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Clean Energy Policy: Reducing Climate Change Without the Politics

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This blog-and my career, frankly – has carefully steered clear of politically sensitive issues and focused instead on advocating for smart public policy. But having lived through summer after summer in Washington, D.C., with temperatures continuously climbing above 100 degrees and increasingly violent storms (with scientists echoing that things seem to be progressing more quickly then once thought), I finally am compelled to comment on the topic of climate change.
Given these circumstances, it seems that at long last, a real conversation about climate change is bound to happen. I actually think climate change policy does not have to be mired in politics, especially when the skepticism is concentrated in a small part of the political spectrum in Washington, D.C.

In 2010, I participated as part of a trade delegation to COP-15 in Copenhagen. I was then heading up the GridWise Alliance, and attended the climate negotiations to meet with other business leaders and observe the proceedings. I came away with two distinct impressions. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 28, 2012 at 10:30 AM

DC War of Words Heats Up on Energy Tax Policy

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For most people the issue of corporate taxation is both intriguing and offputting in equal measure. The complex and often contradictory nature of the enormous US tax code allows for a combination of passion and boredom that extends to almost no other region of policy.

That is part of what has made attacking the US tax code in an effort to simplify it or make it reflect policy goals so challenging; companies with tax lawyers on call can take advantage of seemingly innocuous or even beneficial tax policy, only to be accused later of corruptly using ‘loopholes’ or ‘subsidies’ to run their businesses. At the same time, financiers and corporations build otherwise unsustainable business models around the tax code rather than at the intersection of supply and demand, in turn warping the very markets they intend to serve. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 27, 2012 at 1:30 PM

US and Canada are Competitors and Collaborators in Energy

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Prime Minister Stephen Harper (L) of Canada welcomes US President Barack Obama to the G8 Summit at Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville, Ontario, on June 25, 2010.

The recently announced high-profile oil and gas acquisitions by Chinese state-controlled companies highlight the numerous opportunities for the US and Canada to both partner and compete in global energy markets. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 27, 2012 at 11:00 AM

Frack-no-phobia

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The abundant supply of North American natural gas has resulted in increased attention to one part of the development process, hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing is an advanced technology that has brought energy production into areas that are less familiar with this work, including the heavily populated Northeast. That people want to have a conversation about their questions is admirable. And those entrusted with developing this natural resource safely and responsibly must be committed to answering those questions.

What we are seeing, however, are people with good-faith questions and concerns being overwhelmed by misrepresentations, innuendo and just plain false information. Celebrities from Alec Baldwin to David Letterman to Mark Ruffalo, having no expertise, claim natural gas development is “poisoning our drinking water and air.” Deliberately false “documentaries” meant to inspire fear are being distributed in libraries and schools. And natural gas is being cast as the villain in Hollywood, from episodes of CSI to SyFy’s original movie, Arachnoquake, in which giant fire-breathing albino spiders come out of the earth’s core because of hydraulic fracturing. These characterizations would grab the attention and scare anyone who hears or sees them. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 27, 2012 at 8:00 AM

A Janus-Faced View of New Jersey’s Solar Industry

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Janus is the Roman God with faces that look backward and forward. With New Jersey having recently enacted a “solar resurrection bill,” Gaurav Naik, principal of GeoGenix, one of New Jersey’s oldest solar integrators, looks at where the state’s solar industry has been and where it is headed.

Q. First, please tell us a little about GeoGenix and about yourself. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 26, 2012 at 2:30 PM

Vanadium and Energy: Rare Earth Metal Market Outlook

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Vanadium is a metal used in the steel, aerospace and energy storage industries – and as with virtually all commodities – the supply, demand and price outlook for this commodity varies depending on who one speaks with.

The energy and metals markets first collided in the 1970’s and 80’s when oil and gas companies looking to expand their businesses merged with mining companies. For example, Union Oil of California (UNOCAL) acquired rare earth miner Molycorp in 1977 – UNOCAL was subsequently acquired by Chevron in 2005, making Molycorp a fully owned subsidiary of the oil giant. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 26, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Citic, CLSA, CNOOC, Nexen, Sinopec and Talisman: China’s Multi-Billion Dollar Week in the Energy Markets

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The bureaucrats in Beijing and the businessmen in Shanghai have been busy in recent weeks, negotiating a series of headline deals that sync into broader themes of Chinese access to global energy and commodities markets.

Bankers at Wall Street and City of London banks have spent much of the past week telling financial reporters that the impending sale of the remaining 80% of the Asian arm of French bank Credit Agricole represented an old finance industry meme: an out-of-towner overpaying for access to the premier league of global banking. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 25, 2012 at 10:30 AM

The Cyber Threat Facing American Utilities

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Across the country, and increasingly around the globe, information technology is playing a key role in the operations and organizational management of utility service providers. From customer-facing smart-metering technologies to administrative software tools that enhance automation and network monitoring, the revolution in interconnectivity has brought increased productivity and efficiencies, but also new areas of risk and vulnerability.

As a result, utility service providers must take a broad-spectrum approach to hardening their facilities, especially to cyber-criminals and hostile nation states that have the capability to cause harm and catastrophic impact to a system without ever approaching its physical structure. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 25, 2012 at 8:30 AM

New Jersey Solar Bill Gets Christie Signature

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New Jersey is the Germany of the United States when it comes to solar power. It’s a place not known for its sunshine, but thanks to some sound policy the state has become a solar leader. In the first quarter of 2012, New Jersey even managed to lead the nation in newly installed PV capacity, with 173.8 megawatts to California’s 148.4 MW.

And now the state has made a move to keep this good thing going. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 24, 2012 at 11:45 AM

Building Energy Efficiency: Options in a Dynamic Environment

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It is estimated that 40% of US power consumption is attributed to buildings, and companies large and small are focusing on ways to reduce wasted energy in the places we live and work. With technological advances come new options for streamlining energy efficiency programs.

“You have to look at a building as an organism that needs to be monitored consistently because conditions change – like weather or occupancy. A building is a dynamic entity, you can’t just build it and walk away,” Dave Bartlett, Vice President of IBM Smart Buildings recently told Breaking Energy. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 23, 2012 at 1:30 PM
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