Tag archives: microgrids

Freedom Fuel in the USA and Abroad Severing the Umbilical Cord
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   May 3, 2022

On April 14, this column introduced the concept of “Freedom Fuel.” It outlined the potential unlocked by shifting from a planetary fuel system based on fossil fuels to a system based on the wide availability of hydrogen created by electrolyzing water with renewable energy (so called “Green Hydrogen”) at prices below fossil fuel. As that […]

War of the Currents From Transmission Lines to “Freedom Fuel”
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   April 12, 2022

Forest fires, cyber warfare, sabotage, and plain old utility company incompetence, greed, and malfeasance have brought us to the point where we must abandon the electrical grid. It isn’t safe. It does cause a significant percentage of forest fires here in California, it supports a utility (PG&E) that has been convicted of multiple felonies for […]

Wind, Wires, and Fire
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   September 10, 2020

The devastating Paradise Fire of 2018 was caused by sparking from Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E’s) high-voltage transmission lines that run through all sorts of back country and forests in Northern California. Unfortunately, that tragedy is but one of dozens of fires started from high-voltage transmission lines which, by definition, often run through forests and […]

Transmission Woes on Central Coast
By Rinaldo Brutoco   |   March 26, 2020

Southern Santa Barbara County is literally at the end of the line in terms of the electrical transmission grid. Sixty-six percent of our power is carried through a single pair of high voltage transmission lines owned by Southern California Edison (Edison). They sit in the back of the foothills that ring our county and bring […]

Microgrid Moves Forward
By Kelly Mahan Herrick   |   February 28, 2019

In a unanimous vote on Monday, February 25, the Montecito Fire Protection District Board of Directors authorized Fire Chief Chip Hickman to enter into negotiations with Clean Coalition, a non-profit whose mission is to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and a modern energy grid.  Craig Lewis, founder of Clean Coalition, explained to the Board […]

Taking Initiative
By Richard Mineards   |   April 26, 2018

After the Thomas Fire and flash floods that decimated our rarefied enclave, the World Business Academy and the Clean Coalition have combined to form the Montecito Community Microgrid Initiative. “Together we can create microgrids to ensure indefinite renewable-driven energy resilience for critical facilities, including the Montecito Fire Protection District headquarters and the Montecito Water District […]