The Smart Grid: Is It Finally Time To Invest? [View article]
Great news on IBM. It was also interesting to see that they received a government contract to install smart grid technology in fifty federal buildings. While I still think smart grids will evolve incrementally at the local level, the federal government continues to play a role. In addition to funding research grants, Washington could embrace the smart grid the same way it embraced LEED standards. Currently all new federal buildings and renovations are required to meet LEED Gold Certification. Similar standards could be implemented to outfit federal facilities with smart grid technology.
In regard to state efforts, a recent article in the Sunday Globe outlines how Massachusetts has become a leader in solar energy. Despite geographic disadvantages, state policy has allowed MA to develop 105MW of solar capacity. As referenced in an above comment, many of the companies positioned to benefit from smart grids are privately owned. In MA they include Solar City, Solect Inc, Vivint solar, PanelClaw. Here is a list of publicly traded companies working towards a smart grid ranging from blue chips to small caps: http://bit.ly/KiqRD1. Specific MA policy includes The Green Communities Act. Signed into state law in 2009, it requires MA utilities to implement smart grid programs. One of these programs was proposed earlier this year by National Grid, a MA utility that is working closely with Itron (ITRI) to implement smart metering and distribution automation. The data transfer and storage technology they are installing was developed in collaboration with Cisco (CSCO).
Washington Wants Natural Gas: The Inevitability Of Favorable Legislation [View article]
Thank you for your comment. I absolutely agree, the fracking controversy is a concern. Yet while environmentalists may generalize all fracking as negative, the Obama Administration has not been as quick to regulate fossil fuels as his campaign rhetoric may have implied. The Federal Government is walking a line between maximizing the economic and political benefits of natural gas and appeasing environmental advocates. Recently proposed legislation reflects this balance by requiring the disclosure of fracking chemicals used on Federal and Native American land. This is a way for the Administration to score environmental points without obstructing industry growth, the majority of which takes place on private land. With hundreds of thousands of jobs being created annually from natural gas fracking and 64% of Ohio voters believing that its economic benefits outweigh its (unproven) environmental costs; the President is unlikely to impose unpopular regulation.
Washington Wants Natural Gas: The Inevitability Of Favorable Legislation [View article]
Thank you for your comment! Short term volatility is definitely a concern but the long term may not be as far away as people think. As the American energy infrastructure is reevaluated, natural gas will become increasingly mainstream. Political momentum, especially at the state level, is growing in support of the industry as political leaders realize its economic benefits. For example, 200,000 jobs were created in PA and TX over the past year. Obama’s recent executive order creating a working group to streamline federal natural gas policy was applauded by the industry as a step in the right direction. He’s proven to be surprisingly supportive, likely because he sees nat gas as the best alternative to coal. George Stigler’s regulatory theory says regulation is implemented in response to industry demand. With the oil and gas industry expected to invest 40-60 billion per year over the next half decade in shale extraction, I’m betting on further favorable legislation. The millions being spent on lobbyists at the state and federal level don’t hurt either. Also, while cheap natural gas may prove problematic for producers in the short term, distributors (some pipelines and utilities) may benefit. Assuming stable retail delivery costs, lower nat gas prices would increase their profits. Thanks again!
Washington Wants Natural Gas: The Inevitability Of Favorable Legislation [View article]
Thank you for your comments. Short term volatility is definitely a concern but the long term may not be as far away as people think. As the American energy infrastructure is reevaluated, natural gas will become increasingly mainstream. Political momentum, especially at the state level, is growing in support of the industry as political leaders realize its economic benefits. For example, 200,000 jobs were created in PA and TX over the past year. Obama’s recent executive order creating a working group to streamline federal natural gas policy was applauded by the industry as a step in the right direction. He’s proven to be surprisingly supportive, likely because he sees nat gas as the best alternative to coal. George Stigler’s regulatory theory says regulation is implemented in response to industry demand. With the oil and gas industry expected to invest 40-60 billion per year over the next half decade in shale extraction, I’m betting on further favorable legislation. The millions being spent on lobbyists at the state and federal level don’t hurt either. Also, while cheap natural gas may prove problematic for producers in the short term, distributors (some pipelines and utilities) may benefit. Assuming stable retail delivery costs lower nat gas prices would increase their profits.
Wind Industry Manufacturers Forced To Reassess As The PTC Nears Expiration [View article]
The Smart Grid: Is It Finally Time To Invest? [View article]
In regard to state efforts, a recent article in the Sunday Globe outlines how Massachusetts has become a leader in solar energy. Despite geographic disadvantages, state policy has allowed MA to develop 105MW of solar capacity. As referenced in an above comment, many of the companies positioned to benefit from smart grids are privately owned. In MA they include Solar City, Solect Inc, Vivint solar, PanelClaw. Here is a list of publicly traded companies working towards a smart grid ranging from blue chips to small caps: http://bit.ly/KiqRD1.
Specific MA policy includes The Green Communities Act. Signed into state law in 2009, it requires MA utilities to implement smart grid programs. One of these programs was proposed earlier this year by National Grid, a MA utility that is working closely with Itron (ITRI) to implement smart metering and distribution automation. The data transfer and storage technology they are installing was developed in collaboration with Cisco (CSCO).
Washington Wants Natural Gas: The Inevitability Of Favorable Legislation [View article]
Washington Wants Natural Gas: The Inevitability Of Favorable Legislation [View article]
Short term volatility is definitely a concern but the long term may not be as far away as people think. As the American energy infrastructure is reevaluated, natural gas will become increasingly mainstream. Political momentum, especially at the state level, is growing in support of the industry as political leaders realize its economic benefits. For example, 200,000 jobs were created in PA and TX over the past year. Obama’s recent executive order creating a working group to streamline federal natural gas policy was applauded by the industry as a step in the right direction. He’s proven to be surprisingly supportive, likely because he sees nat gas as the best alternative to coal.
George Stigler’s regulatory theory says regulation is implemented in response to industry demand. With the oil and gas industry expected to invest 40-60 billion per year over the next half decade in shale extraction, I’m betting on further favorable legislation. The millions being spent on lobbyists at the state and federal level don’t hurt either.
Also, while cheap natural gas may prove problematic for producers in the short term, distributors (some pipelines and utilities) may benefit. Assuming stable retail delivery costs, lower nat gas prices would increase their profits.
Thanks again!
Washington Wants Natural Gas: The Inevitability Of Favorable Legislation [View article]
Short term volatility is definitely a concern but the long term may not be as far away as people think. As the American energy infrastructure is reevaluated, natural gas will become increasingly mainstream. Political momentum, especially at the state level, is growing in support of the industry as political leaders realize its economic benefits. For example, 200,000 jobs were created in PA and TX over the past year. Obama’s recent executive order creating a working group to streamline federal natural gas policy was applauded by the industry as a step in the right direction. He’s proven to be surprisingly supportive, likely because he sees nat gas as the best alternative to coal.
George Stigler’s regulatory theory says regulation is implemented in response to industry demand. With the oil and gas industry expected to invest 40-60 billion per year over the next half decade in shale extraction, I’m betting on further favorable legislation. The millions being spent on lobbyists at the state and federal level don’t hurt either.
Also, while cheap natural gas may prove problematic for producers in the short term, distributors (some pipelines and utilities) may benefit. Assuming stable retail delivery costs lower nat gas prices would increase their profits.