the business is up against in terms of risk and potential costs associated with the installations and operations. In addition to understanding and evaluating the costs and risks, it should be established that continuous monitoring and evaluations are carried out and reported to compare to the primary targets. Evaluations of renewable energy systems could be as simple as keeping track of the energy base load that is collected and comparing it to the initial targets agreed to by the project funder. This would ensure the funder that the system is operating at expected targets and is operating at peak efficiency. The key elements of any large investments are understanding the costs, evaluating risks, and comparing the expected outcomes with the real outcomes to gain a complete analysis of the project.

The key elements of finance-based procedures that ensure success are evaluating and understanding the system’s return on investment, weight average cost of capital and net present value. Although, there are other cost analysis procedures that can be performed, these three should be largely used to gain strategic results reliant on the investment. First, the return on the investment (ROI) is simply the total of gain of the investment minus the cost of the investment divided by the cost of the investment. The return of the investment gives the institution a measure of efficiency to analysis or compare to other investments. Second, the evaluation of the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) displays the firm’s capital proportional weighted value which validates the risk according to the rate of return. Third, the net present value (NPV) should be calculated to determine the value and profitability of an investment. The calculation can be derived from the results of the WACC by taking the present values of the cash flows discounted at WACC. Overall, these three procedures would provide the firm to analyze the future profitability and costs of the investment.

http://www.investopedia.com/

03_What Have We Learned

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The government has great potential to promote energy efficiency through policies that have a strong emphasis on structural development, transportation, and education efforts. First, the government could create a benchmark for construction on new buildings and renovations to ensure that energy efficient projects are progressing. By enforcing more rigorous mandatory building codes on new buildings and renovation, the life cycle of the building would operate more energy efficiently. The “Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the US Economy Report” by McKinsey and Company displayed the state residential building codes on Exhibit 17. The inconsistency of the outdated residential standards needs to be restructured by new energy intensive policies. There should also be discounted energy audits or assessments for residential energy customers. As for industrial and commercial settings, there should be building codes and regulations concerning the existing building envelope and equipment. Perhaps, companies should be given building certificates or energy labels (such as Energy Star labels) that are to be displayed to the public and consumers. As a result, it could provide the company with an incentive to become more energy efficient. The building code mandate could let’s say equal E, and as the company becomes more energy efficient the letter grade would get closer to the letter A. In addition, there could also be yearly mandatory energy audits and assessments for companies. Next, the transportation sector must be rationalized by creating fuel efficiency mandates and producing tax credit policies that encourage people to buy more efficient vehicles. The government should introduce and regularly strengthen fuel efficiency standards for light-duty and heavy duty vehicles. Nationwide state vehicle emission tests and inspection tests should also be considered to ensure that vehicles are producing minimal amounts of air pollution. Finally, the advancement in education and awareness efforts should be a top priority of policy makers. Residents could receive information from local electricity providers about residential heating and cooling flaws and guides to make your house more energy efficient. There could also be activities in the communities to promote more efficient housing projects and showcase local energy efficient companies and partners. These methods would give the public a hands-on learning approach to reducing their energy costs. Overall, the types of policies that promote energy efficiency can vary; however, the resources and technology are readily available to begin making energy efficient policies in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors.

If I were to develop a business, it would carry out government policies on structural mandates for new or outdated industrial and commercial buildings in order for them to receive the best energy label. First, I would heavily stress the importance of investing in the triple bottom line: planet, people, and profit. I would develop a business that would help companies start from bottom-up in energy efficiency. As a business, I could improve energy efficiency of existing buildings performing simple tasks such as performing energy audits and assessments, then making recommendations. I could also assist companies planning to construct new buildings and renovations by giving them some sustainable development blueprints dependent on their budget. Largely, if the government did create a building energy label and mandatory building codes; my business would help make other companies sustainability goals become reality.

Granade, Hanna. Jon Creyts. Anton Derkach. Philip Farese. Scott  Nyquist. “Unlocking Energy Efficiency In The US Economy”. 2009 July. Accessed Sept.9 2014 http://www.mckinsey.com/client_service/electric_power_and_natural_gas/latest_thinking/unlocking_energy_efficiency_in_the_us_economy

 

Lesson 2: Searching For Niche- Loyd

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The technological advancements in renewable energies have made alternate energy solutions more feasible and affordable than ever before; nonetheless, there still remains to be one obstacle hindering the expansion which is the amount of support from the government and financial institutions. Nuclear energy, on the hand, has been considerably backed from political and financial institutions despite the potential environmental damages and accidents. There seems to be strong evidence why nuclear energy is well supported by the financial community and the government compared to the potentials that remain in the renewable industry. First and foremost, nuclear energy is highly efficient by producing large amounts of energy over a short time period with a small amount of uranium. Renewable energy, on the other hand, must harvest the energy over extended periods of time to meet small energy demands. Next, nuclear energy is very dependable for there are no interruptions in the power supply as with other renewable resources such as solar or wind. It is also becoming more reputable due to the stringent environmental regulations and technological advances. Furthermore, nuclear plants appear to favor clean energy policies as they produce little to no greenhouse gases. Consequently, politicians and financial organizations can invest securely in nuclear energy. In my opinion, renewable energy projects are failing to receive the same degree of support because they are rather high risk ventures. Indeed, nuclear energy has proven to have catastrophic failures; however, it is an established technology that is proven to be financially successful. The politicians get commended by carrying out the “clean energy” policies, while the financial institutions that invested in an established industry count their rates of return. Overall, it seems that nuclear energy has a higher success rate than most renewable energy projects at the present time. The technology and power can be continuously relied upon and the financial investments are proven to be cost-effective compared to some renewable energy projects.  From an economic standpoint, it does not surprise me that the government and the financial community wants more bang for their buck.

The niche opportunities that I see for global development of renewable resources include expanding renewable energy education, solar energy, and biofuels in developing countries. The report on renewable energy in Mali was very inspirational, for I can access potential weaknesses and recognize how the public’s commitment reflects the success of operations. The public’s response to renewable energy was surprising for the lack of information lead them to mistrust and reject sustainable development. I also had the opportunity to see how renewable resources effect the local economy in a positive and negative perspective. The people need alternate income opportunities prior to making the transition to renewable resources in order to reduce poverty. Perhaps, educating the residents about renewable energies and creating renewable jobs would be an alternative. Unmistakably, the people will not support an industry that will replace his/her job (such as the firewood or kerosene business).  Generally, there is a great deal of factors that must be overcame; however, there remains a strong incentive to invest sustainable in developing countries.

Click to access NUC3.pdf

Click to access RE%20Mali%20exec%20summary%20final.pdf

http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/Advantages_NuclearEnergy.php

 

 

 

Katie Loyd- Getting to Know You

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Hi my name is Katie Loyd and I am a sophomore majoring in the ESP program. I just moved to Hopkins, MN two days ago! I travel and relocate often due to my husband’s career in the natural gas field. To give you a good idea, I lived in 19 different houses/apartments and 14 different states in the last two years! Although, my stomping grounds will always be a small town called Champion embedded in the Pennsylvania hills. As an ESP student, I am looking for career opportunities that focus heavily upon sustainability within the community within residential and commercial areas. Due to the fact that I travel a lot and have the chance to see how people within their community respond to their surroundings, I feel that I have gained a great deal of knowledge to what can make a sustainable community. Therefore, I am examining careers in sustainable housing development such as a project coordinator for commercial and residential areas. One of my dream jobs would be to design and construct a “green” community or even my own business that the residents or clients can come to and not only learn how they are contributing to saving our precious fossil fuels but renew the sense of significance that renewable resources have to offer. I have a lot of far-reaching idea’s that probably have too much hope in the clientele; nevertheless, that is why I decided to take this course. I hope to gain an understanding about what makes a business successful in a fossil fuel deprived and uninformed community! I hope that my ideas can become more of a plan and one day turn into reality. I have always thought that man-kind has meant to do good weather in economic or ethical terms. However, I feel that the people need a little push or tug in the right direction when it comes to ecological morals simply for the fact that they are not properly informed.

As you can see, I have some ideas but I’m nowhere near starting my own business; however, it seems that small local businesses could have significant impacts on the renewable energy industry. As I mentioned earlier, people need a push in the right direction for the energy industry is changing at a rapid pace. The local community needs to see what the benefits are with renewable resources before they can truly appreciate the transformation. I believe it can start as simple as solar panels on a local coffee shop with a monitoring screens to show the clientele how much electricity that company is saving. The residential and commercial areas could start with numerous small investments in the renewable resource sector to gain a wider, more distinguished sustainable community. Once the global commitment begins, it should only expand upon the next business or neighbor!