Latest

Public power utilities depend upon access to capital at favorable rates. So the munis pay special attention when Wall Street rating agencies talk about tinkering with how they establish bond ratings for municipal utility projects. Thus, recent moves by Moody’s Investors Service has drawn some fire from public power.

Understanding the reliability and failure mechanisms of photovoltaic modules is crucial to understanding how well they will perform over time. But today there are no test standards in place to judge this crucial issue.

Cloud computing is a growing phenomenon for many businesses, large and small, promising significant efficiencies and cost savings. But, as with anything new, computing in the cloud poses some unforeseen legal issues.

Social media are transforming the world around us, and not just the world of our family and friends. Understanding how the new tools of social interaction impact the job is part of the role of today’s effective manager.

Have you seen too many eyes-glazed-over expressions betraying a lack of interest at your employee meetings? Getting folks to pay attention at meetings is important, and there are ways to make it happen.

In many quarters, nuclear power generates enthusiasm. A single pound of reactor-grade uranium oxide produces as much electricity as 16,000-plus pounds of coal—enough to meet the needs of the average U.S. household for more than one year. And whereas burning coal emits carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, nuclear power generation is virtually emissions […]

With its powerful new renewable portfolio standard, California will boost the market for small renewable technologies. The key is the reverse auction mechanism, which fine-tunes the regulatory regime.

Cybersecurity of U.S. electric infrastructure has become a major issue on the national agenda, posing challenges to how we structure, construct, and regulate our power system. This is the first of a two-part article looking at legal and regulatory issues surrounding electric system cybersecurity.

Surging coal prices have continued to prompt generators to displace some coal used for power generation with natural gas, and gas demand is again expected to jump this winter, which could pose some supply restraints, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said in its Winter 2011-2012 Energy Market Assessment.

The Department of Energy (DOE) is seeking contenders for a three-year-long funding opportunity for applied scientific research to advance novel concentrating solar power (CSP) technologies. The $60 million investment is part of the DOE’s SunShot Initiative, a collaborative effort to reduce the cost of solar energy 75% and make it cost competitive with other forms of energy by the end of the decade.