The fall season is in full swing in the energy industry with only a few mishaps to darken the mood.
To usher in a new academic year, Breaking Energy is highlighting some of the Top Fives across the industry, from law firms and regulators to unique project financing and innovative technologies.
Each day, a gallery will feature one new category.
Check out the ones that have already been published: Top Five Energy Law Firms, Top Five Energy Regulators and Top Five International Energy Partnerships.
A curve ball hit the industry last week when a small technical failure set off a prolonged blackout across southern California, Arizona and northern Mexico. See the data on recent blackouts in this infographic: Reliability In The Focus, Again.
The failure had some in the industry calling for greater investment in infrastructure development and smart grid deployment. Read more: Could A Self-Healing Smart Grid Have Prevented The SDG&E Blackout?
One group even suggested a smart grid seal, like the LEED certification, that would officially stamp smart grid operations for their reliability, efficiency and communication with consumers. Read the full story: The Smart Grid Seal Of Approval.
The calls for more widespread smart grid implementation were timed with GridWeek, an annual national smart grid conference that took place this week in Washington D.C.
Breaking Energy’s Margaret Ryan attended the conference and found that the relationship with consumers is of top concern to smart grid developers who see that adoption of meters is lagging. Entrepreneurs are trying to find ways to make smart grid ‘cool’ for tech-savvy consumers. Read the full story: Inside Grid Week: Smart Grid Needs To Find Its Cool.
But whatever one’s personal opinion on smart grid, industry insiders largely recognize that revamping the American power grid and its infrastructure are not going to be simple tasks. Read more: The Simple Complexity Of Energy Infrastructure.
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Photo Caption: Workers stand in a dark building lobby after a massive blackout hit Southern California September 8, 2011 in in San Diego, California. Approximately 1.5 million residents from Southern Orange County to Northern Baja lost power.
