The country’s leading utility companies, backed by their fossil fuel supporters, are waging an organized campaign against home-solar installations that is threatening their monopolized hold over electricity markets. “If demand for residential solar continued to soar, traditional utilities could soon face serious problems, from “declining retail sales” and a “loss of customers” to “potential obsolescence,”… Keep reading →
In the summer of 1969, the Apollo 11 space flight sent three American astronauts to the moon and back in roughly a week. Nearly 50 years later, it should be possible to complete a simple project — like connecting a solar photovoltaic or PV energy system to the grid — in the same amount… Keep reading →
Some utilities have belatedly decided to enter solar leasing business. Too little, too late? Some utilities have decided that fighting solar is futile. Instead, they will join their enemies, assisting more customers to install solar panels on the roof – if that is what they want – or make their homes and businesses more energy… Keep reading →
Oil prices increased to their highest in nearly two months on Monday, following concerns over escalating conflict with Islamic State militants in Libya and threats to withhold exports from Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region. “Egypt bombed Islamic State targets inside Libya on Monday and Cairo renewed calls for a U.S.-led coalition to confront militants there a… Keep reading →
New York State’s one-billion-dollar[1] Green Bank opened for business in 2014 and has begun committing to transactions. The Green Bank’s self-professed sweet spot is investments between $5 million and $50 million.
Utilities adopting social media as a public relations or customer service tool over the past few years may have intended to start out slowly but, in a number of cases, major storms that caused widespread service outages have thrust the companies into a rapid initiation even as they were still ramping up their tweeting… Keep reading →
In 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will address many of the most serious challenges the electric industry faces in multiple proceedings that will be closely followed by industry participants. Those challenges include the retirement of substantial portions of the nation’s generation fleet and the changing composition of that fleet due to the increased use of natural gas and renewable resources.
Empowered prosumers will increasingly do what is best for them, regardless of what utilities or regulators say For utility executives making New Year Resolutions, 2015 promises to bring in more grief in the form of lower demand growth (graph below and article on page 10), rising retail tariffs, and more competition from prosumers, who are… Keep reading →
Recently released research has concluded that record levels of energy saving will occur during Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday. Already the most popular sporting event of the year and a quasi-national holiday, the Super Bowl also results in large-scale energy savings for the duration of the event. This is mainly due to a significant variable… Keep reading →
Most U.S. homes are heated with either furnaces or boilers. Furnaces heat air and distribute the heated air through the house using ducts. Boilers heat water, and provide either hot water or steam for heating. Steam is distributed via pipes to steam radiators, and hot water can be distributed via baseboard radiators or radiant floor… Keep reading →
