Hydrogen Power
A New Initiative, a New Fuel Cell Car
General Motors unveiled its Autonomy fuel cell car, which it says is the first vehicle designed exclusively for the fuel cell.
IT
Elevated Risk
In an open letter to directors, IBM’s energy security lead recommends appointing a senior executive with authority to effect cultural change.
Achieving security requires a new office in the C-suite. An open letter to utility directors.
Renewable Spend & Tax (Credit)
Submitted by meacott on Thu, 2012-05-31 18:03For developers of renewable power projects, the regulatory landscape is always shifting. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, for example, added the option of a cash grant in lieu of an investment tax credit—a provision that was set to expire at the end of 2010, but that received an 11th hour extension during the lame duck Congressional session.
Vendor Neutral
(May 2012) Entergy Louisiana starts construction on gas-fired power project; Virginia Commonwealth University and Dominion partner on a test site for efficient energy technologies; Burlington Electric Department selects Siemens for meter data management platform; IKEA commissions four Blink electric vehicle charging stations; Edison Mission Energy, TIAA-CREF and Cook Inlet Region Inc. form partnership, and others.
Energy Storage Solutions
Barriers and breakthroughs to a smarter grid.
Technology is quickly making energy storage more economical and effective than ever before. But companies that wish to invest in storage capacity face a journey through a frustrating regulatory no-man’s land. Opening the gateway for storage to deliver smart grid benefits will require a more streamlined and coherent approach to regulating storage as utility infrastructure.
Wind REITs
The New Tax Equity
With a shifting policy climate, equity financing for renewable energy projects is becoming more scarce. Real estate investment trusts (REIT) offer an alternative vehicle for bringing in capital from investors who aren’t seeking tax incentives. But restrictions and requirements make REITs a tricky way to finance power projects.
People (April 2012)
Anne R. Pramaggiore became president and CEO of ComEd, following the retirement of Frank M. Clark, chairman and CEO since 2005. Pramaggiore joined ComEd in 1998 and most recently held the position of president and COO. In addition, ComEd named Tracie Morris v.p. of human resources. Morris previously served as v.p. of human resources for DeVry Inc.
Getting Hitched
Marrying customer engagement and profits.
New channels for communicating with customers not only allow utilities to provide better service; they also create opportunities for utilities to reduce expenses and generate revenue. An integrated strategy that focuses on customers can lead to new value for utilities.
Green Dealing
Renewable M&A lives on despite death of Treasury cash grants.
The U.S. Treasury cash grants for new renewable power projects expired at the end of 2011. These incentives, which were implemented under Section 1603 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, helped to support continued capacity additions throughout the recession. The impending expiration of these grants caused a wave of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity during 2011 as developers and financiers rushed to get deals done and to begin construction in order to meet the Section 1603, 5-percent safe harbor threshold by the Dec. 31, 2011 deadline.
The Trouble with Freeriders
The debate about freeridership in energy efficiency isn’t wrong, but it is wrongheaded.
In any conservation or efficiency program, some market participants will reap benefits without paying their share of the costs—i.e., the “freerider” problem. Some freeriders are unavoidable and generally not a problem. But as Cadmus Group analysts Hossein Haeri and M. Sami Khawaja explain, avoiding excessive freeridership requires careful program structuring, as well as ongoing measurement to accurately evaluate outcomes.