November 26, 2008 Unrelenting growth in power consumption, a switch for cleaner energy sources, pollution control efforts and pent-up demand for new generation sources have all combined to create a boom in power plant building in recent years.

The power plant boom may continue because of this demand, even with a credit crisis that gained steam in the summer and caused stock markets to plunge in the fall. Large plants that take years to plan and then construct can't simply be stopped once they reach a certain point.

November 21, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama can't win. Coal associations are skeptical of his energy plans because he is pushing carbon cuts before the technologies to fully achieve such aims have matured. Environmentalists are also cautious and contend that his advocacy of "clean coal" does not make sense.

Coal will continue to be an integral energy source. Improving and developing the tools to make it cleaner does not contradict alternative energy producing methods. The reality is that long-term energy demand will trend higher and therefore necessitate a diversified fuel mix. Each possibility must then be pressed to be its best. That includes coal, which will be under intensified pressure now that the Democrats control Washington.

November 19, 2008

Good ole ingenuity will eventually lift the world economy. It's the same entrepreneurial spirit that will also advance the work being done to diversify transportation fuels.

Any material that contains the critical chemical compounds can be converted to motor fuel. The technologies are promising and can use agricultural, municipal or industrial waste as well as coal or natural gas. But the key unknowns are what the actual costs of such endeavors will be along with where commodity prices will head over time.

November 14, 2008

Exelon Corp. is eyeing NRG Energy. But NRG is playing hard to get and may be waiting for a more attractive suitor. Exelon, though, is determined and now says that it will take its $6.2 billion directly to the merchant power generator's shareholders, adding that it will sue NRG's management because it allegedly did not give the bid proper consideration.

A down economy generally leads to greater consolidation across the business spectrum. The utility industry is no different. During such times, those with the financial resources are well-positioned to make strategic acquisitions. Chicago-based Exelon, however, has been jilted before. Essentially, it likes Princeton, N.J.-based NRG because it owns a fleet of productive and unregulated generation assets that it says can immediately add shareholder value -- in a way that can avert a jaundiced look from state regulators.

November 12, 2008

Liquefied natural gas is now taking a back seat to other fuels, and especially since the global credit crisis has taken hold. But over the next decade and as the demand for power resumes, it could assume a notable role in the country's overall energy plan.

Despite growing energy demand from the four corners of the world, the United States will be able to attract LNG supplies from foreign suppliers. Even though other nations will pay higher prices for such natural gas in the near term, this nation will become a lucrative market for LNG providers because of its sustained energy demand, its strong infrastructure and its reliability as a partner.