The Roosevelt Institution is a nation-wide network of student "think-tanks" representing over 7,000 students and 85 college campuses.  The conference focused on environmental and energy policy issues, with university students from around the Midwest presenting their articles that appear in the Roosevelt Institution’s Spring 09 journal, "Growing a Green Midwestern Economy."

Russell served on a four-person panel discussing revolving loan funds, sharing his knowledge and experience as director of a revolving loan program for Bay College.  The Northern Lights Energy Program was referenced in the journal article written by J. Cory Connolly, a junior at Michigan State University.  Mr. Russell was joined on the panel by State Representative Dan Scripps, State Representative Paul Opsommer, and John Sarver from the Bureau of Energy Systems at the Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth.

A potentially powerful and highly motivated coalition is pressing for changes in state and federal utility regulation to enable private investment in renewable energy and efficiency in the U.S. educational system. This broad group of environmental advocates and educators wants a national energy policy for schools, the specific elements of which share foundations with rights established under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). Depending on how it is imposed, however, the new policy might compromise some segments of lines that traditionally divide state and federal utility regulation.

Through rules prescribed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), PURPA attempted to overcome barriers to private investment in distributed generation, including renewable energy. These barriers variously included burdensome utility-type state or federal regulation, punitive utility rates for backup, supplementary and interruptible power, a utility's refusal to connect with nonutility generators under reasonable terms and its refusal to purchase excess energy from customer-generators at reasonable prices, or to purchase it at all.

April 17, 2009

Carbon legislation is sweeping through the House. But the passage of any such bill must still climb a long way before it would become law.

Most House Democrats favor mandatory greenhouse gas reductions. And while key committee chairs want a fully hashed out bill by Memorial Day, it is unlikely to happen given critical differences that need time to mend. The U.S. Senate, meanwhile, must still debate the issue. Its proposal will be far more tempered than that of the House given that any measure it produces will require 60 votes and Republican support. Any climate bill that is introduced to the full Congress would therefore be subdued.

April 15, 2009

Foreign intruders have entered the country. But they did so from the comfort of their living rooms or offices. The news that the Russians and the Chinese are alleged to have hacked their way into the nation's electrical grid and left behind secret codes that could later wreak havoc is distressing -- but not unpredictable.

The risks are greater now than ever before. The total interconnectivity of networks through the Internet has given hackers new ways to get critical information. That's why the North American Electric Reliability Corporation has developed standards for utilities when it comes to protection of their information systems. Indeed, power grids are susceptible to not just worms and viruses that can disrupt business but also to large-scale onslaughts intent on completely shutting down systems.

April 13, 2009

The plug-in hybrid car will accelerate. But it must first cross over some critical bumps. While engineers are preparing such vehicles to meet strict standards, they remain prohibitively expensive and relatively untested.

The automotive business is evolving, but it still relies on the internal combustion engine that drinks gasoline. Certain elements of the industry, however, are intent on making petroleum-based cars a thing of the past and to deliver cars that are environmentally friendly. The sector has henceforth given birth to the plug-in, which will run mostly on electricity and which charges from most any outlet.