Corporate

Top Issue for Munis and Cooperatives? Low Rates for Customers

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The municipal and cooperative power companies that make up the country’s public power utilities have a completely different set of concerns and priorities than their IOU cousins. A Users Conference Survey conducted with utility customers of smart grid communications company Tantalus found that their focus and investment priorities for 2013 are the new technologies that will ensure low electricity costs for ratepayers.

Tantalus CEO Eric Murray commented “This survey demonstrates what we already know from our experience working with public power utilities for more than a decade – that they are dedicated first and foremost to serving their customers with reliable, cost-effective power. By adopting energy saving applications that keep rates down, utilities not only show their commitment to their customers, but they also invest in a cleaner, smarter grid.” Keep reading →

 /  Published December 5, 2012 at 2:30 PM

Australian Energy: Greening ‘Oz’ Infographic

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Australia has punched above its weight in the global energy sector for years, with its huge natural resources providing a platform for the country’s economy that allowed it to outperform much of the world throughout the lingering post-crisis recessions in the developed world.

The country’s consumers and companies are energy investors and energy leaders, and issues surrounding energy usage and regulation have been political and cultural flashpoints in Australia in recent years. That means that the focus on Australian customers by pollsters and analysts pulling together the Corporate Renewable Energy Index and the Global Consumer Wind Study on behalf of wind company Vestas, TNS Gallup and Bloomberg New Energy Finance formed some of the key figures and results for a sector eyeing a transition to a “clean” economy. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 4, 2012 at 11:15 AM

GE’s Grid IQ Solutions as a Service (SaaS)

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GE’s Grid IQ Solutions as a Service (SaaS) helps utilities deliver grid modernization technologies, while enabling consumers to use energy more efficiently

Grid modernization projects typically come with a sizable capital-investment requirement and a certain amount of risk when making a long-term technology decision. In addition, there are deployment risks with integrating the disparate software applications associated with delivering the desired level of grid automation. Many small- and mid-market utilities that deliver electric utility services or additional water and gas utility services can benefit from GE’s SaaS offering. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 3, 2012 at 1:30 PM

Energy Industry at Doha: How to Solve the Global Trilemma

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Global energy industry leaders gathered in Doha, Qatar this week for the latest round of international talks on climate change pressed with renewed urgency for changes in government approaches to energy, offering specific recommendations alongside rankings gathered by the World Energy Council in partnership with consultancy Oliver Wyman.

“Leaders in the energy industry want to make sustainable energy a reality, but there’s a real mismatch between what we’re seeing and what we’re doing,” Oliver Wyman partner Mark Robson told Breaking Energy ahead of the release of a report called “World Energy Trilemma: Time to get real – the case for sustainable energy policy.” Keep reading →

 /  Published December 1, 2012 at 4:00 AM

Canada’s Petronas Acquisition Decision Will Impact North American LNG Exports

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With global LNG demand projected to exceed supply by a wide margin, the prospects for North American exports of liquefied natural gas are exceptionally strong. But an unexpected development has raised a question about Canadian participation in this emerging export opportunity.

The question is: Will the Canadian government decide to block any of the pending acquisitions of its E&P players by foreign energy majors? Keep reading →

 /  Published November 30, 2012 at 1:45 PM

Disruptive Energy Technology: GTL Promises Gas Revolution

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The nation is flooded with natural gas. For the last twelve months, the amount of gas available to the market exceeds five-year averages. With more gas than anyone can use, producers are now looking for new consumers. Two new opportunities have emerged and one could disrupt the nation’s economy in some very positive ways.

Less than five years ago it looked like North America’s natural gas market was going to become highly dependent on foreign imports. Anticipating a growing need to offset declining natural resources, investors built eleven liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminals along the east coast and the Gulf of Mexico. Seven more were approved by federal regulators. But during the last 12 months, very little LNG was imported. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 29, 2012 at 1:00 PM

NGV Market Set For Organic (Not Government Led) Growth: Westport CEO

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Government can help the natural gas vehicle industry to gain a foothold in the market, but isn’t likely to work as a stimulus in the long run because many executives distrust its abilities to sustain support, according to the head of a leading maker of natural gas engine technology.

David Demers, chief executive of Westport Innovations said incentive programs are always fragile because they are subject to shifting political winds, and can cause serious disruption if they are withdrawn, so business leaders are more inclined to build their models on the basis of market forces. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 28, 2012 at 10:30 AM

Natural Gas Research ‘Space Race’ Is On

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It has taken a couple of years for the energy industry to acknowledge a new reality: Natural gas availability is soaring in contravention of forecasting models that have been in use for decades, and the fuel is set to transform everything from power generation and transport to chemicals and even the trade deficit.

As old operating realities have been thrown out the window, as major oil players increasingly become natural gas companies, as billions of dollars of investment in proposed export terminals is argued over inside the sector and out, the strategic arm of this most strategic of industries is racing to catch up. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 20, 2012 at 11:45 AM

The Psychology of Small-Scale Solar

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Solar’s economics are increasingly attractive yet often poorly understood. Does solar have an image problem?

Businesses small and large – but particularly those with high electricity costs – can achieve considerable savings and create long-term price certainty by installing a solar electric system instead of purchasing electricity from their utility. In fact, every business with a minimum of space (for the solar system) and high electricity costs should examine solar’s potential to reduce overhead in the short- and long-term. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 19, 2012 at 2:30 PM

Energy Experience Balanced by Urgency: Opening USAEE

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Elite economists and analysts from around North America and the world gathered in Austin, Texas this week for the US Association for Energy Economics North America conference. Breaking Energy has been on the ground at the event, covering sustainable energy and anticipated impacts of the US presidential election, as well as responses to Hurricane Sandy.

Unusual for its diversity of approaches and subject areas, the USAEE conference mixes deep dives into areas of technical and financial analysis with broader sweeps of trends driving the business. The mix of attendees, which includes everything from Pulitzer Prize winning authors and senior energy company executives to college students, also balances the sector-specific discussions with valuable real-world and operational insight. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 6, 2012 at 9:30 AM
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