Elections 2012

Who Owns the Energy?

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The question of natural resource ownership has been answered in many different ways over the course of human history, with compromises between the interests of societies and individual developers taking on a variety of forms.

While it often seems that the basic parameters of ownership and regulation of ownership have been sorted out in places like the US, comparatively small evolutions in the perception of these relationships can have outsized impacts on specific energy projects or companies. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 18, 2012 at 10:30 AM

Renewable Energy Regulation and Finance

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What do Lockheed Martin, the city of Austin in Texas and Intel have in common? They all invest in renewable energy, alongside major consumers like the Department of Defense and major consumer brand companies like Whole Foods.

The business case for these projects and for ownership of renewable generating capacity is clear, Navigant Consulting Director Andrew Kinross told Breaking Energy in this video, but clear policy has also lent appeal to the sector and prompted creative financing for projects that in turn boosts employment. Financing around projects and structures like third-party ownership of solar energy assets by private equity firms or pension fund investors has been particularly interesting, Kinross says. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 18, 2012 at 10:30 AM

Urban Energy Elections Issues

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In the noisy back-and-forth of the presidential elections, it can be difficult to remember that many other offices are highly contested – positions that in many ways could have a more direct influence on the energy business than high-profile but more general US federal policy or international treaty efforts.

Elected officials need to take down the barriers that make it hard for cities to innovate, C40 Climate Leadership Group Director Michael Marinello said in this video panel discussion with Breaking Energy. Cities have in many cases proven that they can move ahead with technology implementation and market changes at the local level; federal officials who can’t help need to get out of the way, he says here. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 16, 2012 at 10:30 AM

Smart Cities and Energy Video Panel

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US Cities are incredibly diverse in their energy use and their energy politics, but many are trying to use the latest tools to solve similar problems with boosting efficiency and adding new capacity.

TED gave a recent prize to the City 2.0, recognizing that the “smart city” is a vital and important trend not only in the US but across the world. In the energy sector, information technology allows tracking of impacts on the grid, of timing for energy usage or traffic and tracking changes in ways that can allow for more-varied forms of policy and business responses to increasingly pressing problems. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 11, 2012 at 10:30 AM

Cities and Energy Video Panel

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Often implementing programs that create meaningful change don’t involve pure innovation, groundbreaking technology or original approaches. In many cases – in both the private sector and across regulatory spheres – the best implementations rely on learning from leaders and applying established solutions to new environments.

With cities driving the global economy and the world tipping further into being a more thoroughly urbanized place, urban energy leaders in both the private and public sector world are trying less often to “reinvent the wheel” as they are learning from what C40 Climate Leadership Group director Michael Marinello says in this video is a “network effect.” Keep reading →

 /  Published October 9, 2012 at 10:30 AM

Did Half of Green-subsidy Firms Really Go Bankrupt?

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Questions about the efficacy of President Barack Obama’s stimulus spending for clean-energy programs came under the spotlight on Thursday with the claim by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney that “half” of the companies that received government support under the $90 billion program had gone out of business.

Romney attacked the program that poured billions into clean energy as part of the administration’s effort to keep the economy afloat after the 2008 financial meltdown, saying that the money could have been better spent on teachers, and accusing the president of picking “losers.” Keep reading →

 /  Published October 5, 2012 at 10:00 AM

Obama vs. Romney: How They’d Tackle Deficits

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Both President Obama and Mitt Romney share a similar goal when it comes to the federal debt: They want to get it under control. How they would do it differs greatly. Obama’s goal is more restrained; he wants to keep deficits from growing faster than the economy. Romney’s aim is to flat-out balance the federal budget in eight years. Unfortunately, budget experts say, both candidates’ plans fall short. “Obama’s numbers are more realistic, but they don’t get us very far,” said Robert Bixby, who runs the Concord Coalition, a deficit watchdog group. “Romney’s numbers get us a long way, but they aren’t very realistic.”

 /  Published October 3, 2012 at 2:35 PM

Presidential Debate Preview: What Obama and Romney Will Say About Taxes

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In Wednesday’s much-hyped verbal slugfest between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, few topics will loom larger than taxes. They’re a central battlefield for Republicans and Democrats, an area in which the two parties are fundamentally, philosophically divided. For much of the past four years, the Bush tax cuts, the capital gains tax rate, and the oft-repeated (and heavily spun) fact that 47% of Americans don’t pay federal income tax have been at the heart of Washington’s conflicts, and have often spilled over into other battles like the fights over health care reform and the debt ceiling.

 /  Published October 3, 2012 at 12:10 PM

Energy Issues Deserve Greater Campaign Prominence, Trade Groups Say

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Domestic energy development and a wide swath of regulatory issues associated with energy production should be addressed more emphatically during the presidential campaign, officials at several industry associations believe.

“Energy hasn’t been absent from the campaign, but I think it deserves a higher profile,” Brendan Williams, vice president, advocacy, at the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, told Breaking Energy. Keep reading →

 /  Published October 3, 2012 at 9:00 AM

Denver is the perfect platform for an energy-focused presidential debate

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 /  Published October 3, 2012 at 8:40 AM
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