Distribution

Energy Politics Supercycle Falters: AOL Energy Comment

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Markets run in cycles; we are all at the mercy of ups and downs in the macro and micro. Commodities markets, including those for energy, are often held to the dictates of “supercycles.” Infrastructure for commodities is so expensive, development timelines are so lengthy and the underlying shifts in demand and supply occur over such long phases that energy prices and resulting investments rise and fall over decades, not months.

The modern energy economy was born in one great supercycle around the middle of the twentieth century, and we are still its heirs. In the wake of a privately-sponsored boom in energy technology development and deployment in the 1920s, the US government responded to the inequities of the Great Depression of the 1930s by investing in huge electrification projects, choosing technologies, firms and energy types by fiat as it went. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 9, 2011 at 2:15 PM

Siemens Adds To Smart Grid Portfolio With eMeter Purchase

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The burgeoning global smart grid industry is beginning to consolidate as governments around the world look to use their energy resources more efficiency and limit carbon emissions without sacrificing electric reliability.

Siemens announced on Monday that it would acquire its long-time strategic smart grid partner, California-based eMeter, for an undisclosed sum, with the deal set to take effect mid-to-late December. eMeter specializes in smart meter data management software and is most famous for its EnergyIP platform, which can provide, readout and manage data produced by smart meters throughout a power grid. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 6, 2011 at 6:00 AM

Electrification As An Economic Megatrend: AOL Energy Week In Review

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Debates that have preoccupied and in some cases paralyzed growth in the US energy sector could be overshadowed by the development of a single megatrend at the heart of the global economy: the transition to electric drives in machines of all kinds.

While electric vehicles are the most visible aspect of that change, and with roughly 250 million cars on the road any switch from gasoline to electric is significant, the switch from motors driven by their own internal combustion devices to significantly more efficient electric systems is already occurring in many parts of the economy where the infrastructure and the focus on cost reduction already exists. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 2, 2011 at 2:30 PM

BrightSource Adds Storage To Solar In Bid To Even Out Power Supply

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The intermittent nature of solar power has long been its most obvious weakness. What happens when the sun stops shining? People still need power.

One California-based solar company, BrightSource Energy, says it has developed a way to solve the problem. On Monday the company announced that it will be including its SolarPLUS thermal energy storage technology to several of its concentrated solar power (CSP) solar plants. The storage units will allow power from the sun to be stored for the evening when the sun is no longer shining but demand is up. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 29, 2011 at 2:00 PM

Bloom Boxes Make Up New Fuel Cell Energy Center

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There are many uses for natural gas, the abundant resource that is emerging as America’s 21st century gold rush.

Hill International, a global construction risk management group, will be using natural gas to power another relatively new technology: fuel cells. Invented by Bloom Energy, the solid oxide fuel cell boxes–known as Bloom Boxes–will be grouped in a cluster and powered by natural gas to create the Red Lion Energy Center in New Castle County, Delaware, the companies announced on Monday. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 29, 2011 at 6:00 AM

Smart Meter Resistance Continues: Why Don’t Utilities Tell A Better Story?

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Nobody has ever accused utilities of being good at marketing. This lack of sales sophistication continues to haunt the industry. As you will read below, utilities around the country are facing complaints that the consumer benefits of smart meters don’t justify the cost. That’s because utilities have foolishly focused only on bill savings, failing to connect smart meters to reliability. This is particularly ironic in Connecticut, where policymakers and the public alike are up in arms about outages. Yet the state’s largest utility is only now starting to talk about the reliability benefits from grid modernization.

Even though at least 25% of U.S. homes and businesses already have a smart meter, the concept continues to face resistance in other parts of the country, according to an Associated Press story. Privacy and health concerns are often part of consumers’ fears. But the most difficult hurdle, it turns out, is documenting consumer benefits. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 22, 2011 at 9:00 AM

Making Turkey Less Foul

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As Americans stock up on Turkey meat for Thanksgiving dinners, farmers scramble to feed those families. When its all over, they will be left with not only some profit but also with mounds of a less heartwarming byproduct: turkey litter.

Of the various kinds of poultry, turkeys produce substantially higher amounts of waste because they tend to be larger. Having recognized this several years ago, the US Department of Agriculture has been encouraging farmers to convert turkey litter into energy by using the methane gas in the waste to create electricity. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 20, 2011 at 9:00 AM

Power Deregulation Offers Big Rewards For New Suppliers

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For Taff Tschamler, the deregulation of US retail electricity markets is a huge business opportunity rivaling the surge in competition that followed the breakup of AT&T in 1982.

Shifting the power-supply business away from utilities and toward an influx of new providers like North American Power, where Tschamler is a senior vice president, creates new revenue for those companies and cuts electric bills for consumers. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 19, 2011 at 10:00 AM

Storing Energy The Cool Way

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What is the only form of energy whose price has remained relatively stable for the past 40 years?

The answer: Off-peak electricity, CALMAC CEO Mark MacCracken told Breaking Energy in a recent interview. CALMAC is a thermal energy storage company that uses off-peak electricity to freeze ice overnight. During the day, the power is gradually released to replace air conditioning which generally draws power from the grid during peak and most expensive electricity demand hours. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 16, 2011 at 6:00 AM

Voting With Their Dollars: Customers Resist Power Switching

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Most Pennsylvania residents are aware that they can shop for electricity suppliers other than their utilities but only about a quarter have switched away from default suppliers more than two years after the state began restructuring its retail power market, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission heard on Thursday.

The panel held a special en banc hearing in its ongoing retail markets investigation which aims to boost competition and consumer choice in reforms that are being closely watched across the US as a model of deregulation. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 14, 2011 at 6:00 AM
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