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Stagnant demand for electricity in the USA is forcing utilities to look elsewhere for revenue and earnings, prompting a surge in mergers and acquisitions. Recent announcements by Duke Energy and Southern Company illustrate the trend, which is likely to continue for some time, according to analysts, including the accounting firm EY, previously known as Ernst & Young. (Read More)
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Like Pope Francis, major corporations around the world are stepping up their calls for governments to take dramatic steps to address climate change. Among them is Mars Inc., the maker of M&Ms, Snickers bars and other foods, which is well known for its reputation for keeping quiet on most business matters. But when it comes to the environment, the company is outspoken. (Read more)
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Once a leading producer of marble in the world, Rutland, Vt., is embracing a new reputation as the “Solar Capital of New England.” Festivities set for Tuesday will commemorate the designation, which may seem modest in comparison to Rutland’s industrial past. But for this city of 16,500, it illustrates a significant movement from old-style ways of providing electricity and perhaps a model for the rest of the U.S. (Read more)
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Doyle Beneby is a leader among U.S. utility executives when it comes to promoting solar energy, and he has the bruises to show for it. As the chief executive of CPS Energy in San Antonio since 2010, Beneby has made solar a priority for generating electricity and new jobs in Texas’ second largest city. (Read More)
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Jim Rogers spent 25 years as the chief executive of electric and natural gas utilities in the U.S., the last seven as head of Duke Energy, the biggest electric power company in the country. Now, in his retirement from the energy business, Rogers has taken on a new mission: Bringing electricity to the 1.2 billion people in the world who live without it. (Read More)
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Plans for offshore wind farms have fallen flat for years in the U.S.But a Rhode Island-based company is about to begin installation of what promises to be the first such venture in the nation. (Read more)
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When Peter Davidson was hired as executive director of the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office two years ago, his was not an enviable position. The controversial program had been operating without a full-time director for more than a year, had made no financial commitments in some two years, and was still reeling from the fallout of a major fiasco: the bankruptcy of one of its major clients, the solar-panel maker Solyndra. Now, Davidson, who resigned in June to return home to New York, is claiming success for a controversial loan program that supports technologies with the potential to transform the ways we use and produce energy, but with risks that can scare off commercial lenders. (Read more)
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When you think about disruption in the U.S. electric power industry, one of the first companies that comes to mind is SolarCity. Since its founding in 2006, the San Mateo, Calif.-based business has become the number-one installer of solar panels on residential roofs, and a villain in the eyes of some utility executives who see SolarCity and its competitors potentially cutting deeply into their electricity sales. So, it may come as a surprise that SolarCity is reaching out to utility companies and grid operators to form partnerships. (Read more)
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OPEC ministers will meet in Vienna this week for the second time since oil prices began to plummet last June, with little to do but stay the course on production from the cartel’s members. (Read More)
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David Crane likes to compete with himself. For Crane, the CEO of NRG Energy (NRG), the biggest independent producer of electricity in the U.S., conventional coal, natural gas and nuclear plants provide the bulk of his company’s $3.8 billion in revenue. But Crane foresees a day not so far off when new technologies like rooftop solar and batteries will turn the electric power industry upside down, and NRG is moving in that direction. (Read More)
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