June 28, 2010

Green investments are good for the wallet. That's the conclusion of some financial advisors, who are saying that the technologies that underscore such endeavors will become increasingly accepted and part of everyday life.

Allocating capital to those businesses with an eye to cleaning the environment or releasing fewer emissions had once been considered "feel-good" operations. Now, though, it has become an integral strategy among many money managers. The goal is not just to make a difference but to also earn respectable returns.

June 25, 2010

With pressures on utilities to reduce peak loads and integrate variable renewables, third-party demand response (DR) solution providers are playing an important role as a bridge between the power supplier and commercial, industrial and institutional customers to manage peak demand.

Whether utilities see third parties as competitors or helpmates, they are a useful route to getting DR quickly and cost efficiently. Over the past decade, as a consequence of providing a much needed service, they are an industry force forging partnerships with utilities around the world.

June 23, 2010

Notions of green energy are breezing their way throughout the country. But incorporating those ideas into practice is still encountering plenty of obstacles. If the nation is to reach a goal of supplying 20 percent of its power from wind by 2024, then it must begin constructing the necessary infrastructure.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is saying that such a lofty goal is technically feasible but that it cannot happen unless there is an expansion of the transmission system. Otherwise, wind's growth would be stunted and the nation's dependence on fossil fuels would increase.

June 21, 2010

They sound like something from outer space. Well, actually they are. Geomagnetic disturbances can destroy satellites and power grids.

Scientists have the tools to provide some notice when the geomagnetic storms are ready to hit Earth. But the utility industry thinks it can do a better job of preparing for solar weather. To do so, though, requires collaboration between public and private entities -- a process that establishes a risk management paradigm and a cost allocation technique. While the odds of those storms hitting are small, they could cost billions to fix.

June 18, 2010

BP's oil spill cuts two ways in terms of nuclear energy. On the one hand, it would tend to bode well for the growth of the non-fossil-fired energy. On the hand, it begs for a greater dialogue about nuclear safety.

With images playing out every day on TV of thick, dark oil splattered all over the Gulf of Mexico, the nation is now looking inward and asking from which energy sources it should depend. The most consistent drum beat is coming from those who advocate sustainable fuels, but those who have long pushed for relatively pollution-free nuclear energy are not far behind. Before it can assume a leadership role in this debate, the industry must reassure a skeptical public.