The CEO Power Forum: The Best of the Best
Five electric utility chiefs are showing true leadership for their companies and for an entire industry.
EPRI
People
New Hires:
New Hires:
The North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) promoted Dave Nevius to senior vice president; David Cook to vice president and general counsel; and Don Benjamin to vice president. Nevius has been a vice president at NERC since 1986; Cook has been NERC's general counsel since 1999; and Benjamin has been director of operations since 1985.
Ameren Corp. named Martin J. Lyons vice president. Lyons has been the company's controller since joining Ameren in October 2001.
People
New Positions:
New Positions:
Martin Crotty and Dr. Soumen Ghosh joined SeaWest WindPower Inc. as senior vice president of operations and maintenance, and senior product manager of data services, respectively. Most recently, Crotty was director of operations for the Western Region of NRG Energy. Ghosh spent more than five years at ABB System Control and more than nine years at CMC.
Fusion Power: The Burning Issue
The Department of Energy is gambling on the wrong fusion approach and may needlessly burn up billions in taxpayer dollars in the process.
The Department of Energy is gambling on the wrong fusion approach and may needlessly burn up billions in taxpayer dollars in the process.
Fusion power research is at a crossroads. Continuing along the current path will almost certainly lead to major disappointment for one of the few long-term energy sources potentially available.
Large-Scale Green Power: An Impossible Dream?
Chasing after windmills and photovoltaics could well be the stuff of fiction.
Chasing after windmills and photovoltaics could well be the stuff of fiction.
Wind and solar cells (photovoltaics or PVs) are two renewable energy technologies that many hope will eventually provide the United States with massive amounts of clean, sustainable electric power for the indefinite future. Indeed, it is often suggested or implied that the United States can look to a future where most, if not all electric power can be provided by wind and photovoltaics [1, 2].
Bridging the Carbon Gap: Fossil Fuel Use for the 21st Century
Coal gasification as a transition plan to build lead time to develop sustainable, climate-friendly energy technologies.
Coal gasification as a transition plan to build lead time to develop sustainable, climate-friendly energy technologies.
Editor's Note Several of the sources for this article and accompanying sidebars are referenced numerous times.
Advanced Metering: Policymakers Have the Ball
Demand response could help solve some energy problems, but not without state regulators pushing for it.
The Barriers to Real-Time Pricing: Separating Fact From Fiction
Real-time pricing has been hindered by the misperception that a shift to RTP will create new types of risks, without creating benefits for utilities or customers.
A Dynamic Mission: Protecting Utility Assets
State public service commissions are insisting that utilities adopt risk management programs, and are allowing less pass-through for those that don't.
Many electric utilities have been on high alert since Sept. 11 to protect the assets within their systems from cyber and physical attack. For instance, 21 U.S. nuclear reactors are located within five miles of an airport, but 96 percent of all U.S. reactors were designed without regard for the potential for impact from even a small aircraft.
Distributed Generation: Hype vs. Hope
Separating myth from reality in identifying DG applications.
Technological breakthroughs in distributed generation have not materialized as quickly as expected. Furthermore, manufacturers have continued to improve traditional generation technologies. So what role can DG play?