In This Issue
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HARNESSING DISRUPTION
RAY ORBACH IS CREATING one of the nation's pre-eminent energy research centers at the University of Texas in Austin. At our 2012 EnergyBiz Leadership Forum in Washington this spring, Ray ticked off some of the transformational energy technologies on the horizon.The development of a $2,000 home gas compressor to power gas vehicles will roll back our dependence on the corner gas station and... -
INSIGHTS ON THE DATA FRONT
TODAY, THE TERM BIG DATA draws a lot of attention from all industries, and retailers are among those that must glean insights in order to personalize offers and retain customers. Retail is detail. Operating on razor-thin margins, retailers can no longer make business decisions based on transactional data alone. They are folding in a treasure trove of less-structured data stemming from blogs,... -
ENERGYBIZ KITE AWARD WINNERS
IN 1882, when Edison fired up the first power plant on Pearl Street in New York City, he had about 85 customers who forked out $5 for each and every kilowatt-hour. Electricity caught on, the price fell and the customer base grew.Change is the name of the game.But change like the industry faces today is unprecedented. The industry must change to meet the challenges of an aging - many would argue,... -
A VISION OF CRISIS
DURING THE END OF MY LAST TERM in the U.S. Senate, I received a call from Mel Berger, my book agent at William Morris in New York who worked with me to find a publisher for my first two books. He told me that a publisher approached him and asked about my availability to co-author a two-book series on the subject of energy called eco thrillers. He said this publisher is very interested in... -
GOING LARGE
ALASKA IS HOME to the largest battery energy storage system in the world and has one utility in the Arctic Circle leveraging battery storage to buffer the variability of wind-generated electricity.While utilities and grid operators have long viewed battery energy storage systems as highly desirable, few large-scale deployments have taken place due to the costs of the systems. But the conditions... -
ORBACH BUILDS A RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Raymond L. Orbach's energy campus goes beyond just the engineering department. It harnesses the resources of many of the schools on the University of Texas at Austin campus to foster a diversified approach toward solving energy issues. The former Department of Energy undersecretary for science - the department's first chief scientist - is out to build the preeminent center of energy research and...1 -
EMISSIONS PLAN GOES FORWARD
CALIFORNIA IS SET TO TAKE ANOTHER JAW-DROPPING ENERGY GAMBLE WITH THE IMPENDING INTRODUCTION OF THE NATION'S MOST AMBITIOUS CAP-AND-TRADE SYSTEM, WHICH STATE ENERGY OFFICIALS BELIEVE WILL SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS, BUT SKEPTICS FEAR WILL PLACE UPWARD PRESSURE ON ENERGY PRICES.The state that gained national notoriety with a botched effort to deregulate its energy industry more... -
THE FOCUS OF THE WHITE HOUSE WORKING GROUP
MANY STATE UTILITY REGULATORS across the country are encouraged about the impact of energy efficiency and the potential of the smart grid. Anything we can do to lower costs, improve safety and reliability, and improve the system will help our nation become stronger and more resilient. Our colleagues in all 50 states are implementing new programs and innovative policies to bolster the stability... -
RENEWABLE PORTFOLIO STANDARDS COULD COST OREGON JOBS
WHEN THE OREGON LEGISLATURE passed the renewable portfolio standard in 2007, it didn't foresee that large, energy-hungry data centers would soon become the state's newest industry. Their development is booming in the state - thanks to attractive tax breaks, some of the lowest electricity rates in the country and climato-logic conditions that help reduce energy use. These factors present a highly...1 -
A LONG COMMITMENT
THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION has a long-standing commitment to supplier diversity. On March 5, 1991, District commissioners entered into a memorandum of understanding with the electric, telecommunications and natural gas utilities, namely, Pepco, Verizon and Washington Gas & Light. The agreement was well thought out and encouraged the utilities to take all the necessary...
