June 02, 2010

The economic forecast is not exactly clear but that has not stopped the country's risk takers from stepping out. By all accounts, venture capital investment in the clean technology sector is starting to shine with the electric automobile sector, energy efficiency and wind and solar projects taking in the biggest shares.

Despite the start and stop nature of the financial recovery, investors are allocating capital to projects that they think will be supported by public policy and where federal stimulus monies may be awarded. Toward that end, plug-in vehicles that could help reduce dependence on foreign oil are winning attention as is the intelligent utility that allows two-way communications between utilities and customers.

May 28, 2010

Note to readers: The following story first appeared in UtiliPoint's Issue on 8-8-03. In recent weeks, I've watched a documentary on CNBC regarding Enron's plight, and this has been coupled with the scrutiny now given to the investment banking world. In thinking about these issues over and over, I have thought about what I would say to readers with respect to the media's role -- only to realize that I've written it before. And with UtiliPoint's permission, Energy Central has decided to re-run this particularly story, with slight modifications to keep it somewhat current.

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May 26, 2010

The United States has talked about the potential benefits of solar energy since the days of Jimmy Carter's presidency. To date, the technology has had a minimal effect on the nation's energy supply, but that may soon change, thanks to the work of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Known for its top-notch engineering program, the university has recently taken the lead in energy research. In the fall of 2006, the academic institution forged the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI), a program designed to bring all of the university's top minds together to work on solving energy problems. "MITEI represents the largest cross-campus initiative that MIT has ever undertaken," noted Ernest Moniz, director of the MITEI and a member of President Obama's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Approximately 20 percent of the faculty is working on various energy projects, and half of them have never focused on energy issues before.

May 24, 2010

Long before carbon cap-and-trade or renewable energy mandates became part of the utility lexicon, California was out in front developing green energy. California is still way out in front in one important way, but there are plenty of followers, with utilities everywhere building and buying renewable energy assets from coast-to-coast.

With mandates for renewable energy in 29 states, California is the leader with a target of 20 percent by the end of this year and 33 percent by 2020. The state is at a pace that's way ahead of everybody else's, but the significance is diminished when so many others are doing the same thing, though at lower levels. There's an expectation in the industry, even today after climate legislation became bogged down in Congress over the past year, that some form of carbon regulation is inevitable. And with big-ticket nuclear still a few years away and new coal construction at a virtual standstill, utilities are in the renewables game, whether they like it or not.

May 21, 2010 
 
Europe's utility regulatory model is now unfolding. But the process hasn't been an easy one as commissioners there have wrestled with how to dislodge national interests.

For more than a year now, the European Commission has forced utilities to legally separate their generation assets from their transmission lines. The goals have been to increase the opportunities for alternative and greener energy suppliers while also enabling the flow of technology, reducing inefficiencies and, perhaps cutting costs.