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The Obama administration has approved a $8 billion loan guarantee to support the construction of two nuclear reactors in Georgia. It's the first step in a play to expand nuclear power as a way to control greenhouse gas emissions and bolster domestic energy production.
Continue reading "A Comeback for Nuclear Power? (NY Times)" »
MSNBC contributor Rebecca Agiewich has created an excellent overview of the meaning of "green" at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.
Continue reading "Vancouver goes for the green and more (MSNBC.com)" »
Suzuki Foundation finds little evidence of strong engagement by the parent organization, and recommends the IOC play a stronger role to ensure that future host cities like London and Sochi follow through on their environmental commitments.
Continue reading "VANOC's Consultant Gives It a Bronze for Greenness" »
The race is on to develop a competitive advantage in cleantech -- not just for corporate profit or state and regional economic development, but as a key driver of national economic competitiveness in the 21st Century. Is the US prepared to compete and win at this new Great Game? Two recent deals in China for US solar companies First Solar and eSolar show a worrying trend.
Continue reading "Must Solar Companies Sell their Soul to Save their Skin?" »
One of the items on my "top 10 observations on January 1, 2010" is how many people are making Top 10 lists this week. Here are, well, how about 10 of them.
Continue reading "Top 10 "Cleantech Top 10" Lists for 2010" »
Denis Du Bois's advice on social media marketing aired on the "Inside Renewable Energy" program from New Hampshire this morning.
Continue reading "Social Media Marketing for Cleantech Companies" »
CSR initiatives should answer the questions of why, what, and how it will change us.
The Cleantech Open held its first ever national awards gala tonight, incorporating finalists from two new regional pageants in Seattle and Boulder along with the larger pool of entrants from the original California competition. Here's a quick recap of the contestants and national award winners.
Former Vice President Al Gore's new book, "Our Choice," exceeded my expectations. It should be required readng for new Chief Sustainability Officers, corporate green team members, and anyone else who has decided to place sustainability closer to the center of what they do.
GREENBUILD 2009 -- This year, hundreds of people were Tweeting from #Greenbuild. We compiled a list in collaboration with Johnson Controls.
Germany's Berlin Wall fell 20 years ago today. It reminds me of the green movement...
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer and nine other Democrats passed the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act (S. 1733) out of committee yesterday. It was an important step for the bill to eventually reach the floor, but was it a risky move?
Continue reading "Kerry-Boxer Climate Bill Passes Senate Committee" »
Will bailed-out banks bankrupt transit systems at a time when those systems are critical to our energy independence?
Continue reading "Public Transit: The Cost of Financial Carelessness" »
President Barack Obama has been a courageous supporter of clean energy. He spoke October 23, 2009, to an audience of 750 at the MIT campus in Cambridge, MA. Here are our Founding Editor's take-aways from the speech, plus a link to the video and full transcript.
View from the Poletop: Should new nuclear plants be part of the US strategy on carbon reduction and renewable energy? Yes, but not necessarily for the reasons you think.
Seattle City Light is the first utility to announce that it is offering customers the ability to link their electricity consumption data with Microsoft Hohm. Google's Powermeter has a head start over Hohm, but both lag behind the energy-monitoring industry.
Continue reading "Microsoft "Hohm" Connections Available to Seattle City Light Customers " »
Green building remains an underinvested segment of the cleantech landscape, with precious few venture funded success stories. Last week’s West Coast Green tradeshow – despite being a lively and well-attended event -- provided an object lesson in why this will likely continue to be the case for some time.
Continue reading "Green Building: Will somebody please change the channel?" »
Fall is conference season in the cleantech biz. With a deluge of events all clustered together in September and October, it’s a good time to gauge how the tumultuous economic ride of the last year has affected investment trends and the entrepreneurial outlook.
When utility CEOs make proclamations about leadership in renewables or the smart grid, it's often difficult to get the troops to take it seriously. As a result, progressive pronouncements often are met with nods, but no action. At Duke Energy, observes the Smart Grid News, that may be changing.
Current policies at the state and federal level are extremely supportive of clean energy development. But the structure of subsidies matters. As the stimulus pumps unprecedented billions into renewable energy, it is worth asking whether we are promoting the right kind of investment that will enhance future US competitiveness.
Continue reading "Stimulating through Subsidy -- Does It Work?" »
Duke Energy’s smart grid program continues to expand. The nation’s third-largest electric utility struck an agreement with Echelon to make the vendor's Networked Energy Services (NES) system a key part of the program. Duke CEO Jim Rogers, considered a visionary in the utility industry, tells Fortune about his career path.
Energy auditors found temperature "setback controls" lacking, broken or unused in roughly two out of three buildings sampled, including some of DOE's newest buildings at the Oak Ridge National Lab.
Continue reading "Energy Audit Shows DOE How to Get Its Own House in Order" »
Political will is apparently easier to find when global warming and rising sea levels threaten to inundate the tiny island nation you call home.
Continue reading "National 100x20 Plan Met Little Resistance" »
More than 7 in 10 chief marketing officers say their 2009 budgets have been reduced from 2008 levels, with a slight majority indicating that their budgets had been slashed by at least 20%, according to the Forrester Research "Q1 2009 Global CMO Recession Online Survey."
Continue reading "Forrester: Media Spending Down 20 Percent or More" »
Some have called smart energy "the internet's next killer app." Actually it's the other way around.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) delivered its report to Congress quantifying the potential for demand response in the United States. The report was mandated two years ago by the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA 2007) Section 529 (a).
Continue reading "FERC Reports a National Assessment of Demand Response Potential to Congress" »
The United States lags far behind other countries in developing high-speed rail. Examples: Paris to Lyon, 2 hours at 133 MPH; Madrid to Barcelona, 2.5 hours at 150 MPH; Tokyo to Osaka, 1.7 hours at 180 MPH; and Seattle to Portland, 3.5 hours, 41 MPH. President Obama announced plans to bring the U.S. up to speed with new funding for fast train travel. Will America jump on board?
Continue reading "Getting the U.S. up to Speed in Rail Travel" »
PVC products will soon carry the USDA "Organic" label, reports a green building magazine today, due to a loophole in the labeling law.
Continue reading "Introducing Organic Vinyl (Healthy Buildings News)" »
The Washington state legislature is debating a bill that would ease many of the requrements of its RPS, passed just a year ago. Other state legislatures and lobbyists surely are watching and considering whether they could do something similar.
Continue reading "Should states with RPS's roll them back due to economic conditions?" »
The recently adopted $787 billion economic stimulus package known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 created a temporary program to facilitate the rapid deployment of renewable energy and electric power transmission projects by providing federal loan guarantees for certain projects that commence construction before September 30, 2011.
While most of us are slashing budgets for everything, including energy, the federal government's budget for clean energy is poised to jump significantly -- directing a total of $646 billion between 2012 and 2019 to the development of clean energy sources.
Continue reading "Clean Energy in Federal Budget Proposal" »
At the federal level in the U.S., the fight to legitimize the Smart Grid is over. It has been recognized in several key pieces of legislation -- mostly recently the stimulus package -- as an essential national asset. But the federal government has only limited say over the electric power industry. The final say lies at the state level, where public utility commissions oversee the regulated utilities that deliver the lion’s share of the nation's electricity. Here's what that means for Smart Grid proponents.
Hard truths from the front lines of the sustainability revolution: My two-sentence review of Auden Schendler's forthcoming "Getting Green Done" plus an examination of the author's opinions.
Continue reading "Book Review: "Getting Green Done" by Auden Schendler" »
A group of investors today named a builder and eight other companies to a "Climate Watch List," citing concerns that the firms are lagging behind their industry peers and are potentially undermining their long-term competitiveness in responding to the business challenges from global climate change.
The economic stimulus package passed by Congress and signed by President Obama contains good news for supporters of renewable energy and energy conservation.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 includes $16.8 billion for the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The funding is a nearly tenfold increase for EERE, which received just $1.7 billion in fiscal year 2008.
Continue reading "Buildings Benefit from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" »
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act signed into law this week calls for a $4.2 billion grant program that would support smart grid and smart metering projects.
Continue reading "Smart Meters Read $4.2 Billion in Stimulus" »
A new 30 percent tax credit for renewable energy is among many clean-energy provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. President Obama signed the bill into law yesterday.
Continue reading "Stimulus Bill Creates $3.2 Billion in Tax Credits for Renewables" »
Enactment of a renewable portfolio standard ("RPS") has been under consideration in Congress and elsewhere for several years. In a nutshell, an RPS would require that a certain percentage of electricity sold to retail consumers must be obtained from renewable sources, such as wind, biomass, solar, and geothermal. Several states have enacted their own RPS, but to date no action has been taken at the federal level.
Continue reading "New RPS Proposals under Consideration by Congress " »
Is this genuine hardware-agnosticism, or naïveté? Google launched a service to monitor residential electricity consumption, without knowing whether smart meters will work with it.
Continue reading "Google Taking a Step Into Smart Meter Monitoring" »
Highlights of Steven Chu's first interview since his installation as Secretary of Energy.
Continue reading "Public Awareness Key Strategy To Combat Global Warming, Says Energy Secretary" »
GE's Smart Grid campaign started during Super Bowl XLIII this week with a $3 million, 30-second ad.
Continue reading "GE Smart Grid Ad Laments: "If I Only Had a Brain"" »
Alltop has listed Energy Priorities Magazine among its top environmental and cleantech news sources.
How will Obama's New Energy for America plan create five million new jobs and revitalize a clean energy economy? Here's an overview.
Time Magazine writer Michael Grunwald gets it. Energy efficiency is the fifth fuel. His 3,000-word article in the most recent issue explores the potential and the barriers. Here are the main points.
Continue reading "Wasting Our Watts: Efficiency and Conservation" »
The Consumer Electronics Show is January 8-11, 2009 in the capitol of energy decadence: Las Vegas. Will we see products aimed at helping consumers reduce their energy bills and carbon footprints?
Continue reading "Consumer Electronics Show 2009: What I Hope To See at CES" »
The best way to start addressing climate change is to yank subsidies from fossil fuels and put a price on carbon dioxide emissions from them. Of the two methods widely discussed for pricing carbon -- cap and trade, and a carbon tax, which is better? Economist Gilbert Metcalf argues his case for a tax.
Green marketing plays an important role in companies' decisions to invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy. I'm talking about the marketing done by the buyers, not by the vendors.
Continue reading "Will Green Marketing Keep Pulling Energy-Saving Investments?" »
Will Obama's appointment of Stephen Chu as Secretary of Energy make DOE's job in China any easier?
Continue reading "Will Energy Secretary Chu Woo China's Cooperation on Energy?" »
Off-grid and grid-tied solar now have a new cousin: "Hybrid solar." Florida Power & Light executives marked the groundbreaking of a new solar power project that will be connected directly to a dinosaur power plant.
Cleantech stocks are down. But lower oil prices or a drop in the stock market cannot stop the powerful momentum pushing the revolution forward.
Continue reading "Dark Economic Clouds Have Green Linings (TechFlash)" »
Micro nuke power plants the size of a hot tub would fit in a back yard and power a small town.
California now tops the ranking for per capita energy efficiency. How did it get there? Energy efficiency isn't sexy, but it's effective. "The utility will emulate efficient market outcomes and do the cheapest thing first," said Amory Lovins, chairman and chief scientist of Rocky Mountain Institute, in this article in the International Heral-Tribune.
Continue reading "California Points the Way to an Energy-Efficient Future (IHT)" »
Sustainable Industries Journal explains how marketers can avoid greenwashing and successfully align their brand attributes with their customers' green identities, in "Communicating Goals through the Five P's of Marketing."
Continue reading "Communicate Sustainability through the Five P's of Green Marketing" »
Kevin Klustner has stepped down as CEO of Verdiem, the Seattle energy-efficiency company backed by KPCB and others. Verdiem's product is a tough sell. Will network power management catch on before thin clients/mobility/telecommuting/24-7 shiftwork make it irrelevant?
University of Washington staff have moved into the former Safeco headquarters tower in Seattle. Safeco donated 74,000 pieces of office furniture and fixtures that will be reused, instead of recycled.
White papers are pouring out of vendors in the information technology space as they shift their marketing positions to "green" as fast as they can. Many have locked onto an imagined want in data centers to reduce energy consumption from equipment and cooling. Energy efficiency is out of line with the business goals of most IT departments.
Continue reading "Data Center Energy: Reduction Is Not Really the Priority" »
Harvard Business Review says Gulf countries are investing their wealth in new ways that will engender a broader systemic change in international trade and finance in the decades to come. FORTUNE says $500 oil is coming and we'll be lucky to get through it without "blowing each other up." What's your opinion?
Continue reading "Finance: How Oil-Rich Countries Are Reshaping the World " »
This was great fun for a Friday... a crossword puzzle all about energy and the utility industry. I got all but four.
The major markets of the world are struggling with the authenticity of green claims. Most e-logos are recent, and labeling laws are a decade out of date. Who is responsible for instilling trust?
M2M is the basis of advanced building-control systems, industrial machinery, Google News, and Wall Street trading. Is it dangerous?
Continue reading "Machine-to-Machine: Singularity or Savior? (SNS)" »
In an op-ed in the New York Times, Philip Bobbitt and John C. Danforth pose several questions to both Barak Obama and John McCain. One is related to energy. Denis Du Bois proposes an answer.
Continue reading "Questions of Energy Security: Ask the Candidates (NY Times)" »
French utility EdF roughly doubled its ownership stake in Constellation Energy to 9.51 percent at an estimate cost of a half-billion dollars. Is EdF counting on an increase in U.S. support for nuclear following the elections?
Continue reading "Nuclear: French Utility is Banking on Nuke Growth in U.S." »
The ITER project in Cadarache France passed a milestone last week. Scientists from several participating countries have tested a prototype superconductor for the Poloidal Field coils inside the fusion reactor.
National Public Radio's prime-time program "All Things Considered" today ran a collection of brief stories about the steps businesses are taking to reduce their energy bills.
Continue reading "Business and Energy (NPR All Things Considered)" »
The Yancey brothers' family feud over wind turbines is back in the news.
Continue reading "Yancey's Family Wind Woes In the News Again" »
Intellectual Ventures is talking up a new type of breeder reactor of its own invention. The "traveling wave" reactor would run on a raw mineral (uranium, or possibly thorium) rather than on processed fuel.
Continue reading "Intellectual Ventures Nuclear Invention Touted as Safer and Cheaper" »
Michael Morris, chairman, president and chief executive of American Electric Power, which runs the nation's largest electrical transmission system, told the Associated Press he sees a dire situation ahead for the power grid, and the U.S. could eventually face power rationing.
Continue reading "Grid Operator Warns of Power Rationing Eventuality" »
On August 14, 2003, a sagging power line coming into contact with untrimmed trees near Cleveland, Ohio triggered a massive blackout that left 50 million people without electricity in a 9,300 square mile area in the Northeast and Midwest United States and parts of Canada. Economic losses were estimated at as much as $10 billion. Five years later, is the North American electrical power grid less susceptible to disruption?
Continue reading "5-Year Anniversary of the 2003 Northeast Blackout" »
A space-based solar power system would require building large solar energy collectors in Earth's orbit. Outside the atmosphere, in constant daylight, the panels would harvest more energy than land-based units.
Continue reading "Harvest the Sun -- From Space (NY Times)" »
An LA Times columnist's misunderstanding of the smart grid points out one of the toughest hurdles for advocates: explaining it to the general public and media.
"Probably not" is the response from people Janis Mara interviewed.
Continue reading "Green Scene a Flash in the Pan? (McClatchy)" »
HelioVolt and Architectural Glass & Aluminum Co. today announced a partnership to incorporate solar energy systems directly into standardized curtain wall products, the exterior glass facades that dominate modern urban construction.
Continue reading "HelioVolt Partners with AGA to Manufacture BIPV" »
Financial justification tools face three major challenges: Prospects don’t believe their output; facilities managers are not financially trained; and sales reps are not trusted to explain the numbers.
Continue reading "Why ROI Calculators are a Formula for Failure" »
PG&E Chairman and CEO Peter Darbee called a handful of journalists into his boardroom and talked about being a successful utility in an era when it's is less about building centralized power plants and more about tapping renewable energy and balancing supply and demand.
Beijing is building up for the Olympics, spending $40 billion to impress the world -- and pushing commercial architecture to its limits. National Geographic's May 2008 special-edition issue, "China, Inside the Dragon," features dozens of articles, most of them short, all of them about China.
Continue reading "China: New Great Walls - Construction for the Beijing Olympics (NG)" »
When I started Energy Priorities on Earth Day 2004, "sustainable business" for most companies meant having enough working capital. Few people took global warming seriously. Venture capital investment in clean tech (counting everything from agriculture to water) in the previous year had barely crested a billion dollars. The 2003 blackouts were behind us; our attention was on the elections...
Continue reading "It's Earth Day and Energy Priorities is Four" »
The upcoming issue of Time Magazine will be all about "How to win the war on global warming." It's interesting to note that this is the cover story in all worldwide editions of Time, except for Europe. That edition focuses on US-UK relations.
Continue reading "How To Win the War on Global Warming (Time)" »
How will Beijing stage "green games" in one of the world's most polluted cities? By placing all sources of pollution on hold for two months. If the plan fails, the International Olympic Committee's president says smog could postpone some outdoor events.
Continue reading "Beijing Construction to be Halted ahead of China Olympic Games (NY Times)" »
I thought the Beijing Olympics would create a world platform for progress on the environment. Turns out I was wrong. An older and stronger issue is taking the lead.
Continue reading "China Olympics: Green Will Take a Bronze behind Human Rights" »
A special section in today's New York Times focuses on green collar jobs, green college majors, business opportunities, zero-energy homebuilding, and investing. What collar am I?
Electricite de France is rumored to be working on a deal in which EdF could acquire a controlling share in Iberdrola. The combination would create a renewable energy giant with multinational clout.
Continue reading "EdF and Iberdrola, a Renewable Energy Powerhouse?" »
Carbon emissions increased faster than electricity demand in 2007. As much as two-thirds of the greenhouse gas increase was due to increased demand for electricity, much of which was met by coal-fired power plants. Can we hope to make progress against greenhouse gases and continue to exempt ageing coal plants from the Clean Air Act of 1970?
Continue reading "Power Plant Carbon Emissions Outpace Energy Production (AP)" »
My conclusion from reading "America's 50 Green Cities" in the March 2008 Popular Science: There aren't 50 green cities in America. Yet.
Can the U.S. have energy security at the same time it tries to cope with global warming? Warren Olney of KCRW's "To the Point" podcast looks at some of the contradictions we face as the U.S. searches for a coherent energy policy.
Continue reading "Energy Security versus Environmental Stability (KCRW)" »
The government's futuristic "clean coal" power project has joined the long list of scuttled coal plants. The death spiral of coal energy is reminiscent of the 1980s popular blockade of nuclear plant construction. Investors and even the Bush administration are backing out. Was "An Inconvenient Truth" the "China Syndrome" of coal?
The next issue of ComputerWorld magazine (Monday, 18 February, 2008) will feature the magazine's picks for the top "green IT" companies. The winner's circle includes 12 vendors and 12 user companies.
Yucca Mountain's tunnel is closed and most workers have gone home.
Continue reading "Deep Layoffs Announced at Yucca Mountain (AP)" »
The conference of representatives of over 180 countries started Monday, December 3, 2007, and will continue for two weeks. The objective is to launch negotiations for the international agreement that will take over when the current Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
The surface layer of news coverage will be about the fireworks when the U.S. refuses to back carbon limits, but there's much more going on there. The outcome will affect our power prices and American exports -- i.e., U.S. competitiveness -- through 2050. Here are some links to help you follow the events.
3Q '07 numbers are out. Deal count is down slightly, but dollars are way up: $2.5 billion. And the year's not over yet. Nationally the most active investor in clean tech was Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, which invested $76.8 million. That was followed by Khosla Ventures at $68.4 million and Draper Fisher Jurvetson at $38.5 million.
Continue reading "KPCB, Khosla, DFJ Top Latest List of Clean-Tech Investors" »
Not only is China doubling its nuclear energy capacity by 2020, it's on a hydro spree that appears to abandon the ecological values we take for granted in the developed world.
Continue reading "Patrick Moore Should Be Proud of China's Energy Plans (NY Times)" »
I've been interested for several years in the concept of building systems as (very big) hardware platforms for increasingly sophisticated software. Mark Mills dug into this topic uncharacteristically far (for Forbes) this week. Maybe the idea is catching on.
Continue reading "Sport Utility Buildings and McMansions: The Latest Battlefront (Forbes)" »
A United Nations panel of scientists meeting has concluded in Valencia, Spain. The scientists' final report, released today, describes the mounting risks of climate change in language that is more specific and forceful than its previous assessments. Here are links to the report, the IPCC web site, and a New York Times article about it this morning.
Continue reading "UN Report Describes Risks of Inaction on Climate Change (NY Times)" »
The renewable energy industry's leading podcast series ran a segment I recorded at Greenbuild. It's an excerpt of an audio package I produced when I visited the exhibits of the major energy-related exhibitors there. (podcast)
Continue reading "Solar at Greenbuild: Audio Tour (Inside Renewable Energy)" »
GREENBUILD-- Every building is different, and the US Green Building Council is working hard to establish LEED standards that apply fairly to all kinds of buildings. Would a more fluid, flexible system be more effective at encouraging green building?
Continue reading "Green Building Standards Pass up Golden Opportunities" »
When it comes to getting global carbon emissions under control, The Economist's Green.view column says the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) is more of a distraction than a savior. Overall the Economist comes down on this IPCC co-creator pretty hard -- too hard.
Continue reading "High Hopes and Slender Means for IPCC's Parent (The Economist)" »
GREENBUILD-- The tally on the white board in the press room is up to 20,500 attendees at Greenbuild 2007. There are still more people in line to get in.
Continue reading "Greenbuild 2007 Gets Even More Jam-Packed" »
GREENBUILD-- Put 18,000 architects, builders and vendors in one building, when you were expecting fewer than 10,000, and you get...
Thomas L. Friedman says Mumbai and Calcutta, strained from the influx of workers from rural areas, can't keep growing. The tech revolution in India could expand to rural villages, benefiting some of India's 700 million villagers. But it can’t do it off car batteries, backup diesel generators and India’s rural electric grid. It will take a real energy revolution.
Continue reading "If IT Merged with Energy Technology (NY Times)" »
Global warming will be one of the themes of the 2008 Future in Review conference organized by Mark Anderson's Strategic News Service. In an SNS Special Letter, Anderson shares the transcript of "Looking Further," an interview about climate change between futurist Glen Heimstra (Futurist.com) and author Kim Stanley Robinson (“Mars” and “Science In The Capital” Trilogies). The elite ranks of SNS subscribers pay dearly for Anderson's insightful newsletter subscription. But we're bringing this interview to you, compliments of SNS and Energy Priorities.
Continue reading "Global Warming: Looking Further (Strategic News Service by Mark Anderson)" »
A quick note to congratulate the Seattle winners and finalists in the third annual BetterBricks Awards.
Continue reading "BetterBricks Seattle Award Winners 2007: Congratulations" »
In 1961 John F. Kennedy called for his nation to put a man on the moon in ten years. That was a formidable challenge -- and today's energy challenge is even greater. Congressman Jay Inslee has been calling for an end our oil addiction and the accompanying transformation of our economy. He calls it the Apollo Project for energy and his new book, "Apollo's Fire," spells out his vision.
Continue reading ""Apollo's Fire," Jay Inslee's Apollo Project, the Book" »
A couple of weeks ago, the authors of the Sketchup Blog decided to run a friendly competition. They asked readers to submit examples of sustainable work they've done in SketchUp. Six projects were selected -- "They were the most compelling, and most complete, that we received," writes blog author Aidan Chopra.
Continue reading "Green Design in Google SketchUp Highlighted" »
Let me be the first to point you to next week's Fortune magazine. Marc Gunther's "The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades" shines 4 pages of praise on solar module manufacturer SunPower.
The September-October 2007 issue of Technology Review features the "TR35" -- 35 innovators under 35 -- and their inventions. Here are the innovations related to energy:
Continue reading "Energy Innovators Under 35 (Technology Review)" »
In business, as with utilities, the real cost savings come not from the technologies themselves, but from the business strategies they enable. As energy costs rise, businesses must take strategic advantage of being able to know and control the costs in operations and production.
World leaders are saying there is no solution to global warming that does not include nuclear power. The administration has had six years and the Energy Policy Act to reinvigorate the fission industry. No company, however, has broken ground -- or committed to break ground -- on a new nuke plant in the U.S. What's holding things up?
Continue reading "Nuclear Renaissance: Far from a Sure Thing (Power Engineering)" »
Home builder Peter Erickson used some innovative business ideas to allow homeowners to share in the incentives and financial benefits of harnessing solar energy.
Continue reading "Affordable Solar: High-Performance Housing + Smart Investing (Home Power)" »
Before investing in lighting upgrades, consider spending some money on paint. Lighting Design Lab, a nationally recognized research facility in Seattle, has done some research into how a room's surfaces affect the quality of light.
Continue reading "Lighting Boost, No Power Needed (Lighting Design Lab News)" »
Even though the technique isn't quite out of the lab yet, Hydrogen Power in Seattle is already thinking about how to commercialize a process for producing hydrogen from aluminum powder.
Continue reading "Hydrogen via Aluminum: From Soda Cans to Submarines" »
Why our electricity system is headed for a state of emergency, and what can be done to head it off: My two-sentence review of "Lights Out" by Jason Makansi, plus why I liked it and where it falls short.
Geothermal energy is one of the most intriguing renewable sources for me. Humans have used natural hot springs for millenia. A recent AP article reports on the latest efforts in Europe to tap hot rocks deep underground as a way to heat water to produce energy.
Continue reading "Energy Search Goes Underground in Switzerland (AP)" »
Florida Power & Light, the state's largest utility, asked for renewable energy credits for its nuclear power. The state said No.
Continue reading "Nuclear Power Not Clean Enough for Florida RPS (Miami Herald)" »
In follow-up to my earlier article "How Green is Your IT?" here's an AP article on cooling data centers.
Continue reading "Data Centers Suck Down Energy, Mostly for AC (Seattle P-I)" »
An August 1, 2007, Wall Street Journal article relates oil prices to new investment opportunities in energy. It discusses "exotic instruments" such as commodity (oil, natural gas) funds, and "clean alternatives" such as wind and solar. Those are actually quite different investment strategies. Let's talk about the second one, that of focusing on alternative energy sources as an investment strategy.
Continue reading "Making the Best of $78-a-Barrel Oil (WSJ)" »
It might be summer, but the energy event calendar is packed with interesting events. Renewables, smart grid, intelligent buildings and more, all between now and Thanksgiving. Here are our recommended top picks.
Continue reading "Energy Events Calendar Is Filling Fast for Fall 2007" »
California's Renewables Portfolio Standard requires utilities to obtain 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2010. The California Public Utilities Commission is examining the potential use of renewable energy credits for compliance with the RPS.
Almost half the states have passed an RPS of some kind. Should utilities be allowed to buy RECs from other regions to meet their RPS, rather than build renewable energy sources in the state?
Continue reading "Utilities Could Buy Credits to Meet Renewable Energy Minimums" »
Windpower in Namibia, free fluorescent bulbs in South Africa, industrial customers paid to switch off equipment during periods of high demand. These progressive ideas are but a postscript in the story of the power crisis in Africa. Most of the sub-Saharan nations face electricity shortages and unprecedented power crises that mirror -- or presage -- the U.S. experience. Their solution: more power plants, if they can build them.
Stanley Bing stabs directly and not-altogether-humorously at the heart of American environmental gluttony. And he offers a solution.
The European Commission set the beginning of July 2007 as the deadline for having a completely open retail energy market in the European Union. Residential customers should be able to choose their power and gas suppliers, just as business users can. In most countries, they still cannot.
Continue reading "Europe's Energy Market Now Open -- Sort of" »
Solar thermal doesn't get enough attention. Its energy output is used for building space heating, refrigeration and air conditioning, hot water, steam for industrial processes, drying, and electric power generation.
Continue reading "Solar Thermal Energy an Option in Large Facilities (WAPA)" »
"The Clean Tech Revolution" by Ron Pernick and Clint Wilder will be released tomorrow -- June 12, 2007. Here is my review in a two-sentence nutshell, plus why I like it, and what it does and does not cover.
Continue reading "Book Review: "The Clean Tech Revolution"" »
The article covers an integration of systems in state facilities in Missouri, where the government’s energy costs had soared from $42 million to $74 million in two years.
Continue reading "IT-based Buildings: The New Trend of Managing Buildings via the Network (GCN)" »
BuilConn was an interactive environment where attendees helped shape big ideas, such as Buildings 2.0 and GridWise. Ken Sinclair of Automated Buildings magazine called to get my report from the conference, and he published this article:
Quick take on an unexpected pronouncement by George Bush in favor of reducing carbon emissions.
Gatorade has earned Gold LEED Certification for its new manufacturing plant, in part by maximizing its energy efficiency.
Continue reading "Gatorade Goes Green, Gets Gold (Archi-Tech)" »
Given that passive features make a building more comfortable and energy efficient with minimal complexity, can active and dynamic components such as automated shading enhance the benefits without overwhelming complexity? For an average 50,000 square foot building, they can reduce cooling energy demand by as much as 40 percent, and reduce lighting energy consumption by 60 percent. Dynamic envelope technologies reduce energy demand, especially during peak periods. Reduced energy demand means fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
Continue reading "Integrating Dynamic Facades with Building Control Systems (AutomatedBuildings)" »
The DOE's NREL has released its 2007 ranking of leading utility green power programs. Utilities are ranked according to green energy sales, number of participants, and the lowest premium charged per kWh.
Continue reading "Green Power Programs: These Utilities Have the 10 Best (NREL)" »
Does France really get 78 percent of its energy from nuclear power? Well, not really. But don't ask its politicians for the answer. In fact, the truth is hard to find.
Continue reading "France Gets X Percent of its Energy from Nuclear Plants" »
Twelve manufacturing sectors account for 85 percent of U.S. industrial energy use. A new report from the EPA details their energy use and explores policy and regulatory improvements.
Legislators proposing two carbon-capture bills in the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee say the technology is necessary to coal's future. A third bill, if passed, would greatly reduce emissions through energy efficiency.
Continue reading "Legislators Propose Bundle of Bills To Reduce Carbon Emissions (UPI)" »
Cooling, space heating and ventilation are responsible for a 30 percent of a building's energy consumption, the largest portion, on average. Regionally the percentage can be considerably higher -- especially in hot climates. As summer aproaches, building owners need to check not only the health of their cooling systems, but the condition of the building envelope itself.
In the short term there will be winners and losers from climate change. Who are they? In this special double issue devoted to global warming ("Living With Global Warming" in overseas editions), Newsweek takes a look at many aspects of the phenomenon.
Terry Oliver, Chief Technology Innovation Officer of the Bonneville Power Administration, highlights three emerging issues: intermittency, interaction and immediacy. He also predicts unpleasant surprises for utilities that fail to recognize the growing power of reliability rules and equipment standards.
Continue reading "BPA Charts its Grid Future (Smart Grid News)" »
On March 28, 1979, America's worst commercial nuclear accident occurred inside the Unit Two reactor at the Three Mile Island plant near Middletown, PA.
Environmental activists and Wall Street are interweaving at a fevered pitch. Is it the activists who are grasping the importance of finance, or is it the finance community that finally gets the potential economic disaster of ignoring climate change?
Continue reading "Who Wants To Finance a Coal Plant? (Sustainable Industries Journal)" »
The U.S. Department of Energy announced $168 million in funding to accelerate solar energy technology development, positioning the money as a giant boost to the future of photovoltaics. Will this really make solar cost-competitive with grid power in the next eight years? How meaningful is this announcement to businesses?
Continue reading "Solar America Initiative Starts Not with a Bang, but with a Whimper" »
The pro-innovation group TechNet, whose membership includes top executives from more than 115 tech firms, believes the move away from nonrenewable sources of electricity and fuel will require timely, active support from federal and state government. The group issued an agenda that would focus national attention on expanding policies that encourage the development and adoption of sustainable technologies.
Continue reading "CEOs Urge U.S. To Double Energy Research Funding" »
Compete.com looks at the growth in traffic to environmental sites as a whole. They indexed 125 sites, including this one. The aggregate traffic is growing, they say, but not at the rate expected. Growth is also uneven. I wonder, if we were to overlay on their chart the cost of a gallon of gasoline... http://blog.compete.com/2007/03/05/environment-sites-an-inconvenient-truth/
After several years of imagining that the U.S. can live by a separate standard than the rest of the developed world, the Bush administration has begun to soften its stance on climate change. How far off is the U.S. carbon cap and trade system?
Global clean-energy markets are poised to quadruple in the next decade, growing from $55.4 billion in revenues in 2006 to more than $226.5 billion by 2016 for four benchmark technologies, according to a report released today.
The January-February 2007 issue of Distributed Energy Magazine includes two case studies of successful on-site generation projects that capture heat from power generation and put it to productive uses.
Continue reading "Cogeneration Rising (Distributed Energy Magazine)" »
Desert dwellers know they can cope with the heat by cool seeking the shade of a Palo Verde tree. But operators of Arizona's Palo Verde nuclear plant are in the hot seat, and relief might be years away.
Six solar projects make 2006 a milestone year for this renewable-energy finance innovator. Third-party financing removes removes a cost barrier, and power purchase agreements promise predictably-priced green energy.
Continue reading "MMA Renewable Ventures Closes $39 Million in Solar Project Financing for 2006" »
Business 2.0 looked at today's top 9 environmental problems from the perspective of (what else?) where the most money's to be made. Here are their energy-related entrepreneurial hot spots, and links to related items of interest...
Kyoto countries have hinted loudly that there might be consequences for trading partners who have not signed onto the accord. France's President Jacques Chirac is the latest to reiterate the prospect.
Continue reading "France Tells U.S. to Sign Climate Pacts or Face Tax (NY Times)" »
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched a "Fortune 500 Green Power Challenge" for 2007. The campaign urges large companies to make a greater commitment to renewable energy.
Continue reading "EPA Launches Fortune 500 Challenge (NW Current)" »
Engineers have been giving the electric utility industry gray hair -- literally. For several years, utilities have worried about the imbalance between the rates of retirement and recruitment of engineers. They're concerned that they'll lose one out of five of their most experienced engineers in the next 10 years, and as many as half of them in 20 years, to retirement.
Gonzaga University has a formula to help address the graying of the utility workforce. (The traditional formula, Grecian, goes only so far.)
A power plant in Connecticut would rather have a pile of garbage than a lump of coal for Christmas. A state-sponsored project turns non-recyclable garbage into fuel for this and four more generating stations. During the holidays, Americans produce more garbage than in any other season.
Continue reading "Connecticut Turns Holiday Trash into Electricity (Waterbury Rep-American)" »
Iraqi insurgents are waging war on the electric grid around Baghdad, and winning.
Continue reading "Iraqi Insurgents Attack Capital's Weakness: Its Power Grid" »
A new poll also shows that Americans are worried about global warming -- 58 percent say global warming will have a "great to extreme" impact on their children's future -- and two out of three agree it will adversely impact the U.S. economy over the next ten years.
Continue reading "Americans Favor Taxing Carbon, Poll Says" »
Exporting clean energy technologies to developing countries is a potentially huge business. This deal is an example. China produces over 10 billion cubic meters of methane per year from their coal mines. A $100 million Hybrid Coal and Gas Turbine (HCGT) will turn that methane into electricity. The "clean coal" power plant technology was developed in Australia.
Continue reading "China To Import Coal-Mine Methane Technology from Australia" »
Voters around the U.S. are pushing electric utilities to generate a percentage of electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar power. Will this push the Feds to pass a national RPS, and would that be a good thing?
Continue reading "Growing Number of States Requiring Alternative Energy (USA Today)" »
Renewable energy credits (RECs) are earned as power is produced, and can be sold to companies who want to offset their carbon output. That's an incentive to companies installing solar, but when California said "mine," solar companies screamed.
Continue reading "Who Owns Solar Renewable Energy Credits?" »
Wave energy company AquaEnergy Ltd. of Seattle is through an environmental assessment and is ready to apply for a permit to install its offshore buoys. The passage of Washington's I-937 was good news for the company and its parent, who expects to go public within weeks.
Continue reading "AquaEnergy Bouyed by Regulatory Progress (Puget Sound Business Journal)" »
SunPower Corporation yesterday announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire PowerLight Corp.
BP's "Statistical Review of World Energy: Quantifying Energy, the Global Context" is summarized online in several forms, including a video podcast available on iTunes.
Continue reading "BP Statistical Review of World Energy (iTunes)" »
The publishers of the Oxford American Dictionary have selected the word of the year for 2006: "carbon neutral."
Continue reading "Carbon Neutral Is Oxford Dictionary 2006 Word of the Year" »
Five million French and countless others were deprived of electricity for about an hour on Saturday night, 4 November 2006. The blackout also hit Germany, Italy, Belgium, Spain and Portugal.
Continue reading "Europe Hit by Massive Blackouts (Le Monde)" »
Many EU countries are getting nervous about having enough electricity supply to meet peak demands. Although Europe is not expecting widespread blackouts on the scale of those in the U.S. in 2003, a new report says energy conservation and investments in alternatives are urgent.
Continue reading "European Energy Usage Pushes the Limits (Deutsche Welle)" »
More companies are focusing on greenhouse gases and their economic implications, according to a new report based on a survey of 92 companies from various industries. About 75 percent of companies are actively measuring their carbon footprint, and a few are measuring the footprints of their competitors.
Continue reading "Competitors Measuring your Carbon Footprint?" »
Continue reading "CEO Golfers: Utility Leaders Are No Duffers (Golf Digest)" »
Do battery-free sensors have a future in building automation?
Continue reading "Wirelessly Powered Sensors Collect Data and Energy (MIT Technology Review)" »
Europe's Product Oriented Environmental Management System -- "Poems" for short -- determines how much energy is used across a production process, and what waste is generated at each step. Scoring could eventually allow consumers to compare products and select the more energy-efficient choice.
Washington state voters will decide whether to compel utilities to choose renewable energy sources. The initiative is about keeping Washington from slipping backward while other states advance in their renewable energy use.
Continue reading "Renewable Energy Initiative Puts 15-by-20 Plan on Washington's Ballot" »
In the UK's deregulated energy markets, power producers are free to choose nuclear over fossil fuels for their new plants. Should they? A lead article in the latest edition of The Energy Journal concludes that nuclear is not a wise economic investment, so power producers will continue to choose natural gas to fuel new plants.
Continue reading "Nuclear Power Is No Hedge against Uncertain Gas Prices (Energy Journal)" »
"If you are inclined to take a flier on an investment, might we suggest not a specific stock but a specific sector: energy." --Bill Virgin, P-I columnist.
Continue reading "If I Had the Energy, I'd Invest in this Sector (Seattle P-I)" »
Renewable energy sources could soon become significant contributors to the world's growing energy demand -- and they had better, because energy efficiency alone is not enough to counter the alarming trend of climate change.
Continue reading "The Rise of Renewable Energy (Scientific American)" »
Three solar power innovators were honored in the Wall St. Journal's 2006 Technology Innovation Awards, along with Fiberstars (lighting), A123Systems (storage) and Zensys (wireless).
The Modern Grid Initiative has launched an expanded and redesigned Web site to disseminate information and promote collaboration about grid R&D.
Continue reading "Modern Grid Initiative Expands Online Resources" »
Now that liquids -- and potentially notebook computers and cell phones -- are banned from carry-ons, how will airport security measures affect the future of hydrogen fuel cells for electronics?
Continue reading "Does Airport Security Throw Evian on Notebook Fuel Cells?" »
SunEdison LLC has closed a multimillion-dollar financing round led by Goldman Sachs. The company offers financial and management services for commercial and residential solar installations.
Continue reading "Solar Integrator SunEdison Closes Second Round (VentureWire)" »
Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth" bears bad news, but perhaps it's just what entrepreneurs and scientists have been waiting for. This may be the opportunity for the U.S. to take the lead in the new energy economy. What will it take?
Continue reading "Global Warming: A Sputnik Moment? (Radio Open Source)" »
Comfortable buildings without air conditioning? More facilities could do it, using what MIT is learning about fresh air ventilation. MIT president Susan Hockfield launched a day-long MIT Energy Forum last month entitled "Taking on the Challenge," which brought the university's diverse energy research programs into the spotlight.
Continue reading "Ventilation: MIT Energy Researchers Get Some Fresh Air (MIT ERC)" »
WebGen Systems Inc. raised $9.5 million in Series B funding during 2Q 2006. The energy management software company offers applications for energy conservation and control in commercial buildings. Sigma Partners led the round.
Is broadband over powerlines bogus, or real? Analysts and vendors are predicting rapid growth for the internet technology. One analyst, though, has done the research and doesn't share their zeal.
Continue reading "Bogus vs. Real BPL (Smart Grid Newsletter)" »
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 explicitly protected any DOE or NRC employee who tells Congress about possible violations of the Atomic Energy Act. But President Bush reserved the right to silence the would-be whistle blowers, using a little-known legislative practice.
Continue reading "Energy Policy Act Compromised by Presidential Signing Statements" »
Miartech Inc., a Chinese start-up, just raised $6 million in venture capital from Draper Fisher Jurvetson's Dragonfund for its BPL chip.
Continue reading "China Energy Venture Backed by DFJ (VentureWire)" »
Author Tim Flannery, interviewed recently on NPR, said he sees a softening in the Bush administration's rhetoric on climate change. It's a softening, he said, that cannot come too soon.
Continue reading "US Energy Industry Falling Behind World, Says Weather Makers Author" »
Power-Gen RE 2006 -- In the opening ceremony for the 2006 Power-Gen Renewable Energy & Fuels conference, organizer PennWell announced the purchase of three UK magazines.
Continue reading "Renewable Energy World Acquisition Announced at Power-Gen RE 2006" »
Bush appointee retires, takes post as chairman of Areva SA, a nuclear energy giant with designs on the newly lucrative U.S. market.
Continue reading "European Energy Conglomerate Zeros in on U.S. Nuclear Plans (Wall St. Journal)" »
What is the relationship between policy change, technological change, and climate change? A special issue of The Energy Journal examines various models for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Continue reading "Innovation Modeling Comparison Project (Energy Journal)" »
Utilities typically send out more voltage than utility customers need, just to make sure the last customer on the line gets enough. A Washington state utility is changing that -- and willingly costing themselves millions a year in revenue -- by installing conservation voltage reduction devices.
Continue reading "Voltage Reduction Saves Snohomish PUD Customers Millions" »
The Northwest Energy Angel Group was formed in late 2005 and has already financed its first clean tech company.
Continue reading "Energy Angels To Fuel Industry (Puget Sound Business Journal)" »
Choosing a supplier for advanced meter reading technology and services is a difficult task for utilities. Analysts offer their views on AMR technology trends.
Appearing two days after the "green" State of the Union Address, and in the middle of a Clean Tech Investor Summit, this Wall Street Journal article covers all the bases.
Continue reading "Alternative Fuels Attracting Venture Capital (Wall St. Journal)" »
Police fired into a crowd, killing between 10 and 20 villagers protesting property confiscation and the loss of agricultural land for the construction of a wind power generating facility in China.
Continue reading "20 NIMBYs Dead in Clash with Police in Eminent Domain Dispute (AP)" »
BP Alternative Energy will manage BP's growing investments in solar, wind, hydrogen and gas-turbine power generation. They say the unit's investments could amount to $8 billion over the next ten years, generating revenues of around $6 billion a year within that time, employing several hundred staff, and achieving a 15 percent return on capital.
Continue reading "BP to Raise Investment in Alternative Energy (AP)" »
Day4Energy Inc. has closed a fourth round of new funding for its specialized photovoltaic technologies.
Continue reading "Chrysalix Leads Day4 Energy VC Round 4 (VentureWire)" »
The sun is shining on the biodiesel industry, and every agricultural state has a plan to make hay. Or soybeans, as the case may be. But biodiesel importers might rain on their parade.
Eight states and the city of New York continue to pursue their global warming lawsuit against five of the largest U.S. utilities.
Two building shows happened this November in Europe. Batimat 2005 and BuilConn 2005 appeal to the green building and building automation industries.
Continue reading "Batimat, BuilConn Compete for Builders with Concurrent Expos" »
A new study highlighted at the GreenBuild Conference 2005 says that green buildings can provide a significant competitive advantage to business.
Continue reading "Business Profits by Going Green (Greenbuild)" »
Green builders will gather in Atlanta for the Greenbuild Conference and Expo -- and to help Gulf Coast leaders find ways to rebuild green in the aftermath of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Coalition members include Habitat for Humanity, Enterprise Foundation, Trust for Public Land and Congress for New Urbanism.
The most-reported aspect of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 was the extension of Daylight Savings Time. It does not take effect until 2007. Here are the dates.
Continue reading "So When Exactly Is Daylight Savings Time?" »
Magazines serving the utility industry are understandably biased in favor of nuclear energy. In the current climate of zeal for a nuke revival, it is important to keep the facts straight.
Bush calls on lawmakers to give oil companies a break. Oil companies, despite record profits, won't build refineries without federal assistance. Northwest legislators, meanwhile, want to build a biodiesel plant to boost the economy and promote cleaner fuels Washington state, and they have the money to fund it. Both proposals would increase supply, although their economic and environmental impacts would be dramatically different.
Continue reading "Refineries Top Political Agenda in Both Washingtons (Reuters)" »
The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) has launched a new US$5 million rebate program to help consumers, businesses, and institutions buy renewable energy systems.
One of the high-tech bubble's top innovators is playing with solar power. Actually, he's not playing. This is getting serious.
Squeezing incremental energy efficiency from HVAC and lighting systems takes increasingly sophisticated networks of sensors and controls. A wireless networking protocol known as ZigBee is targeting this market. The open standard allows inexpensive controllers and sensors to interconnect over a resilient mesh network.
The role of venture capitalists is to find the next big thing before everyone else does. Some private equity investors are finding companies with green and clean technologies.
The new energy bill offers incentives that should help companies with energy-efficient home appliances and residential renewable energy systems.
Continue reading "Energy Bill: What's In It for You (Wall Street Journal)" »
The large-scale blackout that hit the Northeastern U.S. on August 14, 2003, could happen again. The comprehensive energy bill supports a conventional, centralized system for electricity. Grid modernization, distributed generation, and a more resilient electric grid are still a distant vision, even though the technology is here today.
Continue reading "Two Years After the Northeast Blackout, Has Anything Changed? (NPR)" »
President Bush's support of nuclear power has brought a noticeable increase in advertising and contributed articles by the nuclear industry. Today's FORTUNE carries a five-page special advertising section sponsored by two nuclear associations and Southern Company. Here's an analysis of the industry's advertising message.
Continue reading "Standby Power Supports Business (Energy User News)" »
Major carriers are not serving the high-speed internet needs of every community to the satisfaction of city leaders. Some municipalities are rolling out broadband networks of their own -- to the consternation of incumbent service providers like Verizon and Comcast. In the process, these towns are testing leading-edge technologies such as 4G wireless. Others are moving ahead with broadband over powerlines (BPL).
Continue reading "On the Road to a Broadband Nation (Business 2.0)" »
First "hybrid" publication on energy combines best qualities of magazine and blog.
Continue reading "Business Magazine "Energy Priorities" Celebrates One Year Anniversary" »
"...the United States and Iran discovered this week that they had something in common. They are both passionate cheerleaders for nuclear power. It's just that the United States wants to deny Iran the right to develop its own nuclear power capacity."
New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and New York are working on separate plans to bring broadband to rural businesses and homes. Australia is taking a more national approach, while the US cuts funding for rural broadband. The U.S. is falling behind its global competitors, according to the Global Information Technology Report.
Continue reading "Rural Northeastern Regions Working on Getting Broadband" »
Michael Northrop and David Sassoon describe how carbon has become an important currency in much of the developed world, with the advent of the EU emission trading market and the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol next month.
Continue reading "When Carbon Becomes Money (New Academy Review)" »
The authors describe how simple, focused climate policies can improve regional economic competitiveness while encouraging private investment in clean energy and climate solutions.
Continue reading "Developing Regional Climate Solutions (Seattle Times)" »
Every business contributes to unhealthy carbon emissions. A few have gone as far as to plant trees to offset their share. For those with a green thumb (but a guilty conscience), a carbon calculator is available online. The UK site will even plant the trees for you.
Welcome to Energy Priorities. We have officially launched the first hybrid publication on energy!
