Author name: Michael Giberson

Worried About Too Much Demand Elasticity in Electric Power Markets

4 Comments / Complexity, Electricity, Energy markets / By

Michael Giberson Will electric power consumers facing smart-grid enabled real time prices have the potential to accidentally destabilize the power grid and cause a blackout?  A paper presented at a recent IEEE conference says it is a possibility. The surprising culprit? Too much price elasticity in the market demand function. It is a surprising culprit …

Worried About Too Much Demand Elasticity in Electric Power Markets Read More »

Evaporative Cooling: Low Tech Method Good for Facebook’s High Tech Facility

Electricity, Technology / By

Michael Giberson Earlier in the week I discovered this Household Hacker video “Flower Pot Fridge” courtesy of a Energy Circle blog post with the appealing title, “How to cool your beer without electricity!” [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSZH0K-Qhuw&rel=0] Simple! All you need is a pair of flower pots (one slightly smaller than the other), some sand, a damp towel, …

Evaporative Cooling: Low Tech Method Good for Facebook’s High Tech Facility Read More »

More Internal Review of the Nyt Shale Gas Skepticism Articles, More Dishonest Journalism Discovered

1 Comment / Energy markets, Regulation / By

Michael Giberson While I was vacationing in New Mexico and Arizona, New York Times public editor Arthur Brisbane continued his analysis of the pair of late June articles in the newspaper that suggested widespread insider skepticism over the size and significance of recent shale gas developments. A June 26 story suggested the presence of significant …

More Internal Review of the Nyt Shale Gas Skepticism Articles, More Dishonest Journalism Discovered Read More »

The Energy Industry Insiders That Didn’t Bark

4 Comments / Energy markets, Environmental policy / By

Michael Giberson Dozens of energy industry insiders have gone missing in recent weeks, in what must be the largest unreported crime wave ever. Or possibly the energy insiders have been silenced by a vast powerful and secret industry cabal, which has compromising photos of the insiders or something like that, which would also be a …

The Energy Industry Insiders That Didn’t Bark Read More »

NYT Editor on Shale Gas Skeptic Article: We Should Have Done Better

1 Comment / Energy markets, Environmental policy / By

Michael Giberson As mentioned here a few weeks ago, links below, the pair of New York Times articles giving voice to shale gas skeptics were badly done. (I called them no more than “an impressive collection of shale skeptic sound bites.”) I was far from the only critic, and the paper itself received a lot …

NYT Editor on Shale Gas Skeptic Article: We Should Have Done Better Read More »

Scottish Wind Power Plants Paid Not to Produce

7 Comments / Electricity, Energy markets, Environmental policy / By

Michael Giberson The Telegraph has reported “six Scottish wind farms were asked to stop producing electricity on a particularly windy night last month as the National Grid was overloaded.” The operators were paid a total of £900,000 to take the night off, likely earning more from not operating than they would have earned from selling power that …

Scottish Wind Power Plants Paid Not to Produce Read More »

Role of Independent Producers in the Early Development of California’s Oil and Gas Industry

Economic history, Energy markets / By

Michael Giberson The Summer 2010 issue of Business History Review included an interesting article on the role of independent producers in the development of the oil and gas industry in California. In the article, Michael Adamson makes the case that official statistics on oil production overstate the role played by large, vertically integrated oil companies …

Role of Independent Producers in the Early Development of California’s Oil and Gas Industry Read More »

Oil Markets Appear Unfazed by Announced Release of Oil from Strategic Reserves

4 Comments / Energy markets, Politics / By

Michael Giberson On June 23 the International Energy Agency announced the release of 60 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves held by member governments. Oil prices dipped for a day or two, then recovered more or less to pre-June 23 levels. Overall, it seems, the release merited a collective yawn from the markets. The …

Oil Markets Appear Unfazed by Announced Release of Oil from Strategic Reserves Read More »

New York Regulators Take Steps Toward Allowing Fracking for Natural Gas Production

Energy markets, Environmental policy, Regulation / By

Michael Giberson Today the New York Department of Environmental Conservation took a few steps toward permitting fracking of natural gas wells, a process necessary to produce natural gas from underground shale formations. Regulatory processes being as they are, it likely means fracking will remain off-limits in the state for some time. News reports include favorable …

New York Regulators Take Steps Toward Allowing Fracking for Natural Gas Production Read More »

Antitrust As the Enemy of Innovation, and Therefore the Enemy of Consumers

2 Comments / Economics, Politics, Regulation / By

Michael Giberson Antitrust regulators at the FTC have taken adverse interest in Google’s activities. At Regulation2point0, Robert Hahn and Peter Passel comment (links in original, highlighting added): … perhaps the FTC probe may prove to be just another minor bump on the road to riches. But there are reasons to believe that it will prove to …

Antitrust As the Enemy of Innovation, and Therefore the Enemy of Consumers Read More »

Copyright © 2022 Knowledge Problem Archive