Utilities

As cities look to the Internet of Things to reimagine urban infrastructure, one hope is that real-time data collection will help increase energy efficiency at the regional level. Where do homes outfitted with a network of smart devices fit in?

October 28, 2015 - VerdeXchange News

Utilities profit from building more power plants—a flawed model for a diminishing natural monopoly.

October 15, 2015 - Vox

A complex infrastructure investment project to build resilience into the energy grid is snarling traffic in North and Central New Jersey.

August 14, 2015 - The Record

In many places around the country, the price of water is increasing, quickly. While the reasons for the increase vary depending on the location, common to the issue is the ability of planning to either help or hinder the problem.

December 9, 2014 - Governing

In the next few decades, U.S. governments and businesses are predicted to spend trillions of dollars on infrastructure. This is the reality. The question is: how do we get smart about these investments?

November 15, 2014 - Infrastructure Crisis Sustainable Solutions

Construction and permitting for large solar facilities like those located in the desert at the border of California and Nevada is nearly non-existent. Uncertainty over expiring tax credits is only partly to blame.

January 13, 2014 - Los Angeles Times

The millions of smart meters and grid sensors in operation across North America are providing a flood of information that utilities are still struggling to process. But changes in operations are already emerging, and potential uses grow by the day.

September 25, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

Through determined investment, L.A. is on track to generate a third of its power from renewables by 2020. Varun Sivaram, formerly Mayor Villaraigosa's senior advisor on energy and water policy, explains how the city must modernize its power system.

August 20, 2013 - The Planning Report

An Ohio utility is switching to coal due to the rising price of natural gas, illustrating how sensitive fuel prices are to utilities. However, when it comes to building new plants - natural gas has the advantage due to coal's higher capital costs.

April 26, 2013 - The Columbus Dispatch

As utilities and energy companies move towards distributed power, building owners, businesses, and developers are seeing the possibilities.

December 21, 2011 - The Planning Report

Copper demand is on the rise all over the planet. As this post from InfraNet Lab points out, the U.S. has rich deposits -- in its telephone networks.

May 16, 2011 - InfraNet Lab

Three years ago, Boulder grabbed international attention when it announced plans to construct a "smart grid" of high tech tools to help cut its electricity consumption. But that project has gone way over budget.

February 3, 2011 - Time

Small German towns that had sold off their energy utilities to large corporations in the 1990s are trying to buy them back. They want to be back in on the lucrative energy market, but have large and formidable opponents.

April 19, 2010 - Der Spiegel

San Francisco, Portland, and San Diego lead the charge to ensure everything from power grids to building codes are prepared for arrival of electric cars.

February 16, 2010 - New York Times