A tough legal showdown between the city of Boulder and utility Xcel Energy is brewing as the city prepares to force Xcel to sell its distribution network. Read More »
Cleantech
The race for more clean power has intensified in California, and utilities such as PG&E and San Diego Gas & Electric have been busy inking contracts to meet what is the toughest standard in the country. Read More »
Boulder plans to ask its voters to decide if it should form its own utility instead of relying on Xcel for electricity. The city says the move is for gaining more control over buying clean sources of power. Read More »
They’re dropping like flies: the big Internet companies’ online energy tools. Last week, it was Google pulling the plug on PowerMeter, and this week, it’s RIP for Microsoft and its Hohm energy tool. Here’s my assessment of 5 reasons why Microsoft Hohm didn’t take off. Read More »
Will your local utility one day go the way of dinosaurs? As more home and business owners install solar panels, wind turbines and other electricity and heat generating equipment, the roles of the utilities will change and new business opportunities will rise. Read More »
Solar equipment installers and manufacturers have pointed out for some time now the hassles of dealing with disparate permitting rules and costs from one city or county to the next. A new report highlights this challenge in Colorado, where a bill is pending to cap fees. Read More »
Xcel Energy’s showcase smart grid project in Boulder, Colo. has cost a lot more than originally expected, and the Colorado Public Utility Commission is now asking the utility to prove why it needs its Colorado customers to foot part of the bill. The main culprit… Read More »
If you thought the smart grid was a distant future, in some cities it’s already here. Xcel Energy, which sells electricity and gas in eight western and mid-western states, says its SmartGridCity Project in Boulder, Colo. is now live. At least the smart distribution piece… Read More »
President Obama has called for the installation of 40 million smart meters and 3,000 miles of transmission lines. That means 2009 could be the year that we finally start seeing real attention being paid to “Power Grid 2.0” — basically turning the electrical grid… Read More »
Today, Xcel Energy said it intends to convert a coal-fired power generator in Wisconsin to burn gas derived from biomass. The Bay Front Power Plant in Ashland, Wisc., has three generator units, two of which burn biomass generating 46 megawatts of power while… Read More »
GridPoint, a smart grid company that helps utilities balance energy loads, just announced that it has more than doubled its funding, adding a $120 million equity financing round. Those funds will fuel an “acquisition strategy,” and GridPoint says its first purchase, also announced… Read More »
Xcel Energy will disclose in SEC filings the risks of future climate change regulation and legislation, climate-change related litigation and physical impacts of climate change. The company estimates that carbon emission would have cost $603 million last year, more than its 2007 profits. Read More »
More Must Reads
