With leadership in the global economy and in the energy industry increasingly up for grabs among new players and established giants, demonstrating leadership and innovation has become an essential tool for attracting investors and placating regulators.
Oil giant Chevron has staked out its territory in the leadership race today with the announcement of a “groundbreaking” strategic partnership with the Washington, DC-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. Keep reading →
FT, Wash Post editorials: #Germany’s #nuclear shutdown no policy to emulate http://on.ft.com/inv5pC http://wapo.st/m3Okzl #energy @INL
John Bryson, former CEO of Edison International, a major utility owner, and chairman of solar company BrightSolar, is President Obama’s choice for the next Secretary of Commerce.
The President was sure to cite Bryson’s energy past in his speech announcing the nomination, underlining the administration’s recent approach to energy industry innovation and clean energy as job creation engines and economic drivers. Keep reading →
The presence of Canadian electricity in the Northeastern US is often a surprise to consumers. If a number of developers, bankers and regulators get their way, more of that power will flow south.
Here, Breaking Energy correspondent Janet Whitman discusses her story “Northern Star” and the opportunities and challenges that stem from new energy projects proposed for Eastern Canada. Keep reading →
“The results from these case studies demonstrate that variability needs not be an impediment to deployments.”
“As long as power systems and markets are properly configured so they can get the best use of their flexible resources, large shares of variable renewables are entirely feasible from the balancing perspective.” Keep reading →
It has not always been easy to defend the massive energy programs included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the stimulus.
Here the Department of Energy provides a detailed example of businesses that benefited from the energy efficiency funds include in the ARRA. The video focuses on St Paul in Minnesota, and has the unusual benefit, for a government video, of being short and to the point. Keep reading →
The future of nuclear energy post-Fukushima is a major outstanding question in the energy industry.
The need for reliable, large-scale electricity generation to replace steadily-retiring coal units and aging nuclear plants is obvious, and until earlier this year nuclear seemed like the best option. Keep reading →
There seems to be some uncertainty whether the United States is the Saudi Arabia of natural gas, the Saudi Arabia of coal. Perhaps as President Obama says in this video, its “both, and” not “either, or.”
The President is talking about energy policy, but its interesting to remember that the Administration has acknowledged the centrality of coal, which continues to generate roughly half of US electricity, despite a sustained focus on renewable fuels. Keep reading →
With its latest new product announcement, globe-spanning conglomerate GE is trying to solve several of the electricity sector’s most pressing challenges at once.
The new FlexEfficiency 50 Combined Cycle Power Plant design was announced today in Paris, amid claims that the unit’s ability to quickly cycle up to full power and operate at a very high 61% operating efficiency make it a game changer in the industry. Keep reading →
The only way for utilities to meet demand as they retire coal-fired power plants will be to build a host of new natural-gas fired units, Deutsche Bank Vice President and Climate Change Research Analyst Nils Mellquist says in this Breaking Energy podcast.
Mellquist speaks here with Breaking Energy’s Felicity Carus after a presentation at the Ceres conference in California where he said the US had the potential to become the “Saudi Arabia of gas.” Keep reading →
