Our inability to provide enough skilled labor presents real and serious challenges to our ability to meet America’s energy demands over the coming decades. A Deloitte Survey from a few years ago put this in stark perspective with 70% of respondents from throughout the U.S. energy industry answering that given the current labor force, they would not be able to meet their future staffing needs. During 2014, the solar industry created jobs 20 times faster than the overall economy, and labor shortages were a consistent struggle in the boom times of shale oil production.
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Topics:
Energy Policy,
Energy Finance,
Renewable Energy
Particularly in the West, hydropower long has provided a significant portion of the energy required to meet the needs of a growing population. Increasingly, however, the circumstances that led to the dominant role played by hydropower generation in providing nearly boundless energy supplies in many parts of the country are changing. Factors that were not known about or anticipated in the decades when much of our existing hydropower infrastructure was constructed are creating challenges both to the long-term reliability and continued cost-effectiveness of traditional hydropower. Climate change and other factors are predicted to alter both the timing and pattern of precipitation and associated runoff that largely determines the availability and amount of hydropower.
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Topics:
Water Energy Nexus,
Water,
Energy Security,
Energy Policy,
Energy Efficiency,
Energy Management
In stark contrast to the Republican match up in September, energy and climate change related policy was freely discussed during the first Democratic presidential debate. For energy industry participants, the question becomes: how will climate policies affect the kinds of projects that get built and financed if a Democrat becomes President? The takeaway after surveying the positions of the candidates presented on Tuesday night is that Americans would be building a great deal of new energy infrastructure.
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Topics:
Carbon Emissions,
Energy Policy,
Energy Finance,
Distributed Energy,
Solar Energy,
Renewable Energy,
Wind,
Oil & Gas
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Topics:
Utilities,
Carbon Emissions,
Energy Policy,
Structured Transactions & Tax,
Energy Efficiency,
Power Generation,
Microgrid,
Energy Finance,
Legislation,
Distributed Energy,
Energy Management,
Renewable Energy
With some of the highest electricity prices in the United States, and mindful of the massive disruptions to its electric service caused by Hurricane Sandy, New York has undertaken a major reform of its electric utility industry. This reform begins with the New York Public Service Commission (NYPSC), which has recently issued a broad-scale initiative to change the way utility service is provided that may serve as an example nationwide. The reforms will radically alter the way electric utility services are provided and priced to customers.
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Topics:
Utilities,
NY REV,
Energy Policy,
Microgrid,
Energy Finance,
Distributed Energy,
Energy Management,
Solar Energy,
Renewable Energy
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