Friday, June 28, 2019
Thursday, June 27, 2019
Check out the solar-powered clipper trike making its way across the Western U.S.!
This month, Eric Goakes stopped by Solar Energy International (SEI)’s campus in Paonia, Colorado during is cross country journey in his solar-powered “Clipper Trike.”
The Trike is quite impressive! It can go up to 20mph on highways and interstates, in addition to having regenerative breaking and cruise control. It has 270W of solar on the bike which powers the motor on the rear wheel, a cooling fan, and a future swamp cooler amongst other bells and whistles. To top it off, it has enough battery capacity to travel 60 miles after the sun goes down. Plus, the trailer has its own solar-powered motor with the capability of bringing Eric over mountain passes.
Eric heard about SEI’s campus over the years and wanted to check out the campus while on his journey. In Eric’s words, “Without a doubt both our missions are aligned toward sustainability, and energy independence. I really believe the transportation sector could be powered by solar human hybrids, not only is it a clean, viable, healthy and fun source of transportation, because of the fact it is just a standalone solar system on wheels, grid tying or bringing power to a small cabin would be totally possible.”
Check out the full interview with Eric, and some footage of the Clipper Trike in action at SEI’s Paonia, Colorado campus.
Thank you for sharing your story with us, Eric!
The post Check out the solar-powered clipper trike making its way across the Western U.S.! appeared first on Solar Training - Solar Installer Training - Solar PV Installation Training - Solar Energy Courses - Renewable Energy Education - NABCEP - Solar Energy International (SEI).
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
#28: Mary J. Hutzler on the levlized cost of electricity
Mary J. Hutzler, a Distinguished Senior Fellow at IER, discusses the recently released report on the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE), published by IER and the American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy, which found the true cost of renewable energy to be higher than popularly advertised.
• One page overview of the LCOE study.
• Response to criticisms from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
• Response to reports of other studies contradicting the findings.
The post #28: Mary J. Hutzler on the levlized cost of electricity appeared first on IER.
In Praise of Automobility
“The personal and professional mobility conferred by cars has been among the most powerful social forces of the twentieth-century Western world,” noted energy polymath Vaclav Smil. Added James Flink: “The rise of the automobile industry and the socioeconomic impact of the road and the car are central to the history of the advanced capitalist countries in the twentieth century, and explain an especially large part of the history of the American people.”
Yes, hitting the open road for vacation or other sport is one of the great pastimes—and has been for generations. In a recent post on this subject commemorating the opening of the driving season, I documented how more Americans are driving more cars and more miles, putting “Peak Demand” predictions in the shade.
Academics and other intellectuals easily explain why Americans like automobility. “Cars and trucks are generally faster than alternatives because they can be parked close to where we live, work, shop, or worship; make stops along a route only when and where we want to; and take us right to the doorsteps of our destinations,” stated Joseph Bast and Jay Lehr in “The Increasing Sustainability of Cars, Trucks, and the Internal Combustion Engine.” Continuing:
Cars and trucks are generally more flexible than alternatives because we can decide at almost any time to change travel plans to pick up groceries, visit a friend, decide to arrive earlier than planned or leave later than planned, and so on. Cars and trucks provide more privacy than alternatives, which are apt to require waiting in lines and sitting with strangers whose values may be unknown and whose conversations and activities can be disturbing.
And when it comes to efficiency, cost, and emissions of criteria pollutants, the news only gets better with cars and trucks in the Age of Oil, reports the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The cultural phenomenon of automobility is explained in such books as The Automobile and American Culture and Republic of Drivers. What is peculiar is the Malthusian, even authoritarian, pushback to the necessity and joys of driving.
Foes of the Automobile
In The Population Bomb (1968), and elsewhere, Paul Ehrlich forwarded an “auto-control program” that, among other things, would require smaller cars, slower cars, and banning motorized camping on public land (except “for those physically unable to back-pack”).
Speed limits would be lowered. Auto vacations would be discouraged, along with three-day weekends causing “enormous jams on highways.”
In addition to gasoline taxes being raised monthly until reaching European levels, “the large automobile should disappear entirely, except for some taxis,” he states.
Elsewhere, Ehrlich (and Richard Harriman) challenge automobility by a peculiar analogy:
Cars are for transportation, and proper use of the media could once again persuade American men to get their sexual kicks out of sex (not reproduction) instead of a series of automotive sexual surrogates. Restriction of families to ownership of single small cars also would put some pressure against over-reproducers. Our stress on the world’s supply of nonrenewable resources would be greatly alleviated by limiting the fuel consumption of the cars and by designing them for recycling.
Where does such an “auto-control program” end? Ehrlich and John Holdren provide the answer in their treatise Ecoscience (p. 388) by quoting Harrison Brown’s warning of mankind “having to live in a world where his thoughts and actions are ever more strongly limited, where social organization has become all pervasive, complex, and inflexible, and where the state completely dominates the actions of the individual.” Scary….
Al Gore is another foe of automobility (for others, not his drivers). “We now know that [the automobile’s] cumulative impact on the global environment is posing a mortal threat to the security of every nation that is more deadly than that of any military enemy we are ever again likely to confront,” he stated in Earth in the Balance. His solution? “… a coordinated global program to … completely eliminating the internal combustion engine, over, say, a twenty-five-year period [2017].”
Bast and Lehr responded:
… Gore is wrong to call for the elimination of the internal combustion engine, and wrong again to call “absurd” our current reliance on cars and trucks. Mobility is an essential and inseparable part of almost all that we value—from close-knit families to rewarding careers, quality educations, and fulfilling recreation. Mobility truly is what makes our autonomy possible. And cars, trucks, and the internal combustion engine are worth keeping because they make automobility itself increasingly sustainable.
Conclusion
Beware of the foes of modernity and would-be restrictors of movement. Fear not, worry not about getting your kicks on Route 66 or wherever the open road goes. This is the natural state of affairs that will overwhelm the fringe authoritarians. Daniel Yergin noted in The Prize decades ago:
Hydrocarbon Man shows little inclination to give up his cars, his suburban home, and what he takes to be not only the conveniences but the essentials of his way of life. The peoples of the developing world give no indication that they want to deny themselves the benefits of an oil-powered economy, whatever the environmental questions. Any notion of scaling back the world’s consumption of oil will be influenced by the extraordinary population growth ahead.
What was true then is truer today.
The post In Praise of Automobility appeared first on IER.
Tuesday, June 25, 2019
Monday, June 24, 2019
Friday, June 21, 2019
Thursday, June 20, 2019
Panasonic supports Solar Energy International (SEI) as key industry sponsor
Program recognizes highly-valued industry sponsors with long-term commitment to advancing SEI’s vision of a world powered by renewable energy
PAONIA, Colo., – Solar Energy International (SEI) is excited to announce its collaboration with Panasonic Corporation of North America as a kilowatt-level industry sponsor through SEI’s Industry Sponsorship Program. SEI is a nonprofit training organization which offers cutting-edge solar and renewable energy training to the solar industry leadership and workforce. With over 70,000 alumni worldwide, nearly 30 years of experience, and over 100-course sessions offered each year, SEI is a leader in solar training throughout the field.
Panasonic’s 3-year sponsorship of the SEI program is expected to increase brand visibility and product recognition among current and future customers through SEI’s broad alumni network. With nearly 5 million reached via social media each year, SEI’s network engages experienced solar professionals and the next generation renewable energy workforce on a global scale.
Panasonic’s high efficiency HIT®+ modules provide among the world’s lowest temperature coefficients and degradation rates, and are engineered to perform at peak efficiency for decades. Offering a portfolio to fit a wide variety roof sizes and shapes, Panasonic modules provide homes with the key components of a solar system: energy savings and long-term performance in a simple, streamlined design. The modules are backed by Panasonic’s century of stability, including Panasonic’s comprehensive TripleGuard warranty which covers performance, parts and labor for 25 years.
“Panasonic recognizes that the key to solar power adoption is through education, so that customers understand their solar energy options and the process around an installation, said Mukesh Sethi, general manager Panasonic Solar Group. “We are proud to support SEI in training the industry workforce to help forward-thinking businesses, government agencies, and homeowners make the decision to go solar; and look forward to reaching new audiences together in building an eco-responsible planet and better world.”
“SEI is so grateful for the sponsorship from Panasonic,” said Christopher Turek, SEI director of marketing and communications. “More than 70,000 students worldwide have looked to SEI as a resource to begin or advance their solar careers. As students progress through our class sessions and into the field, we hope that Panasonic products continue to be a part of their careers.”
Industry Sponsors are empowering SEI to make an impact on creating a skilled, safe renewable energy workforce. To join us contact SEI’s development director, Marla Korpar, at marla@solarenergy.org. SEI’s full training schedule can be found online: www.solarenergy.org. To learn more about Panasonic solar products visit: na.pansonic.com/us/solar
About Solar Energy International (SEI) – SEI was founded in 1991 as a nonprofit educational organization with the mission to provide industry-leading technical training and expertise in renewable energy to empower people, communities and businesses worldwide. SEI envisions a world powered by renewable energy.
About Panasonic Corporation of North America
Newark, NJ-based Panasonic Corporation of North America is committed to creating a better life and a better world by enabling its business-to-business customers through innovations in Sustainable Energy, Immersive Entertainment, Integrated Supply Chains and Mobility Solutions. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic Corporation. One of Interbrand’s Top 100 Best Global Brands of 2018, Panasonic is a leading technology partner and integrator to businesses, government agencies and consumers across the region. Learn more about Panasonic’s ideas and innovations at www.na.panasonic.com/us and @PanasonicUSA on all social media channels.
###
Media contact:
Yessica Castillo, National Marketing Manager, Solar & Storage Division
Panasonic Life Solutions Company of America
Yessica.Castillo@us.panasonic.com I 201-392-4193
Christopher Turek, Director of Marketing & Communications
Solar Energy International
39845 Mathews Lane
Paonia, CO 81428
Chris@solarenergy.org | 970-527-7657 x115
The post Panasonic supports Solar Energy International (SEI) as key industry sponsor appeared first on Solar Training - Solar Installer Training - Solar PV Installation Training - Solar Energy Courses - Renewable Energy Education - NABCEP - Solar Energy International (SEI).
Wednesday, June 19, 2019
#27: Jordan McGillis on carbon taxes
Jordan McGillis, a policy analyst at IER, discusses his recent paper on problems with carbon tax proposals.
• Jordan’s paper on carbon taxes.
• More on problems with carbon tax proposals from IER’s Robert Murphy.
The post #27: Jordan McGillis on carbon taxes appeared first on IER.
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
Monday, June 17, 2019
Friday, June 14, 2019
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IER/ACCCE Report’s ‘Imposed Costs’ Make Levelized Costs of Wind and Solar Comparable to Dispatchable Resources
S&P Global reported last week that the IER and ACCCE study on the levelized costs of electricity from existing generation resources by Tom Stacy and George Taylor contradicts a study by “Energy Innovation and Vibrant Clean Energy.” Posted on the Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology website is their study entitled The Coal Cost Crossover: Economic Viability of Existing Coal Compared to New Local Wind and Solar Resources. That study concluded that about 74 percent of the existing coal fleet could be replaced by wind and solar resources and result in immediate savings for customers. However, the report’s authors acknowledged that the study did not consider lost capital, retirement costs, or an analysis of reliability.
The IER and ACCCE study puts wind and solar plants that operate each about a third of the day on a comparable basis with dispatchable technologies such as coal, natural gas, and nuclear by considering imposed costs and adding those costs to the levelized cost of wind and solar. By including the costs imposed on the system, those generators can be compared more directly with dispatchable resources. As such, imposed costs are the costs of keeping dispatchable plants available when wind or solar generation fall off to maintain electric grid reliability.
Consider if you drove for a living but the car the government made you drive only worked one third of the time you needed it. You would have to buy another car or rent one, and you would have to absorb those costs. Such is the way of renewables, which, in most cases, are non-dispatchable.
Imposed Cost Calculation
The IER and ACCCE analysis assumed that natural gas combined cycle technology would supply the power needed when wind power was not available and a combination of natural gas combined cycle and natural gas turbines would supply the power when solar PV was not available. The calculation, which is documented in the analysis chapter of the IER/ACCCE report, finds that the imposed cost to be added to the levelized cost of wind power is $23.6 per megawatt hour and the imposed cost to be added to the levelized cost of solar power is $21 per megawatt hour. Adding in those costs makes the cost of new wind and solar power each over two times more expensive than the cost of generating electricity from the average existing coal plants.
Further, if there are either stranded costs due to retiring coal plants or additional costs to retire them, then those costs should also be included in the levelized cost of new wind and solar plants for a complete comparison since those costs are forced on rate payers by the public service commission in regulated markets—costs that would not be borne if the coal plants are allowed to operate as originally designed.
Thus, imposed costs are an UNAVOIDABLE cost of generating electricity with wind and solar power and studies that do not include them are misleading. Demonstrating that fact is the purpose of the IER/ACCCE study by Stacy and Taylor. As that study indicates, the levelized cost of wind and solar power cannot be compared with the levelized cost of dispatchable resources unless they are put on a comparable basis.
Another way of addressing the report’s purpose is: Having a roof that only keeps the rain off one-third of the time carries additional costs for the homeowner. It is only appropriate that those costs be assessed and that is what the Stacy/Taylor report did.
New Wind and Solar Compared to Existing Plants
Further, the IER/ACCCE study found that, on average, new wind and solar plants are about 65 percent more expensive than existing coal-fired power plants, operating at historical capacity factors and today’s coal prices, even without imposed costs added to the levelized cost of wind and solar power. The average levelized cost of the existing coal-fired fleet was calculated from FERC Form 1 data.
The table below summarizes the IER/ACCCE study’s findings.
Conclusion
Despite S&P Global’s claim that the IER/ACCCE report contradicts the Energy Innovation and Vibrant Clean Energy study, the fact that the latter study did not consider lost capital, retirement costs, or an analysis of reliability, means that the two studies are not comparable. It is important to consider the costs imposed on the electric system by wind and solar power before making a determination of what capacity should be built and what capacity should be retired to accommodate those plants. It is imperative that law makers, utility executives and public service commissioners have a good foundation of these costs as well as what it costs existing generators to continue operating before making decisions that ultimately increase the cost of electricity to rate payers.
The post IER/ACCCE Report’s ‘Imposed Costs’ Make Levelized Costs of Wind and Solar Comparable to Dispatchable Resources appeared first on IER.
Thursday, June 13, 2019
Fat Tails: A Desperate Argument for Climate Activism
“Unverified hypotheses about fat tail events are NOT what we KNOW. Presenting this as knowledge rather than speculation, and unduly focusing on it for policy decisions, is alarmist.” (Judith Curry, “Worst Case Scenario versus Fat Tail,” 2014)
“Carbon dioxide emissions as the environmental crisis of last resort,” reads a chapter title of Pierre Desrochers and Joanna Szurmak’s Population Bombed (2018), a primer on the failed Malthusian scares of history.
I was reminded of this when reading the latest from skeptic-turned-alarmist Jerry Taylor of the Niskanen Center, “What Changed My Mind About Climate Change?” With the competitive failure of so-called green energies—as well as the daunting economics of immediate costs versus speculative, distant benefits—Taylor rehashes what can be called the last intellectual argument for climate activism. Simply stated, this argument focuses on improbable-to-impossible worst-case market failure as justifying open-ended government activism.
Background
A decade ago, Harvard economist Martin Weitzman challenged traditional cost/benefit analysis by appealing to an unknown, unknowable catastrophic event from the human influence on climate. The off-the-bell-curve “fat tail,” in his telling, meant that the U.S. and world economies must incur any cost, make any sacrifice, as insurance.
The “dismal theorem” argument comes from looking at the “tails” of a probability distribution, which normally—in a statistics class, for example—shrinks rapidly the further away it goes from the mean. So a fat tail means that there is (compared to a more typical analysis) more area under the curve, even as we move toward extreme outcomes.
Weitzman showed that standard technique used to quantify the risks associated with uncertain outcomes don’t work under these conditions. The caution “it’s too expensive to take aggressive measures to slow climate change” is weakened when the “expected damages” from extreme, improbable events are sufficiently high.
Back in 2009, Robert Murphy criticized Weitzman’s “black swan” by relying on Yale professor, William Nordhaus, perhaps the biggest name in climate economics, who last year won the Nobel Prize for his pioneering work in this field.
Nordhaus defended traditional cost/benefit analysis. Economists might assume a can opener, as the joke goes, but a climate economist needs to be realistic about unbounded costs to address unbounded uncertainty. Nordhaus showed that although the mathematical argument from Weitzman was correct as far as it went, it would lead to counterintuitive and uncomfortable results in other areas if we applied it consistently. There is also the opportunity cost of other types of low-probability, worst-case scenarios competing for activism outside of climate, as noted by MIT economist Robert Pindyck (and emphasized more recently by Julian Morris).
The fat-tail argument was adapted by financial guru Robert Litterman, who Jerry Taylor cites as responsible for changing his mind (with Weitzman). Litterman’s “economics of nondiversifiable risk” justifies immediate and open-ended taxation of CO2 emissions.
Taylor’s Rube
Taylor, following Litterman, likens climate policy to prudent financial management. We diversify, we hedge. We buy bonds, not only equities, and keep some cash. We seek stability, not only going for the fences.
So, in climate policy, we should account for worst-case outcomes rather than rest because the likely outcomes are palatable. Taylor concludes:
If we think about climate risks in the same fashion we think about risks in other contexts, we should most certainly hedge—and hedge aggressively—by removing fossil fuels from the economy as quickly as possible.
But this analogy fails out of the gate. Voluntary self-interested action (prudent investing) is conflated with government coercion negating self-interest. It is also (rotten) apples-to-oranges since climate is supposed to be “a non-diversifiable risk” as opposed to a “relatively tame” financial hedge. As climatologist Judith Curry explains:
Climate risk is a wicked problem – we don’t know how to bound the climate risk, and we don’t have a hedging strategy that will actually protect us from the most adverse possible outcomes. We are fooling ourselves if we think a carbon tax is up to the task of protecting us from the possibility of truly adverse climate outcomes.
Other Problems
Additional problems with the Taylor-cum-Litterman argument:
- There is no evidence of fat tails for climate change being realistic. In fact, the science has been going the other way with extreme climate scenarios being increasingly discounted (e.g. here).
- It does not consider the positive fat tail of anthropogenic warming negating a natural global cooling to forestall a Little Ice Age.
- It does not account for either analytic failure or government failure (Public Choice) in the quest to address and alleged market failure.
- Fat tails analysis is not applied to climate policy.
- Fat tails is not separately computed for adaptive free-market economies versus helpless statist economies, the obvious implication being that climate policy should promote freer societies, not more regulated ones.
Precautionary Principle Violated
The fat tail argument can be labeled the precautionary principle on steroids. It thus fails the test posed by Jonathan Adler in his still-relevant “Greenhouse Policy Without Regrets: A Free Market Approach to the Uncertain Risks of Climate Change”:
No insurance policy is worthwhile if the cost of the premiums exceeds the protection purchased. For greenhouse insurance to be worthwhile, it must either reduce the risks of anthropogenic climate change or reduce the costs of emission reductions designed to achieve the same goal, without imposing off-setting risks, such as those which would result from policies that slow economic growth and technological advance.
“While I reject most apocalyptic scenarios as unfounded or unduly speculative,” Jonathan Adler stated in 2008, “I am convinced that the human contribution to climate change will cause or exacerbate significant problems in at least some parts of the world.” But with the dismal fat tail demoted, traditional cost/benefit analysis leaves the case for climate activism in a quandary, a subject for another day.
Conclusion
Modest warming from the enhanced greenhouse effect is settled science. Higher warming from positive feedback effects is unsettled science. The Hothouse Earth worst-case scenario may make headlines, but it is extremely speculative in the tradition of people-problem Malthusianism.
In fact, the outer estimate of the likely anthropogenic warming range from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has declined, not increased, since 1990. The 6th IPCC assessment is not expected to raise the upper end and could reduce it according to one insider.
A top-tier climatologist assessing the debate, Judith Curry, who changed her mind oppositely from Jerry Taylor, sees the top of the IPCC range as “borderline impossible” and a significantly higher forcing as “impossible.” “Unverified hypotheses about fat tail events are not what we know,” she has emphasized. “Presenting this as knowledge rather than speculation, and unduly focusing on it for policy decisions, is alarmist.”
It is Jerry Taylor, not the rest of us, who should check his premises and get realistic about the physical science of climate change, the economics of government mitigation versus market adaptation, and real-world politics.
The post Fat Tails: A Desperate Argument for Climate Activism appeared first on IER.
How to Leverage Offline Events for Link Building
Posted by allen.yesilevich
Link building is all about creating strong, reputable relationships online — but what if you took offline strategies and applied it to building your brand online? No matter the size of your company, hosting, speaking at, or attending an event is a valuable tool for bulking up your backlinks while giving your brand industry exposure.
Every stage of the event process, from promotion and beyond, provides valuable opportunities for acquiring backlinks. The trick is to apply the correct strategy. Whether you’re sharing your event on an event listing site, reaching out to influencers to spread the word, or publishing event-specific content, leveraging your face-to-face marketing efforts to gain more backlinks will help your business — no matter its size — become more visible.
Prior to the Event
Before you set out on your link-building journey, you need to establish what pages and domains you want others to share. For an event, a dedicated landing page on your website that lists key details and invites people to register is the best place to drive potential attendees. It's also easy to share for promotion.
Event sites
Once you have your pages and domains set up, you can take that page to event listing sites, which offer easy link opportunities. The location of your event will determine where you choose to post. For instance, if you’re hosting a small event, region-specific event sites will earn you links that increase your visibility in local search results.
If you’re hosting a larger event with a national or global draw, Eventful or Meetup are two sites that will link out directly to your event page. As an added bonus, some larger sites will get scraped by other sources, meaning you could potentially get multiple links from one post.
Connect with influencers
Connecting with bloggers in your industry and asking them to share your event details with their followers is another way to gain links.
Before you reach out, do some research to see what types of bloggers and influencers are best suited for this; you want to make sure the backlinks you receive are valuable, from credible sites that will help you build authority and enhance your organic search visibility. While it may be more difficult to obtain links from the experts in your industry who have higher domain authorities, they'll be the most beneficial for brand building.
Once you establish your list of target industry bloggers, reach out and explain why your event is relevant to their audience and why sharing or posting about it would add value to their content.
The speakers of the next @Moz #MozCon (July 15-17, 2019) is once again impressive https://t.co/UZYKBmt8jj.
— Gianluca Fiorelli (@gfiorelli1) June 11, 2019
Shame that this year I won't be able to attend it :-/, but you still can buy one of the few tickets available. Don't let pass the occasion to live 1 of the best conferences.
A big mistake people often make is expecting content without contributing anything in return. Would you show up to a potluck without a dish and eat all of the food? Consider offering an incentive, like an opportunity for cross-site promotion so that the partnership isn’t just transactional, but mutually beneficial. Not only will this help you acquire a new link, but it will also help you get more exposure to people in your target market that you may not have been able to reach previously.
During the Event
Whether your company is hosting an event or someone from your team is speaking at one, there are many opportunities to support your site’s link building efforts. Attendees can have a positive effect on your organization’s backlink profile. As the old saying goes, if you didn't post about it, were you even there? Professionals and brands alike love sharing thought leadership insights and event recaps in the form of blogs and social posts. When they do, there's a good chance they'll be sharing a link to your company's site.
Write about it
Even if you’re only attending an event, there are link building opportunities to take advantage of. Post daily blogs highlighting the key takeaways from that day's sessions or share your take on a memorable keynote. Event-specific content has a good chance of making its way to and being shared by the speakers, event host, other attendees, and your team back at the office.
"Consider offering an incentive, like an opportunity for cross-site promotion so that the partnership isn’t just transactional, but mutually beneficial."
To increase your chances of getting your content out in front of the right people, share it in a quick email or LinkedIn message to a presenter or marketing lead from the company hosting the event. Of course, you should always share your post on your own and your company’s social media channels and tag the relevant players. The hope is that, by being included and getting free publicity, these high-quality sources will feel inclined to share your content
Network, network, network
While posting about events can help you get links, you should also focus on building long-term relationships with other leaders in your industry. There is no better time to do this than when at an event. In fact, 81 percent of event-goers say they attend events for networking opportunities. If you're networking, you can set yourself up well to establish future linking partnerships with sites in similar or complementing industries.
After the Event
You can still acquire backlinks from your offline event after you’ve headed back to work. Some of the best link building opportunities have yet to come.
Follow up with email
If you spoke at an event, you can nurture the people who attended your session through email and send them relevant information. Setting up a landing page on your site with downloadable slides from your presentation can easily be shared and linked. If they haven't done so already, see if your contacts are willing to share their event experience on their blog and social pages. This will give you crowdsourced content with valuable backlinks.
Track your efforts
It's important to track your backlinks using social listening tools after the event. If you feel the linking sites could offer synergies, either for content or business purposes, reach out to discuss mutually-beneficial partnerships.
Remember, all the hard work you put in now will pay off in the future, too. Consistently acquiring backlinks has a snowball effect and will increase both your ranking positioning and attendee turnout for future events.
Wrapping up
One of the best link-building strategies you can leverage is your real-life relationships. What are some ways you've transformed an in-life connection into a valuable, digital backlink?
Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!
Wednesday, June 12, 2019
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Monday, June 10, 2019
Solar Forward: Successful Summit County Solarize launch, Montrose moves forward with planning process
Solar Energy International (SEI)’s Solar Forward technical consulting program is helping communities kickstart solar markets across Colorado! We’re excited to share some recent updates.
SEI is currently partnered with the High Country Conservation Center (HC3) in Summit County, and a Montrose Solarize Coalition in the City of Montrose, providing technical assistance to both of these teams to help them implement Solarize programs.
Summit County officially launched their 13-week outreach campaign last week. The launch event was a major hit with over 60 community members in attendance in addition to HC3 and Solarize partners. Between June – August 2019, the Summit Climate Action Collaborative is offering residents and businesses who sign up to install solar panels the ability to leverage bulk-purchasing power to take advantage of exclusive Solarize discounts.
Even more exciting, local governments throughout the program are supporting the Solarize program by offering additional discounts to people who go solar within the timeline of the program. Check out some of the available rebates below:
- Breckenridge: $1,500 for the first 25 participants
- Frisco: Council Votes June 11 on $1,500 for the first 25 participants
- Dillon: $400 to anyone who has completed a home energy audit first
- Summit County Government: $1,500 to the first 10 participants
Read more about Summit’s Solarize program on their webpage. We’re so excited to see local government support in solar market growth, and we hope to see similar partnerships through Solarize programs across the state moving forward.
Additionally (pictured above), Montrose’s Solarize Coalition’s planning stage of their program is in full swing! Solar Forward Program Manager Mary Marshall traveled out to meet with the Team for workshops and technical consulting. Their program is slated to launch in July.
What is Solar Forward, and how does it help communities Solarize?
The Solar Forward program gives nonprofits or community groups located in rural Colorado communities the opportunity to partner with SEI to implement initiatives aimed at kickstarting solar markets, such as the Solarize program.
Nonprofits can apply to be accepted into the program, and upon entry they receive a toolkit for a Solarize program, and a year of advising from an SEI technical adviser, to help them implement a Solarize Program.
The toolkit is comprised of customizable tools and documents needed for a Solarize program. The toolkit and consulting are totally free to communities, and some of the offerings include:
- Request for Proposal and system for choosing a partnered installer
- Customizable marketing tools including banners, flyers, yard signs and more
- Guides compiled by industry experts on social media marketing, event hosting, and more
- Tools on how to make sense of solar financing and other frequently asked questions on solar installations
- Powerpoint presentations and educational tools for community members
- Up to 8 hours of free technical consulting to set up your website and lead management database
- Free SEI industry-leading trainings for program coordinators or installers
Solar Forward is accepting applications on a rolling basis. For more information, contact the Solar Forward Program Manager Mary Marshall at mary@solarenergy.org or call 970-527-7657 extension 116.
- 15 residential solar projects installed*
- 100 kW total in combined installations*
- $75,000 reinvested into the local economy
- 118,058 kilograms of carbon emissions offset
- Four local jobs created
*Installers anticipate a few more systems coming in
Even more exciting, according to the Gunnison Country Times, where the program was highlighted, is that residential and commercial solar development has been surging in the valley since April 1. Since then, a total of 25 new residential solar projects totaling 136 kW have either been installed or are in the works. Educational outreach on solar and energy efficiency for the SEI-supported Solarize program began in February and concluded at the end of May.
Solar Forward in the news:
The post Solar Forward: Successful Summit County Solarize launch, Montrose moves forward with planning process appeared first on Solar Training - Solar Installer Training - Solar PV Installation Training - Solar Energy Courses - Renewable Energy Education - NABCEP - Solar Energy International (SEI).
Gunnison County experiences ‘surge of solar development’ following Solarize campaign supported by Solar Forward
Results are in! Solar Energy International (SEI)’s first partnered community through the Solar Forward program, Gunnison County, has officially concluded their Solarize program. Their efforts resulted in over 100 kW of new, installed solar in the County, and solar market development that spans beyond the Solarize campaign.
Check out the final results by the numbers:
- 15 residential solar projects installed*
- 100 kW total in combined installations*
- $75,000 reinvested into the local economy
- 118,058 kilograms of carbon emissions offset
- Four local jobs created
*Installers anticipate a few more systems coming in
Even more exciting, according to the Gunnison Country Times, where the program was highlighted, is that residential and commercial solar development has been surging in the valley since April 1. Since then, a total of 25 new residential solar projects totaling 136 kW have either been installed or are in the works. Educational outreach on solar and energy efficiency for the SEI-supported Solarize program began in February and concluded at the end of May.
What is Solarize?
In short, Solarize is a group buy-in model that makes solar more accessible in communities. People are encouraged to go solar together through a discount and an educational outreach campaign. The program is lead by program coordinators who partner with local installers, saving them time and money by doing marketing and basic lead acquisition, those savings become a ‘discount’ for participants in the program.
SEI has experience in implementing Solarize programs in rural Colorado communities, with installation numbers totalling over 500kW of installed solar to-date. We have adapted this model to make it accessible for the unique needs of rural communities, and our program model empowers nonprofits in communities to be the driver of this program. The Solar Forward program is totally free to participants.
Solarize in Gunnison County
The Solarize program in Gunnison County was made possible through a partnership with the 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Coldharbour Institute. Coldharbour Institute resulted from the 2015 merger of Coldharbour Sustainable Living Center and the Office of Resource Efficiency. In that same year, Coldharbour began a relationship with the Master of Environmental Management Program at Western Colorado University. CI’s mission is to facilitate education, incubation, and demonstration of regenerative personal, community, and land practices. One of the biggest goals of CI is to bring together groups with common goals in order to achieve those goals in a more holistic manner.
Coldharbour Institute applied to be in the Solar Forward program to receive SEI’s technical assistance in implementing a Solarize program in Gunnison County. In 2018, CI/Gunnison County was accepted into the program as its first community. Two Masters of Environmental Management students, Ellen Ross and Hunter Edberg, lead the Solarize program as their graduate program capstone. They launched the program in February and it continued through the end of April. SEI provided the team with a dedicated technical adviser which provided customized workshops, a toolkit, and ongoing consulting throughout the duration of the program.
How does Solar Forward help communities Solarize?
The Solar Forward program gives nonprofits or community groups located in rural Colorado communities the opportunity to partner with SEI to implement initiatives aimed at kickstarting solar markets. These initiatives include a Solarize program.
Nonprofits can apply to be accepted into the program, and upon entry they receive a toolkit for a Solarize program, and a year of advising from an SEI technical adviser.
The toolkit is comprised of customizable tools and documents needed for a Solarize program. The toolkit and consulting are totally free to communities, and some of the offerings include:
- Request for Proposal and system for choosing a partnered installer
- Customizable marketing tools including banners, flyers, yard signs and more
- Guides compiled by industry experts on social media marketing, event hosting, and more
- Tools on how to make sense of solar financing and other frequently asked questions on solar installations
- Powerpoint presentations and educational tools for community members
- Up to 8 hours of free technical consulting to set up your website and lead management database
- Free SEI industry-leading trainings for program coordinators or installers
Solar Forward is accepting applications on a rolling basis. For more information, contact the Solar Forward Program Manager Mary Marshall at mary@solarenergy.org or call 970-527-7657 extension 116.
The post Gunnison County experiences ‘surge of solar development’ following Solarize campaign supported by Solar Forward appeared first on Solar Training - Solar Installer Training - Solar PV Installation Training - Solar Energy Courses - Renewable Energy Education - NABCEP - Solar Energy International (SEI).
Electric Vehicles in Germany Emit More Carbon Dioxide than Diesel Vehicles
A study by the IFO think tank in Munich found that electric vehicles in Germany emit 11 percent to 28 percent more carbon dioxide than their diesel counterparts. The study considered the production of batteries as well as the German electricity mix in making this determination. Germany spent thousands of euros on electric car subsidies per vehicle to put a million electric vehicles on the road, but those subsidies have done nothing to reach the country’s greenhouse gas emission targets. This is just the latest example of government programs expecting one outcome and getting quite another, instead. To some it is ironic; to others it is funny. At IER, we believe it to be sad, as it is a waste of time and money that could be better put to use solving real problems.
The researchers compared the carbon dioxide output for a Tesla Model 3 (electric) and a Mercedes C220d sedan (diesel). The Mercedes releases about 141 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer driven, including the carbon emitted to drill, refine, and transport its fuel. The Tesla releases between 156 and 181 grams, including battery production. Mining and processing the lithium, cobalt, and manganese used for batteries consume a lot of energy. A Tesla Model 3 battery, for example, represents between 11 and 15 metric tons of carbon dioxide. Given a battery lifetime of 10 years and an annual travel distance of 15,000 kilometers, 73 to 98 grams of carbon dioxide are emitted per kilometer.
Germany’s growing reliance on coal for electricity generation was also considered in the study. The country relies on coal when the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining. As a result, charging a Tesla in Bavaria releases about 83 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer driven.
The European Union also provides benefits for manufacturers of electric vehicles, by allowing them to claim zero emissions under its strict emissions limits. Not all European countries may emit more carbon dioxide from electric vehicles than from diesel or gasoline vehicles, however. In France, for example, electric vehicles may emit less carbon dioxide than diesel vehicles because France gets the majority of its electricity from nuclear power. But in many other European countries, that is certainly not the case.
Other Alternatives
According to the German researchers, the European Union target of 59 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer by 2030 corresponds to a “technically unrealistic” consumption of 2.2 liters of diesel or 2.6 liters of gasoline per 100 kilometers. The researchers believe it would be preferable to look at other sources of power for automobiles—for example, methane engines, “whose emissions are one-third less than those of diesel motors.”
Other Studies
A study in 2017 by researchers at the University of Michigan found that the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by electric cars varied wildly by country. The study found that an electric car recharged by a coal-fired plant produces as much carbon dioxide as a gasoline-powered car that gets 29 miles per gallon, which is a slightly higher efficiency than the 25.2 miles per gallon that is the average of all the cars, SUVs, vans, and light trucks sold in the United States over the past year. If the electricity comes from a natural gas plant, recharging a plug-in electric vehicle is akin to driving a car that gets 58 miles per gallon.
Using the U.S. electricity mix, which is generated mainly be fossil fuels (about 64 percent), the researchers at the University of Michigan found that the average plug-in vehicle produces as much carbon dioxide as a conventional car that gets 55.4 miles per gallon. In China, which has been pushing widespread adoption of electric vehicles, the cars emit as much carbon dioxide as a car that gets 40 miles per gallon, due in large part to their heavy dependence on coal.
Note that the above findings are optimistic for electric vehicles because the researchers at the University of Michigan did not take into account the additional substantial carbon dioxide emissions in manufacturing batteries, as did the German study.
A different study from the Union of Concerned Scientists found that, depending on the type of plug-in being built, manufacturing a battery-powered car generates 15 percent to 68 percent more carbon dioxide emissions than a conventional gasoline-powered car because of the energy intensity of manufacturing batteries.
Conclusion
The above studies indicate that the terminology “zero emission” is a misnomer when referring to electric vehicles. Also, lawmakers should be cautious about subsidizing electric vehicles when their electricity is generated mainly by fossil fuels because they are not lowering the carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles by doing so. The old saying that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” may well apply to many of the gimmicks and work-arounds advocated by whatever group is popular with a political and media elite at any given time. Germany’s lessons should be a case study for political leaders everywhere.
The post Electric Vehicles in Germany Emit More Carbon Dioxide than Diesel Vehicles appeared first on IER.
Friday, June 7, 2019
Thursday, June 6, 2019
The 2019 MozCon Final Agenda Has Arrived!
Posted by cheryldraper
If you can believe it, we’re only about a month away from MozCon 2019! July 15th can’t come soon enough, am I right?!
In March, we announced the initial agenda and in May we announced our community speakers. Today, we’re excited to bring you our final agenda — a fully loaded list of all the knowledge you can expect to gain from this year's conference.
Haven't snagged your ticket yet? Don't worry — we still have some left!:
With the schedule set and the speakers hard at work polishing their presentations, here’s a look at the three action-packed days we have planned for you.
Monday, July 15th
7:30am–9:00am
Breakfast & registration
9:00am–9:20am
Welcome to MozCon 2019!
Sarah Bird, CEO of Moz
Our vivacious CEO will be kicking things off early on the first day of MozCon with a warm welcome, laying out all the pertinent details of the conference, and getting us in the right mindset for three days of learning.
9:20am–10:00am
Web Search 2019: The Essential Data Marketers Need
Rand Fishkin, Sparktoro
It's been a rough couple years in search. Google's domination and need for additional growth has turned the search giant into a competitor for more and more publishers, and plateaued the longstanding trend of Google's growing referral traffic. But in the midst of this turmoil, opportunities have emerged, too. In this presentation, Rand will look not only at how Google (and Amazon, YouTube, Instagram, and others) have leveraged their monopoly power in concerning ways, but also how to find opportunities for traffic, branding, and marketing success.
10:00am–10:30am
Human > Machine > Human: Understanding Human-Readable Quality Signals and Their Machine-Readable Equivalents
Ruth Burr Reedy, UpBuild
The push and pull of making decisions for searchers versus search engines is an ever-present SEO conundrum. How do you tackle industry changes through the lens of whether something is good for humans or for machines? Ruth will take us through human-readable quality signals and their machine-readable equivalents and how to make SEO decisions accordingly, as well as how to communicate change to clients and bosses.
10:35am–11:15am
Morning break
11:15am–11:45am
Improved Reporting & Analytics Within Google Tools
Dana DiTomaso, Kick Point
Covering the intersections between some of our favorite free tools — Google Data Studio, Google Analytics, and Google Tag Manager — Dana will be deep-diving into how to improve your reporting and analytics, even providing downloadable Data Studio templates along the way.
11:45am–12:15pm
Local SERP Analytics: The Challenges and Opportunities
Rob Bucci, Moz
We all know that SERPs are becoming increasingly local. Google is more and more looking to satisfy local intent queries for searchers. There's a treasure-trove of data in local SERPs that SEOs can use to outrank their competitors. In this session, Rob will talk about the challenges that come with trying to do SERP analytics at a local level and the opportunities that await those who can overcome those challenges.
12:20pm–1:50pm
Lunch
1:50pm–2:20pm
Keywords Aren't Enough: How to Uncover Content Ideas Worth Chasing
Ross Simmonds, Foundation Marketing
Many marketers focus solely on keyword research when crafting their content, but it just isn't enough if you want to gain a competitive edge. Ross will share a framework for uncovering content ideas leveraged from forums, communities, niche sites, good old-fashioned SERP analysis, tools and techniques to help along the way, and exclusive research surrounding the data that backs this up.
2:20pm–2:50pm
How to Supercharge Link Building with a Digital PR Newsroom
Shannon McGuirk, Aira Digital
Everyone who’s ever tried their hand at link building knows how much effort it demands. If only there was a way to keep a steady stream of quality links coming in the door for clients, right? In this talk, Shannon will share how to set up a "digital PR newsroom" in-house or agency-side that supports and grows your link building efforts. Get your note-taking hand ready, because she’s going to outline her process and provide a replicable tutorial for how to make it happen.
2:55pm–3:35pm
Afternoon break
3:35pm–4:05pm
From Zero to Local Ranking Hero
Darren Shaw, Whitespark
From zero web presence to ranking hyper-locally, Darren will take us along on the 8-month-long journey of a business growing its digital footprint and analyzing what worked (and didn’t) along the way. How well will they rank from a GMB listing alone? What about when citations were added, and later indexed? Did having a keyword in the business name help or harm, and what changes when they earn a few good links? Buckle up for this wild ride as we discover exactly what impact different strategies have on local rankings.
4:05pm–4:45pm
Esse Quam Videri: When Faking It Is Harder than Making It
Russ Jones, Moz
Covering a breadth of SEO topics, Russ will show us how the correct use of available tools makes it easier to actually be the best in your market rather than try to cut corners and fake it. If you're a fan of hacks and shortcuts, come prepared to have your mind changed.
7:00–10:00 pm
Monday Night Welcome Party
Join us for a backyard tiki bar party at beautiful Block 41 in Belltown. Meet with fellow marketers over drinks, music, and catching sun on the patio. We look forward to bringing our community together to inaugurate MozCon on this special night. See you there!
Tuesday, July 16th
8:30am–9:30am
Breakfast
9:30am–10:00am
Building a Discoverability Powerhouse: Lessons from Merging an Organic, Paid, & Content Practice
Heather Physioc, VMLY&R
Search is a channel that can’t live in a silo. In order to be its most effective, search teams have to collaborate successfully across paid, organic, content and more. Get tips for integrating and collaborating from the hard knocks and learnings of managing an organic, paid and performance content team into one Discoverability group. Find out how we went from three teams of individual experts to one integrated Discoverability powerhouse, and learn from our mistakes and wins as you apply the principles in your own company.
10:00am–10:30am
Brand Is King: How to Rule in the New Era of Local Search
Mary Bowling, Ignitor Digital
Get ready for a healthy dose of all things local with this talk! Mary will deep-dive into how the Google Local algorithm has matured in 2019 and how marketers need to mature with it; how the major elements of the algo (relevance, prominence, and proximity) influence local rankings and how they affect each other; how local results are query-dependent; how to feed business info into the Knowledge Graph; and how brand is now "king" in local search.
10:35am–11:15am
Morning break
11:15am–11:45am
Making Memories: Creating Content People Remember
Casie Gillette, KoMarketing
We know that only 20% of people remember what they read, but 80% remember what they saw. How do you create something people actually remember? You have to think beyond words and consider factors like images, colors, movement, location, and more. In this talk, Casie will dissect what brands are currently doing to capture attention and how everyone, regardless of budget or resources, can create the kind of content their audience will actually remember.
11:45am–12:25pm
20 Years in Search & I Don't Trust My Gut or Google
Wil Reynolds, Seer Interactive
What would your reaction be if you were told that one of Wil's clients got more conversions from zero-volume search terms than search terms with 1000+ searches per month? It's true. Wil found this out in seconds, leading him to really look at his whole client strategy through a new lens. It also made him question company-wide strategies. How prevalent is this across all clients? Don't they all deserve to get these insights? It required him to dig into the long tail, deep. To use big data and see PPC data as insights, not just marketing.
What would your reaction be if you were told that Google's "bad click" business could be generating as much annually as Starbucks or McDonalds?
Wil will be making the case for big data, agencies, and why building systems that looking at every single search term you get matched to is the future of search marketing.
12:30pm–2:00pm
Lunch
2:00pm–2:15pm
Super-Practical Tips for Improving Your Site's E-A-T
Marie Haynes, Marie Haynes Consulting Inc.
Google has admitted that they measure the concept of "Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness" in their algorithms. If your site is categorized under YMYL (Your Money or Your Life), you absolutely must have good E-A-T in order to rank well. In this talk, you'll learn how Google measures E-A-T and what changes you can make both on site and off in order to outrank your competitors. Using real-life examples, Marie will answer what E-A-T is and how Google measures it, what changes you can make on your site to improve how E-A-T is displayed, and what you can do off-site to improve E-A-T.
2:15pm–2:30pm
Fixing the Indexability Challenge: A Data-Based Framework
Areej AbuAli, Verve Search
How do you turn an unwieldy 2.5 million-URL website into a manageable and indexable site of just 20,000 pages? Areej will share the methodology and takeaways used to restructure a job aggregator site which, like many large websites, had huge problems with indexability and the rules used to direct robot crawl. This talk will tackle tough crawling and indexing issues, diving into the case study with flow charts to explain the full approach and how to implement it.
2:30pm–2:45pm
What Voice Means for Search Marketers: Top Findings from the 2019 Report
Christi Olson, Microsoft
How can search marketers take advantage of the strengths and weaknesses of today's voice assistants? Diving into three scenarios for informational, navigational, and transactional queries, Christi will share how to use language semantics for better content creation and paid targeting, how to optimize existing content to be voice-friendly (including the new voice schema markup!), and what to expect from future algorithm updates as they adapt to assistants that read responses aloud, no screen required. Highlighting takeaways around voice commerce from the report, this talk will ultimately provide a breakdown on how search marketers can begin to adapt their shopping experience for v-commerce.
2:50pm–3:30pm
Afternoon break
3:30pm–4:00pm
Redefining Technical SEO
Paul Shapiro, Catalyst
It’s time to throw the traditional definition of technical SEO out the window. Why? Because technical SEO is much, much bigger than just crawling, indexing, and rendering. Technical SEO is applicable to all areas of SEO, including content development and other creative functions. In this session, you’ll learn how to integrate technical SEO into all aspects of your SEO program.
4:00pm–4:40pm
How Many Words Is a Question Worth?
Dr. Peter J. Meyers, Moz
Traditional keyword research is poorly suited to Google's quest for answers. One question might represent thousands of keyword variants, so how do we find the best questions, craft content around them, and evaluate success? Dr. Pete dives into three case studies to answer these questions.
Wednesday, July 17th
8:30am–9:30am
Breakfast
9:30am–10:10am
Fraggles, Mobile-First Indexing, & the SERP of the Future
Cindy Krum, Mobile Moxie
Before you ask: no, this isn’t Fraggle Rock, MozCon edition! Cindy will cover the myriad ways mobile-first indexing is changing the SERPs, including progressive web apps, entity-first indexing, and how "fraggles" are indexed in the Knowledge Graph and what it all means for the future of mobile SERPs.
10:10am–10:40am
Killer CRO and UX Wins Using an SEO Crawler
Luke Carthy, Excel Networking
CRO, UX, and an SEO crawler? You read that right! Luke will share actionable tips on how to identify revenue wins and impactful low-hanging fruit to increase conversions and improve UX with the help of a site crawler typically used for SEO, as well as a generous helping of data points from case studies and real-world examples.
10:45am–11:25am
Morning break
11:25am–11:55am
Content, Rankings, and Lead Generation: A Breakdown of the 1% Content Strategy
Andy Crestodina, Orbit Media
How can you use data to find and update content for higher rankings and more traffic? Andy will take us through a four-point presentation that pulls together the most effective tactics around content into a single high-powered content strategy with even better results.
11:55am–12:25pm
Running Your Own SEO Tests: Why It Matters & How to Do It Right
Rob Ousbey, Distilled
Google's algorithms have undergone significant changes in recent years. Traditional ranking signals don't hold the same sway they used to, and they're being usurped by factors like UX and brand that are becoming more important than ever before. What's an SEO to do?
The answer lies in testing.
Sharing original data and results from clients, Rob will highlight the necessity of testing, learning, and iterating your work, from traditional UX testing to weighing the impact of technical SEO changes, tweaking on-page elements, and changing up content on key pages. Actionable processes and real-world results abound in this thoughtful presentation on why you should be testing SEO changes, how and where to run them, and what kinds of tests you ought to consider for your circumstances.
12:30pm–2:00pm
Lunch
2:00pm–2:15pm
Dark Helmet's Guide to Local Domination with Google Posts and Q&A
Greg Gifford, Wikimotive
Google Posts and Questions & Answers are two incredibly powerful features of Google My Business, yet most people don't even know they exist. Greg will walk through Google Posts in detail, sharing how they work, how to use them, and tips for optimization based on testing with hundreds of clients. He'll also cover the Q&A section of GMB (a feature that lets anyone in the community speak for your business), share the results of a research project covering hundreds of clients, share some hilarious examples of Q&A run wild, and explain exactly how to use Q&A the right way to win more local business.
2:15pm–2:30pm
How to Audit for Inclusive Content
Emily Triplett Lentz, Help Scout
Digital marketers have a responsibility to learn to spot the biases that frequently find their way into online copy, replacing them with alternatives that lead to stronger, clearer messaging and that cultivate wider, more loyal and enthusiastic audiences. Last year, Help Scout audited several years of content for unintentionally exclusionary language that associated physical disabilities or mental illness with negative-sounding terms, resulting in improved writing clarity and a stronger brand. You'll learn what inclusive content is, how it helps to engage a larger and more loyal audience, how to conduct an audit of potentially problematic language on a site, and how to optimize for inclusive, welcoming language.
2:30pm–2:45pm
Image & Visual Search Optimization Opportunities
Joelle Irvine, Bookmark Content
With voice, local, and rich results only rising in importance, how do image and visual search fit into the online shopping ecosystem? Using examples from Google Images, Google Lens, and Pinterest Lens, Joelle will show how image optimization can improve the overall customer experience and play a key role in discoverability, product evaluation, and purchase decisions for online shoppers. At the same time, accepting that image recognition technology is not yet perfect, she will also share actionable tactics to better optimize for visual search to help those shoppers find that perfect style they just can’t put into words.
2:50pm–3:30pm
Afternoon break
3:30pm–4:00pm
Factors that Affect the Local Algorithm that Don't Impact Organic
Joy Hawkins, Sterling Sky Inc.
Google’s local algorithm is a horse of a different color when compared with the organic algo most SEOs are familiar with. Joy will share results from a SterlingSky study on how proximity varies greatly when comparing local and organic results, how reviews impact ranking (complete with data points from testing), how spam is running wild (and how it negatively impacts real businesses), and more.
4:00pm–4:30pm
Featured Snippets: Essentials to Know & How to Target
Britney Muller, Moz
By now, most SEOs are comfortable with the idea of featured snippets, but actually understanding and capturing them in the changing search landscape remains elusive. Britney will share some eye-opening data about the SERPs you know and love while equipping you with a bevy of new tricks for winning featured snippets into your toolbox.
7:00pm–10:00pm
Wednesday Night Bash
Bowling: check! Karaoke: check! Photo booth: check! Join us for one last hurrah as we take over the Garage. You won't want to miss this closing night bash — we'll have plenty of games, food, and fun as we mix and mingle, say "see ya soon" to friends new and old, and reminisce over our favorite lessons from the past 3 days.
See you there?
It’s not too late to sign up for MozCon 2019! We sell out every year, but we've still got tickets left for you to scoop up.
As much as we’d love to see you all there, we know that a trip to Seattle isn’t always feasible. If that’s the case for you, be on the lookout for the video bundle we’ll have available for purchase after the conference — get all the great insights from MozCon from the comfort of your home or office, and share them with your whole team!
Have questions? Pop them in the comments or head on over to our MozCon resource center where you can view FAQs, learn about our speakers, and get travel information. Once you buy your ticket, be sure to request access to our MozCon Facebook Group for enhanced networking with your fellow attendees!
Let the final countdown to MozCon 2019 begin!
Sign up for The Moz Top 10, a semimonthly mailer updating you on the top ten hottest pieces of SEO news, tips, and rad links uncovered by the Moz team. Think of it as your exclusive digest of stuff you don't have time to hunt down but want to read!
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
#26: Mark P. Mills, of the Manhattan Institute, on the new energy economy
Mark P. Mills, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, joins the show to discuss his recent report on the so-called “new energy economy” and the realities that make plans like the Green New Deal completely unrealistic.
Links:
• Full Report: “The ‘New Energy Economy’: An Exercise in Magical Thinking”
• Learn more about the Manhattan Institute.
• IER’ report on the levelized cost of electricity.
The post #26: Mark P. Mills, of the Manhattan Institute, on the new energy economy appeared first on IER.
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Monday, June 3, 2019
Existing Generating Resources Are Less Costly Than New Generating Resources
The Institute for Energy Research (IER) and the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) released a report today that finds that building new electrical generating facilities to replace perfectly good existing plants ahead of their optimal retirement time increases electricity prices to consumers. This results because consumers must pay for the construction costs for the new plants—costs that have been largely paid off by existing plants. While this may be good for regulated utilities because it increases their rate base, it is bad for consumers and, ultimately, the economy.
For example, states that have renewable portfolio standards are forcing existing generators to retire by requiring a specified amount of renewable energy, mostly wind and solar power, to be built, regardless of the need for power or the longevity of the plants that have been supplying the grid.
As the report points out, adding new plants when they are not needed forces the old plants to generate less and their costs to rise. As more and more new capacity is added to the grid, the existing generating capacity is forced to produce less and less power and eventually many of the existing plants are not able to cover their fixed costs because there is insufficient demand for both the renewable power and their normal levels of generation. As a result, they are forced to retire prematurely. The retirement is premature because if they were allowed to generate power as they were designed, they would have been able to cover their costs in most cases.
The story gets even worse when consumers are being asked to pay the stranded costs of regulated utilities. This occurs when a plant that is targeted for closure has a remaining balance that must be paid as well as providing for a return to utility shareholders. For example, a coal plant in Wisconsin is slated for closure, but has stranded costs. The 1,210-megawatt Pleasant Prairie coal plant is idle and will remain closed until the remaining balance on the plant is repaid. The cost will approach $1 billion over the next two decades, according to filings with the Wisconsin Public Service Commission.
If markets were allowed to work as designed without federal subsidies and state mandates, the issues noted above would not be occurring.
The IER and ACCCE Report
Using FERC Form 1 data, the report calculated the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for existing generating units and compared those costs to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) most recent estimates of levelized costs for new plants, adjusted for today’s fuel prices and utilization rates (capacity factors). EIA defines LCOE as “the per-megawatt-hour cost (in real dollars) of building and operating a generating plant over an assumed financial life and duty cycle.”
The analysis indicates that, on average, existing power plants have lower fixed costs, yet similar variable costs, compared to their most likely replacements. The reason new plants have higher fixed costs is that they begin their operational lives with a full burden of construction cost to recover. Conversely, the ongoing fixed costs of existing power plants are lower because they have already paid for some or all of their original construction costs. This is akin to owning a car that is already paid for. While it might be fun to have a brand new vehicle, which may even get better gas mileage than the paid-for car, the cost of ownership for the new car will likely be significantly higher.
In order to compare the levelized costs of wind and solar power with dispatchable resources, the report provides a calculation of “imposed costs” that are added to the levelized costs of wind and solar power. By including the costs imposed on the system to “firm” the output of intermittent generators, those generators can be compared more directly with dispatchable resources.
To understand the concept of imposed costs better, consider the business costs of hiring people who show up only when they want to, especially if the business is providing services necessary 24/7. Replacement workers would have to be contracted and compensated for their services whenever the other workers do not show up. Having to pay replacement workers increases the cost to the business, which are then passed onto consumers. This is analogous to the situation occurring when increasing amounts of non-dispatchable renewable energy sources are added to the grid.
Figure 1 below compares the costs of existing generators to new generators for the seven types of resources the report considers.
Thus, the report generally finds that absent external non-economic pressures, the most cost-effective generating option is not to replace existing resources. This result may not please regulated utilities, which make a profit from building new plants, but it is a better strategy for American consumers and America’s ability to compete. Using our existing versus new car analogy, many car owners would choose keeping a perfectly fine working car once it has been paid for rather than racking up debt to buy the latest model.
Wind and Solar Power Increase Electricity Prices
There is a growing consensus among economists and independent analysts that solar and wind power are making electricity more expensive mainly because they require a high level of back-up power (natural gas plants, hydroelectric dams, batteries, or some other form of reliable power) and extensive land and transmission lines.
In Germany, renewables contributed to electricity prices increasing by 50 percent. Residential electricity prices in Germany are 3 times higher than those in the United States. Germany spent $36 billion per year on renewables over the last five years, increasing the share of electricity from solar and wind power by just 10 percentage points.
In California, retail electricity prices are about 50 percent higher than the U.S. national average. California has a renewable portfolio standard that requires retail sellers and publicly owned utilities to procure 50 percent of their electricity from eligible renewable energy resources by 2030. The unreliability of solar and wind power, however, has required California to pay neighboring states to take their solar and wind energy when they are producing too much of it.
A research institute at the University of Chicago found solar and wind power were making electricity significantly more expensive. The researchers state that renewable portfolio standards “significantly increase average retail electricity prices, with prices increasing by 11 percent (1.3 cents per kWh) seven years after the policy’s passage into law and 17 percent (2 cents per kWh) twelve years afterward.” They found that consumers in the 29 states with renewable portfolio standards paid $125.2 billion more for electricity than they would have in the absence of the policy.
The higher cost of electricity reflects the costs that renewables impose on the generation system, including those associated with their intermittency, higher transmission costs, and stranded asset costs assigned to ratepayers.
Conclusion
Wind and solar power are not the inexpensive sources of energy that many thought they would be, since they impose costs on the generating system for back-up power, land requirements, and greater transmission lines. States and the federal government have forced their construction and operation through mandates and subsidies. If markets were allowed to work without interference, electricity prices would be lower for consumers and the United States would be an even more competitive producer of goods and services in the world marketplace.
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Study Finds Wind and Solar 2 to 3 Times More Expensive Than Existing Generation Resources
WASHINGTON — Today the Institute for Energy Research and the American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy released a new study evaluating the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) from new and existing generation resources.
By relying upon data reported by energy generators themselves to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the innovative study takes into account several important considerations that other reports do not when calculating LCOE. These include the imposed costs of wind and solar generation (i.e. the costs imposed when dispatchable generation resources are required to remain in service but are forced to operate less in combination with wind and solar generation), as well as the costs of operating existing generation sources in addition to those of building and operating new plants. Including these considerations presents a fuller picture of the operating costs of wind, solar, coal, gas, nuclear, and hydroelectric sources.
The following chart shows the stark contrast between the cost of electricity from existing and new sources:
As the chart shows: the average LCOEs from existing coal ($41), cc gas ($36), nuclear ($33), and hydro ($38) resources are less than half the cost of new wind resources ($90) or new PV solar resources ($88.7) with imposed costs included.
Tom Pyle, President of the Institute for Energy Research stated:
“This study illustrates why foolish policies like the Green New Deal and 100% renewable mandates would harm our economy and significantly raise the cost of electricity for American households. Shifting our electricity generation away from existing affordable and reliable plants to expensive and intermittent wind and solar would substantially increase energy costs for businesses and families. This study provides a necessary reality check for anyone making decisions about America’s electricity policy.”
Michelle Bloodworth, President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Energy (ACCCE) said:
“This new study is unique because it provides an apples-to-apples comparison of existing and new electricity sources. The study shows that policymakers should carefully consider levelized costs when decisions are being made to retire coal-fired power plants because replacing them with gas, wind or solar could be a bad economic decision.”
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