LADWP Pauses Planned Work on Natural Gas Power Plants in Favor of Green Alternatives

Energy is one of the most important commodities in this day and age. Whether it comes from fossil fuel, natural gas, or green sources, energy is a necessity in our increasingly technological world. Up until recently, California legislators had plans to build new natural gas power plants and renovate some older ones that run on fossil fuels. According to Ivan Penn's L.A. Times article, they are instead looking at other potential options for energy generation throughout the state.

Before this week, a $2.2 billion plan was in the works to fix up some older natural gas power plants and get them ready to produce electricity. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power put that plan on pause while they look into green electricity alternatives. Among a few other reasons, this change in trajectory is likely due mainly to recent investigative journalism that found that California has an oversupply of electricity, which drove prices up instead of down as expected.

It is expected that by 2020, the state's power plants will be able to produce over 20% more electricity than is needed, which will lead to Californians being stuck with a $40 billion-per-year bill for energy they're not even using. Even after reducing energy usage and installing more energy-efficient appliances, Californians will still be paying almost $7 billion more for electricity than they did in 2008, the state's record high.

Now that the LADWP sees that generating more power from natural gas is not going to solve the problem, they have to turn to other alternatives. Because so much energy is produced that is not being used, it makes more sense to look at different ways of producing energy rather than methods of producing more energy. For example, many homes are beginning to install personal solar panels and batteries to store excess collected energy. Solar farms or wind turbines could be a potential source of green energy for the state.

No matter how the LADWP ends up generating the proper amount of electricity for the state, it seems clear that natural gas will not be invested in without a fight. It will be difficult to hide oversupply, especially if the excess energy comes from sources that are not environmentally friendly. Legislators hope to have California 100% reliant on renewable energy by 2045. This is just the first step, but with enough work, it could be a feasible goal.

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LA County to Offer Lower Utilities Rates Through Community Choice Aggregation Programs

In this day and age, as technology continues to advance and resources are stretched thin, energy sources are often on the mind of the common consumer and government entities. Electricity rates have been going up, and even as we search for alternative, green energy options, it can be difficult to make those options affordable. Fortunately, earlier this week, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors approved a public energy program that gives Southern California Edison customers an alternative, government-backed energy source to purchase from. According to Ivan Penn and Nina Agrawal's article in the L.A. Times, the public energy program is expected to lower individual costs by around 5% and is open to residences and businesses alike.

Not only will the energy program be providing power to customers at a lower cost, it will also be focusing on green energy sources. The county will be able to purchase energy from the market and invest in solar energy projects. Because the community choice aggregation (CCA) programs are government entities, they aren't allowed to make a profit on customer rates, which means they will charge the bare minimum to break even. This is very different from companies like Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric Co., who can charge however much they want.

Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses in the L.A. County will be able to enroll in the new CCA program, and many people in other counties could be allowed to as well, depending on local regulations. This new energy plan is expected to revamp the entire electricity industry. Private companies will be forced to find ways to lower prices and bring in green energy sources in order to compete with the government entity. Competition tends to drive down prices and drive up demand, so everyone should be happy in the long run. Some private electricity companies worry that the long-term implications of this project remain to be seen and that we should take things slow before rushing into anything.

All in all, CCA programs seem almost too good to be true. A government program that lowers rates and improves the usage of green energy sources seems like a pipe dream. Yet, with proper planning and careful budgeting, it could work out. Technology is redefining various industries, and to survive, the entire country has to change with it. With the new program, new customers can decide exactly what kind of energy they want: wind, solar, or other resources. By giving people options and lowering costs, customers become loyal and are more willing to face the changes that come with dramatic improvements. As long as the CAAs make sure their budgeting is solid, things should work out, at least for the near future.

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Moon Express Decision Could Jump-Start Privately-Funded Space Exploration

On July 20, 1969, a team of astronauts including Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made history when they became the first humans to ever step on the moon. Ever since the late 1950s, the United States has been working on ways to explore our solar system and find out more about other galaxies. In 2011, the Space Program was discontinued, mainly because of the exorbitant costs and inherent danger present in space travel. Up until recently, private companies were still allowed to send up satellites into orbit for commercial and research applications. However, according to Samantha Masunaga's L.A. Times article, the US government may be preparing to grant permission for a company to send a spacecraft to the moon.

Until now, only countries have been allowed/able to conduct space missions beyond Earth's orbit. Moon Express, a Mountain View, California-based company, will set history if regulators grant them permission to send their MX-1 lander on the moon for a two-week operation. The Wall Street Journal seems confident that Moon Express will receive their approval from the Federal Aviation Administration within the next few weeks, potentially restarting the Space Program. In some ways, a Space Program run completely by private companies could be better than one run by the government. When the Space Program first started, it was mainly about national superiority and being the first country to achieve certain milestones, which meant that sometimes costs and risks took a backseat. For private companies, it will be mainly about profit, which means that they will certainly keep within specified budgets and will be more risk-averse.

While Moon Express has been pretty secretive about its major plans, it has released some information about what they're looking for on the moon. The MX-1 lander will be carrying out both scientific and commercial research. Moon Express will be partnering with a Los Angeles-based company called Rocket Lab and plans to blast off into space in 2017. The MX-1 and other moon landers will be looking for valuable resources such as platinum and rare earth elements, which scientists believe can be found on the moon and in asteroids. Another company, Planetary Resources, is looking to asteroids as a source of water that can be converted into rocket fuel.

One of the main regulatory issues standing in the way of Moon Express's exploration is the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which states that nongovernmental entities have to get approval from the US and Russia before performing activities in outer space. Experts believe that if Moon Express receives their expected approvals, however, it will set a precedent for future private commercial activity. Several companies dedicated to moon mining and asteroid mining have sprung up in recent years but have not held for very long, probably due to the high-cost, high-risk type of business. However, Moon Express has been generating significant interest in the world of commercial space exploration, and analysts expect this company may be the one to finally jump-start the industry.

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