Commentary
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Jul 12, 2012 |
When we hit the economic downturn of the late 2000s, electric usage declined in most developed regions such as Europe, Japan, and the U.S. One of the big debates in today's electric business is what to expect for future load growth. -
Jun 26, 2012 |
At more than 2,000 pages in length, the Dodd-Frank Act is the US government's extensive and wide-ranging response to the financial crisis. From debit card transaction fees to exchange-traded derivatives, there is almost no aspect of financial activity that has escaped its attentions. -
Jun 21, 2012 |
From Wikipedia: The three Rs (as in the letter R) are the foundations of a basic skills-orientated education program within schools: Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic. -
Jun 14, 2012 |
We live in interesting times, as the Chinese proverb supposedly goes. For anyone who has to make major investment decisions about power generation in Europe, we also happen to live in rather hair-raising times too. -
Jun 06, 2012 |
The nuances of developing a wind or solar generating facility can trip up even the savviest developer. With the expiration of the 1603 cash grant program in the news, much attention has been paid to the tax considerations involved with picking the appropriate structure and becoming eligible for various incentives. -
May 29, 2012 |Not long ago an article was published on the site Master Resource which featured an outlandish denial of verified (and hypothetical) oil resources in the United States (U.S.). Specifically, with oil imports costing the U.S. almost a billion dollars a day, readers were told that a huge amount of oil reserves were actually available, and President Obama lied when he said that there was a drastic shortage of oil in the crust of the earth.
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May 03, 2012 |
It is common knowledge that "there is no quick fix" for high gas prices. It's going to be a long-term effort to reduce our reliance on oil and we're probably in for higher prices no matter what we do in the short-term or long-term because we're facing a number of macro trends, such as systemic tightness in global supplies (peak oil), ongoing international tensions with Iran, etc., and perhaps also some amount of speculation in oil prices. -
May 01, 2012 |n my forthcoming energy economics textbook (2012), the two natural gas kings are three -- Russia, Qatar and Iran -- while if I were beginning that book today, I would consider making it a foursome.
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Apr 26, 2012 |
According to Parks Associates, approximately 45% of all U.S. households will be served by smart meters by the end of 2015. As few as 10% of those meters, however, will be enabled for two-way communications between a home area network (HAN) and the utility's back-end processing system. Other analysts predict more or less smart meter penetration and HAN capabilities, but the result is the same: -
Apr 24, 2012 |
Why are electric utilities progressing so slowly on residential demand response as peak demand for electricity continues to grow, creating the very real possibility of a serious crisis? Even for those utilities where demand has slowed owing to the economic downturn need to be ready for the rapid growth that will come when the economy strengthens.
