Peter Gardett

 

Posts by Peter Gardett

Think of Texas and the mental movie is obvious: old fashioned oil rigs, big hats, big hair, big boots and conservative politics. Not much room for innovation, information technology, renewable energy or energy efficiency efforts in that narrative, but Texas confounds expectations. Keep reading →


If any sector would seem unlikely to be singled out for its robust dealmaking outlook, renewable energy might seem to be it. After a surge in investment and in installations over the past decade, renewable energy seemed to run out of road in 2012, undermined by extreme competition, low natural gas prices and limits on government assistance in a budget-constrained environment.

But 2012 proved to be a surprise for analysts of the renewable energy sector, analyst from consulting and accountancy firm Deloitte said in their most recent overview of the sector’s merger and acquisition activity. Keep reading →


The promise of remarkably abundant natural gas in the US appears to be as real as the industry has claimed, with the latest estimates from the country’s scientific body charged with evaluating recoverable gas reserves issuing a blockbuster upgrade.

The new recoverable reserves number is the highest in the 48 years the Potential Gas Committee, a nonprofit organization of sector experts hosted by the Colorado School of Mines, has been issuing its evaluations. The last record number was issued in 2010 as the full scale of the impact of hydraulic fracturing technology was just making itself felt across the entire economy, and the Committee’s perceived uncertainty about how accessible reserves would actually be following the issuance of that record number caused consternation that industry had been overselling the potential of the fuel. Keep reading →


If you trade an energy product over the counter rather than on an exchange, you probably need to get yourself a CICI number by Wednesday (April 10). That’s the deadline the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has set up for firms that haven’t been exempted from reporting information on their “swaps” activity to the government as part of the lengthy and complex implementation of the Dodd Frank financial sector reform.

Because the government just loves a good acronym, CICI stands for “CTFC Interim Compliant Identifier” that results in an “LEI” or a “legal entity identifier” for the purposed of reporting details of energy swaps trade and counterparties. The CFTC, concerned that some would miss the deadline, issued an advisory with much more information here. Keep reading →


Energy law was a star performer for the sector in the first quarter of 2013.

Only a spate of mega-deals in the technology, media and telecoms space kept energy sector legal work from once again taking the top spot in law firm activity in the first quarter of 2013 according to the latest rankings and data from Mergermarket. Keep reading →


The US federal government has set aside more than a quarter of a billion dollars to fund the demonstration of a small modular (SMR) nuclear reactor in the US, with potential total funding rising to close to half a billion dollars. With smaller-scale nuclear technology widely discussed as the future of the troubled sector, a whos-who of companies are expected to participate in the project and apply for the funds.

Westinghouse Electric Company, based in Pittsburgh but part of Japan’s Toshiba, has submitted a letter of intent saying it will compete for the SMR nuclear deployment acceleration grant. The company is showcasing a 225 MW-equivalent integral pressurized water reactor that leverages technology from its already-licensed AP1000 nuclear power plant design. Keep reading →


A Boston startup has turned into a leading building performance analytics provider in recent years as it has helped property owners save significant sums by monitoring their utility data. The company, called WegoWise, now says it has the “largest database of utility in multifamily buildings,” and is extending its platform to cover commercial property as well.

One of their first commercial property customers is Liberty Property Trust, a $7 billion REIT currently using WegoWise to track utility usage over 2.9 million square feet of its portfolio, and is rolling out usage across its 81 million square feet of property. Keep reading →


While there are some nagging questions, Texas is spending $6.8 billion on new transmission lines to deliver electricity from wind farms in West Texas to its major metro areas such as Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.

And while it’s certainly a plus for the state, its economy and jobs, that transmission investment also is attracting developers who plan to spend $3.3 billion on new wind farms that will generate 1,633 MW of new capacity in the next two years, according to a story in Sustainable Business. Keep reading →


Even with well-established forms of energy development like oil and gas, the science on impacts to the environment can be hard to quantify and harder to predict. The challenge for sectors like the wind industry – comparatively new in its current form – are even higher given the lack of operational data, but as in other areas, the wind business is sprinting to get ahead.

A number of wind energy industry leaders joined several years ago with major environmental groups to form the American Wind Wildlife Institute, which plays several roles but represents an early effort by the sector to be certain wind energy development remains attractive while assuaging or minimizing concerns about impacts on wildlife. Keep reading →


More than 60 years after its founding, the Nature Conservancy is amping up its efforts to reach its membership and readers of its eponymous magazine. The publication recently relaunched with a more-frequent publishing schedule, a digital edition app and a slate of prizes.

Nature Conservancy magazine is also taking advertising for the first time, which Publisher Teresa Duran says reflects the spirit of the group’s long-held belief that the private sector has an important role to play in conservation. Keep reading →

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