July 07, 2010

The BP oil spill could give biofuels the bump they need to fuel America's automobiles and hit the road running. Ethanol advocates are saying that they are ready to step up production, although others are cautioning against the move.

Federal policies already favor ethanol production as a way to lessen the dependence on foreign oil and as an innovative to way to clean the air. Critics say that such as strategy is not working, however, pointing out that because most of today's ethanol is made from corn, it is causing food shortages. They are also saying that it is not as clean as it purports to be. Greening the transportation sector, they argue, centers for now on electric cars.

July 05, 2010 

"What I like most about my job is that I cannot exceed the imagination of my colleagues," said Byron Washom, the University of California at San Diego's director of strategic energy initiatives. "I bring in former utility colleagues of mine, and the first thing they say when they visit the [UCSD] campus is time travel."

However, for UCSD insiders like Washom, the innovations his colleagues refer to are not futuristic. They merely form the backbone of a university that predicates progress on the sustainability of its campus.

July 02, 2010

West Virginia has staked a claim as the first state in the nation to have what is being depicted as a legitimate statewide smart grid plan in place and is moving toward implementation.

And while other states may argue West Virginia's status of being first, there's no missing the indications that both Appalachian Power -- a unit of American Electric Power -- and Allegheny Power, the West Virginia electric-delivery arm of Allegheny Energy, are striving for substantial headway in their West Virginia smart grid plans and initiatives.

Below are a few letters received at EnergyBiz Insider on topics that appeared in the past few weeks. They capture the essence of how many readers say they feel.
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June 30, 2010

Insiders at Commonwealth Edison figured they would ace their advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) pilot program rollout. Who, after all, wouldn't be thrilled to delve into a survey and eight scintillating pages of intricate text detailing all the bells and whistles that automated metering infrastructure makes possible? Their customers, it turns out. Consequently, last summer's introduction landed with a resounding thud.

"Our focus groups were totally confused," said Val Jensen, vice president of marketing and environmental programs at the Chicago-based investor owned utility. "When we tested our prototype, we found out we completely missed the boat."