Bloom Energy today announced a new program designed to attract new customers who can't or don't want to invest in the spendy fuel cell equipment. Bloom is offering those customers the option of paying only for the electricity produced without making the initial investment in the equipment.
Turns out 2010 was a banner year for smart grid venture capital investments and mergers and acquisitions. Venture capital funding almost doubled compared to 2009, said consulting company Mercom Capital Group. And not a bad year for wind and solar, either.
American consumers don't have to dig very deep to find another reason to object to smart meters. All they have to do is look at what European utilities are paying per meter and compare it to what U.S. utilities are paying. I've done the math and it's grim. Even worse, American utilities are doing this to themselves.
Investments in clean-tech such as renewable energy and other smart grid technologies and equipment reached a record level of $243 billion globally in 2010, according to a new study report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
Which smart grid companies will be on our radar as 2011 progresses? That's the question we put to our readers – and you came through with some intriguing nominations. In today's post we introduce the second installment of 11 in 2011 nominations, along with observations from Jesse Berst.
Duke Energy has been planning to expand for at least a decade, so its acquisition of Progress Energy in an all-stock, $13 billion-plus deal isn't a major surprise. But it may be the kind of consolidation the sector needs.
Well-structured, competitive electric markets are helping industrial, commercial and residential customer choice thrive by supporting new products and services in several U.S. states and Canadian provinces. That from a new report by the Distributed Energy Financial Group.
GE plans to swing into the home area network market with a full suite of smart appliances and a home energy management system. Described as a "whole-home" solution, GE says its offering will give consumers more convenience, choice and control.
Despite pushback from regulators and ratepayers, a recent survey reveals utilities are eager to move forward with smart grid investments. Andrew Weisel of Macquarie Research provides the numbers and insights.
Security expert Andy Bochman is here with a positive spin on the financial state of the utility industry and some thoughts on how energized investors could add momentum to the smart grid build-out.
To take full advantage of smart grid technologies and renewable energy will require expansion of the nation's transmission system and a new report from Pike Research says high-voltage DC transmission will be one of the most important high-growth sectors in this market.
Distribution automation is the next hot smart grid trend, according to Pike Research. Utilities worldwide are expected to sink $46 billion into the technologies to improve efficiency, reliability, service quality and conservation, according to a new cleantech research report. And by the way, the return on investment is expected to be better for DA than for smart meters.
The immediate investment future for clean technologies looks good into the first half of next year, with solar well in the lead, according to the latest Wall Street Transcript report on alternative energy and utilities.
Solar panel maker Solyndra, faced with serious price competition, has announced plans to shutter an older manufacturing plant and lay off workers. The company also will delay expansion of a new state-of-the-art factory, a project that had won a $535 million DOE loan guarantee last year.
A new Pike Research report identifies revenue opportunities for 10 smart grid security risk types and forecasts the bulk of investment between now and 2015 will focus on communications and computer operations.
One of the best things policymakers could do for the smart grid market is to allow utilities to get bigger. Bigger markets lead to bigger opportunities which lead to bigger innovations. Unfortunately, the economies of scale that have benefited other industries remain a no-show in the electric power industry.
With mass market release of electric vehicles just around the corner, a new report from J.D. Power suggests auto manufacturers may be overly bullish about consumer demand for EVs, PHEVs and the like.
The world's supply of rare earth metals used in technologies like EVs and wind turbines is shrinking fast as China, by far the world's largest supplier, continues to cut exports to meet domestic needs. And industry sources say more cuts are coming.
The global market for home area network products and services could reach $3 billion in 2014, making it an increasingly attractive target for investors and developers.
A new report from the Energy Department has some interesting observations on where the money's going in the smart grid vendor world and what's driving trends like integration and partnerships.
With institutional investors eager to participate in the smart grid’s growth, meter maker Elster’s IPO may do fine in the short-term. But Jesse Berst sees only ho-hum prospects in the long-term. Click inside for his explanation. We've set up a quick poll so you can weigh in too.
A new report says the hybrid electric vehicle market for commercial and government fleets will grow at a strong clip for the next five years, particularly in the U.S.
Results of a pilot project in Washington, D.C., show residential electricity customers do respond to dynamic pricing. In other words, they'll reduce their energy use when price is an issue.
We're getting mixed signals about the vitality of the smart grid market. On the one hand, the recent DistribuTECH conference was one of the most successful ever. On the other, a well-known Wall Street analyst recently told his clients that the smart metering sector is "facing several headwinds," including weak regulatory support in the U.S. and delays in European adoption. Taking the pulse of the smart grid industry is this week's Tuesday Topic.
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