Article Archive

The Energy Cloud

We are in the midst of a technology-driven shift in how electricity is generated and managed. Today’s one-way grid is gradually being transformed into a multi-directional network that relies far more on small-scale, distributed generation.

We are in the midst of a technology-driven shift in how electricity is generated and managed. Today's one-way grid, built around generation from large-scale power plants, is gradually being transformed into a multi-directional network that relies far more on small-scale, distributed generation. It's what a recent piece in Public Utilities Fortnightly dubbed the Energy Cloud. (See, "From Grid to Cloud," Pub. Utils. Fortnightly, Oct. 2015, p. 50.)

Clean Energy and Utilities Are Merging

The transition to green energy is coming but it will be anything but seamless

Consumers are demanding more clean energy, forcing utilities to modify their electricity portfolios while regulators are scurrying to figure out the best way to facilitate such a transition. At the same, those industries that are getting shut out are filing law suits, saying that the method by which this is all done is unconstitutional.

Will Coal Get Left in the Cold?

As with any economic transition, changes in the energy line up are unsettling, bringing both hope and pain.

With the very foundation shifting beneath the feet of the energy sector, the industry’s players are trying to figure out their next moves. As with any economic transition, the changes are unsettling, bringing both hope and pain.  

Will the Campaign Rhetoric over Climate Change Heat Up?

As industry grapples with climate policies, presidential contenders are positioning themselves to targeted audiences.

As the next round of global change talks starts up this month in Paris, the presidential candidates will either take aim at or underscore their importance. Either way, the United States is all-in under President Obama, promising to reduce its level of heat-trapping emissions by 32 percent by 2030.

While the Democratic field generally supports the White House’s stance, the Republicans’ positions vary – everything from denial that global warming is a threat to it is a threat but that it can be fixed without a heavy government hand.

Real Life Drama Unfolding in Blankenship Trial

The trial is not about politics. It’s about whether the law was broken. The impact will go beyond the energy sector and to the rest of corporate America.

During a recess at the trial of coal baron Don Blankenship, assistant prosecutor Steve Ruby stepped into the area where the onlookers are seated. Almost immediately, he is approached by a thirty-something professional male with unruly blond hair who was basically trying to give him a high-five and a big hug.