Energy management firm Hara received $25 million of funding today, writes TechCrunch. Keep reading →
Peter Gardett
Posts by Peter Gardett
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“We’re going to change the way large scale capital is deployed for energy and resource solutions, so I need someone who can talk to government with a lot more grace than I would otherwise do.”
Adam Grosser
Kraftwerk Capital
Discussing his hiring of former deputy Energy Secretary Cathy Zoi (above). Keep reading →
The US energy sector has a surprising amount of Canada in it.
Canada’s energy industry is a major driver of that country’s economy, even in areas where development of new fuel resources isn’t the focus. Cheap hydropower helps underpin the manufacturing sector in the Eastern part of the country, while access to a vast array of natural resources in Alberta and British Columbia are major parts of the western provincial economies. Keep reading →
Exelon’s proposed $7.9 billion purchase of Constellation is either the end of an era in electricity trading, or the beginning of “power markets 3.0.” Keep reading →
If you don’t know what a nacelle is, don’t worry – most people, even in the energy business, don’t.
Although it sounds like some sort of mythic creature, a nacelle is actually a device in a wind turbine that allows it to turn and maximize the amount of wind power it garners. The people at Siemens take that basic explanation and turn it into a (beautifully shot, documentary-style) video, which they’ve allowed us to feature here: Keep reading →
This video from the Alliance to Save Energy outlines a retrofit project that took place at the residence of the US Ambassador to Belgium. The savings outlined are impressive, including a cut of more than half in electricity usage for lighting. Among the speakers on the video are the Alliance’s president Kateri Callahan as well as representatives of a number of major energy and consumer goods firms.
But the more impressive part of the video is in the project’s broader applicability. The brands that the Alliance used in the residence are largely major global brands, not expensive niche products from inaccessible companies. The key takeaway is that the lessons on energy saving that come from this relatively high-end project can be used in a wide variety of settings to monitor and save electricity. Keep reading →
More than a decade after deregulation of the electricity sector began the process of creative destruction by ending the monopoly of power companies over customer service areas, utilities are doing their best to rebuild the full-service model for a new era.
Exelon, a Chicago-based company with a large generation portfolio but minimal exposure to the customer side of the electricity business, will pay $7.9 billion in an all-equity deal to take on floundering Constellation Energy of Baltimore. The two companies hope to close the deal in early 2012, and have written a daunting combined $1 billion worth of breakup fees into the agreement to guarantee only regulatory objections could halt their tie-up. Keep reading →
Increased operations and maintenance expenditures compounded declining revenue imposed by decreased overall demand for electricity in the Southeast, massive US utility Southern Company said in its first-quarter earnings released today.
The company reported $422 million in profit in the first quarter of 2011, down from $495 million in the same period a year ago. Keep reading →
As Japan continues to reel amid an ongoing crisis following the earthquake of March 11, the US electricity sector is bracing itself to deal with a backlash against the recently-resurgent nuclear power industry.
An explosion at the Fukushima nuclear power plant caused by the earthquake has sparked an ongoing effort to control the reactor and potentially dangerous fallout from the unit prompting renewed concerns about nuclear power in the US. Keep reading →
Chinese Walls
By Peter Gardett“China” remains one of the most loaded words in the energy business. Keep reading →