Wind power is one of the fastest-growing forms of new power generation in the United States. Industry growth in 2007 was an astounding 45%. New wind power installations constituted 35% of all new electric power installations.

By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY

Here's a shocker: Electricity bills are heading up. Way up.

Utilities across the USA are raising power prices up to 29%, mostly to pay for soaring fuel costs, but also to build new plants and refurbish an aging power grid.

Even more dramatic rate increases are ahead. The mounting electric bills will further squeeze households struggling with spiraling gasoline prices.

"Consumers now face a tough reality on electricity," says Mark Cooper of Consumer Federation of America.

June 16, 2008

It's the break heard around the world. And it's happening in Canada, where the two most populated provinces have eschewed a plan by the federal government and are instead developing their own ideas to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The premiers of Ontario and Quebec say that they are compelled to create mandatory standards whereby industry would have to cut its global warming pollution and use 1990 as a baseline by which to measure results. That runs counter to one submitted by the current Canadian national government that would rely on a "floating cap" but one in which it says greenhouse gases would be cut by 20 percent by 2020.

June 13, 2008

Regulatory pressure is bringing about the improvements. But the bottom line is that major utilities with coal-fired operations are investing in modern pollution control equipment.

While it may not be the ideal solution, it is a step forward. The country is now grappling with how to add generation capacity and specifically the role of coal-fired plants. Pressure is building for those generators to be cleaned up and as a result, industry analysts expect that most such facilities will add scrubbing equipment by the end of the decade or they will shut down. While the costs will be passed on to ratepayers, the plants would produce cleaner energy and the investments in technology would spawn new jobs.

June 11, 2008

Clean coal is an imperative. Some breakthrough technologies to achieve that goal now exist while others are years away. One such concept is to use waste carbon emissions from power plants to grow algae, which is subsequently converted to energy and because those releases would re-cycled, carbon dioxide emissions would be cut in half.

Views range from enthusiastic to reserved. It's a sensible alternative but one that will not end the debate over which fuel sources will best meet the global community's future energy needs. In fact, if the theory can be scaled up and used at power plants, the subsequent reduced emissions might even encourage the use of coal.

June 4, 2008

Electricity is in the air now that that NRG Energy had bid $11.3 billion for Calpine Corp. If the deal between the two unregulated power merchants goes through, it would send a positive economic vibe that, despite liquidity concerns, the sector will remain vibrant.

After a severe trough, independent power producers appear poised for takeoff. As individual enterprises, though, they lack the financial wherewithal and the economies of scale to increase productivity and efficiencies. Through consolidation, they can achieve such gains -- all within the context of expected generation shortages combined with projected rises in demand. Risks still exist, however, as uncertain regulations, escalating construction costs and stiffer lending standards dampen the atmosphere.