Source: New York Times
By ERIC A. TAUB
Published: July 28, 2008

When the Sentry Equipment Corporation in Oconomowoc, Wis., was considering how to light its new factory last year, the company’s president, Michael Farrell, decided to try something new: light emitting diodes, or L.E.D.’s.

"I knew L.E.D.’s were used in stoplights. I wondered why they can’t be used in buildings," Mr. Farrell said. "So I went on a mission."

What Mr. Farrell found was a light source that many of the biggest bulb manufacturers are now convinced will supplant incandescent bulbs and compact fluorescent bulbs.

July 30, 2008

Skyrocketing compensation is now under scrutiny. Utility execs have been rewarded handsomely in the past but tough times may change all that.

In 2008, utility CEOs are facing two contradictory trends in compensation. An SNL Energy survey reveals that CEO compensation at most utilities has been rising. At the same time that pay packages are expanding, many boards are linking compensation to performance and not just rubberstamping bonuses and stock options. Nonetheless, many boards seem reluctant to crack down on rising CEO bonuses, continue to offer more stock options and sometimes yield to CEO demands even when the stock price is lagging.

July 28, 2008

You don't have to be a member of the Energy Bar Association to practice energy law, but it helps.

"It's clearly helpful -- it gives you a chance to meet with people you're going to be dealing with outside a situation that is adversarial," says Jason Leif, a partner at Jones Day and past president of the group's regional chapter in Houston. "It carries over into your practice -- you have those relationships you wouldn't have otherwise."

The Energy Bar Association, which is affiliated with the American Bar Association, is a voluntary, nonprofit organization, so it's not like a state bar or the Supreme Court bar, which you have to join if you want to practice law in that jurisdiction.

July 25, 2008

Tight credit won't prevent utility asset sales. The expected increase in power demand coupled with the need for more investment in infrastructure will continue to drive domestic and foreign enterprises to seek opportunities in North America.

The objective is to leverage assets and to increase earnings growth. Today's environment, however, differs from what it was a couple years ago when some megadeals such as Duke Energy and Cinergy were consummated. The lack of liquidity that now exists has trimmed the list of would-be suitors. As such, the firms with the strongest balance sheets that can still get access to debt financing will guide the process.

July 23, 2008

Nuclear energy now has a big endorsement from world leaders who say it is an effective means to slow global warming. But the Group of Eight cautioned that any future development must abide by nuclear nonproliferation standards.

The solid support is more of a symbolic gesture -- one that officially takes nuclear power out of the backrooms and into the limelight. For three decades the fuel source had been a taboo topic. But today the global community is focused on energy security and environmental awareness. Indeed, the growing demand for fossil fuels has not just placed upward pressure on prices but it has also added to concerns over greenhouse gas emissions. Multiple nations have reacted with plans to construct new nuclear power facilities, which is why many international leaders are standing behind the idea.