Lean construction and engineering principles are designed to identify and eliminate waste, and its continued growth is producing multiple benefits to all stakeholders. “Lean principles empower all stakeholders, from craft workers to management, with the ability to improve their work environment, thereby making their daily work practices better,” said Troy Ochoa, Project Manager and Lean… Keep reading →
Electric utility company business model which took off in 1880s with the first power station in lower Manhattan providing electricity to 59 customers has not much changed since. This is indeed unique as very few other businesses have shown strong resistance to change. Over the last few years though, the electric industry is witnessing certain… Keep reading →
Local utility caves in to pressure, finally Having been slapped by the regulators for being slow and unimaginative – that is putting it politely – Hawaiian Electric Company was forced to make an about face. HECO now says it will get 67% of its electricity from renewables by 2030%, a third of that from… Keep reading →
By sitting around and watching opportunities pass by Warren Buffet, the legendary investor who has been at the helm of Berkshire Hathaway and made a fortune for himself and his shareholders, was once asked how to make a million. His answer: Buy an airline for a billion and watch your investment shrink to a million.… Keep reading →
Renewable energy sources and natural gas should be considered as complements and not rivals. A hybrid gas-electric clean energy provides a workable engineering solution while 100% Renewables models based heavily on wind, solar and efficiency fall short of the meeting the functional needs of a modern technology intensive society. Natural gas and renewables are already… Keep reading →
A timely question That is among the questions being asked not just in the US but nearly in any country where self-generation, in one form or another, already is or is likely to become cost-effective. It is also a key question in the context of the net energy metering (NEM) debate in the US or… Keep reading →
The US Energy Information Administration puts out reams of data on US and international energy, covering almost the full spectrum of sources – oil, gas, nuclear, renewables – as well as consumption, production, imports, exports, prices, storage, etc. But energy markets are vast, often disjointed, and sometimes lacking in transparency. And there may be some… Keep reading →
The Chevron-Apache Kitimat LNG export project in British Columbia has the potential to capitalize on Canada’s vast natural gas resources, as well as the proximity of its western coast to Asian markets. But it is also up against competition from producing countries like Australia, where the buildout of LNG export infrastructure is already well underway,… Keep reading →
CPUC passes controversial mandate for 1.3 gigawatts of batteries, grid storage by 2020 California’s status as the vanguard in pushing energy storage technologies onto the power grid is now official. On Thursday, the California Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved its proposed mandate (PDF) that will require the state’s big three investor-owned utilities to add 1.3… Keep reading →
By Sri Jegarajah The risk of a disorderly decline in benchmark U.S. crude futures is growing after a four-week rally sent prices to 16-month highs and money managers amassed record bullish bets, defying an economic slowdown in China and the North American shale energy supply boom. WTI (West Texas Intermediate, the oil grade underpinning the U.S. crude futures… Keep reading →
