July 16, 2008

On July 7, New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced the long-term action plan to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions from the city's municipal buildings and operations by 30 percent by 2017.

The long-term plan is a comprehensive guide to reducing the city's carbon footprint, through making city buildings more efficient, improving preventive maintenance, capturing energy potential at wastewater treatment plants, and more. The plan was developed by the Energy Conservation Steering Committee created by an executive order signed by the mayor in October, 2007.

July 16, 2008

The world's eyes will soon be on China. As millions watch the Olympic Games there this August, the nation will also be telling a refreshing story -- one that focuses on how it plans to increase its use of green energy.

China's vibrant economy is blossoming at 10 percent annually. But the paradox is that it must expand its energy consumption to feed this growth and in a way that does not contribute to its already poor air quality. The preponderance of the fuel it now consumes is coal, although it wants to make the switch to cleaner burning alternatives. The good news is that the nation is rich in hydropower sources while it is exploring other options such as nuclear, wind, solar, biomass and energy conservation.

July 11, 2008

America's energy policy is at the center of the presidential contest. The debate has escalated into a war of words now that President Bush is pushing Congress to pass recently introduced legislation that would lift the ban on offshore drilling.

The comments have ignited a long-standing feud between conservatives and liberals who generally hold different views on how to end this country's dependence on foreign oil as well as how to approach environmental policies. Republicans want to work with those states that favor increased oil and gas production to enact policies that would allow drilling in areas that are at least 100 miles offshore - a cause repubiated by leading Democrats who say that such policies capitulate to big industry.

July 7, 2008

Energy prices may be going through the roof. But some plans to add capacity by building liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities are being driven under.

Will those efforts thwart America's attempt to expand its energy arsenal? Global markets for LNG are escalating, necessitating more investment in production, transportation and re-gasification. The industry is attracting billions from top tier players that weigh their investment decisions. Risks abound. But the overwhelming demand for new natural gas supplies appears to trump other considerations.

July 2, 2008

Utilities are now in the heat of battle. While they would like to maximize their sales, they must now persuade their customers to save energy. It's a quest that will help defer investments in expensive and contentious infrastructure and in doing so, prevent the release of some harmful emissions.

Instead of investing millions in power plants to meet the 100 or so hours a year when energy demand is highest, utilities are turning to their customers to reduce energy usage during these peak hours. Demand response is giving commercial and industrial concerns more insight into the energy that their facilities consume. By knowing this, they can consume power during those times that are most favorable to the utilities' rate structure.