GreenBeat: Brace yourselves, electricity prices will rise over next 10-30 years, Duke CEO Jim Rogers says
“In the last 50 years, electricity prices have been flat — in the next 10 to 30, the price of electricity is going to rise,” said Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers in conversation with Matter Network’s John Gartner at GreenBeat 2009 this evening. “This is going to lead to a lot of frustration from consumers and political reactions,” he continues. The key, he says, is how utilities, their customers and governments respond to this increase.
Duke,… Continue Reading
Latest GreenBeat speaker: Duke CEO James “Green Coal Baron” Rogers
We’re delighted to announce that James Rogers, CEO of Duke Energy, the third largest utility in the U.S., will be speaking at our GreenBeat 2009 conference on Nov. 18-19 — the seminal executive event on the cleaner, more efficient electrical grid emerging around the globe.
Rogers, tasked with cleaning up one of the oldest and dirtiest utilities in the country, has become one of the boldest, and most active environmentalists in the utility industry. He’s made… Continue Reading
Duke Energy continues wind streak with new offshore turbines
Less than a week after bringing large wind farms online in Pennsylvania and Wyoming, Duke Energy has unveiled a new offshore wind project. Partnering with the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, the southern utility is funding a pilot study of three offshore wind turbines in Pamlico Sound, off the state’s coast.
The goal of the study is to determine how much large-scale offshore wind development would cost in the region, as well as how… Continue Reading
40,000 wind turbines to power up North America by 2015
After years of slow growth, wind power will sprint ahead with the deployment of 40,000 new wind turbines across North America by the year 2015, according to a new predictive report out of cleantech analysis firm Pike Research. The sector will be serving up big economic opportunities in the next several years as the government champions wind as the most feasible source of renewable energy, and as older, first-generation turbines are replaced (about 45 percent… Continue Reading
Cisco recruits Smart Grid players into interoperable consortium
A day after IBM announced its new SAFE software package providing a standard infrastructure platform for utilities and Smart Grid startups, Cisco Systems has announced its own consortium of companies adopting common IP-based communications standards. In doing so, the company hopes to network Smart Grid stakeholders into a completely interoperable ecosystem for sending and receiving energy consumption data.
Cisco has recruited a number of impressive names for this consortium including major meter makers Itron and Landis+Gyr,… Continue Reading
Duke Energy taps Ambient for Smart Grid communications
Duke Energy, one of the largest utilities in the U.S., has selected the Ambient Corporation to provide the wireless communication technology for its smart meter roll out. Based in Newton, Mass., the publicly-traded networking company provides equipment to beam energy consumption data two ways between consumers and utilities, and to integrate various Smart Grid applications and devices.
Specifically, Ambient will be supplying Duke with its X-series communication node, a device that captures energy use data and… Continue Reading
Duke teams with Chinese co. to advance carbon capture tech
Duke Energy is having a big day for deals. Earlier today, it announced its contract with Echelon to deploy up to 1.5 million smart meters across its service area. Now, it’s also revealed plans to join forces with the Huaneng Group in China to research and take steps toward capturing more carbon emitted from coal-fired power plants.
As part of the agreement, the two companies will meet together several times in upcoming months to swap ideas… Continue Reading
Echelon wins first major U.S. smart meter contract from Duke
Smart meter maker Echelon has landed a $15.8 million contract from Duke Energy that would allow the North Carolina-based utility to deploy more than 120,000 meters across its service area. But with Duke planning to install more than 1.5 million meters over the next five years, the deal could balloon to as much as $150 million.
Duke’s five-year roadmap already includes the installation of 700,000 meters in Ohio, and it’s waiting on regulator approval to deploy… Continue Reading
Duke Energy invests $100M in rooftop solar projects
Duke Energy — hardly your conventional renewable energy startup — has thrown its hat in the solar ring with a $100 million investment in commercial-scale rooftop solar panels.
The Charlotte, North Carolina, based electric utility will partner with commercial and residential property owners to tap into a growing market that has seen large investments in recent months from major utilities like Southern California Edison, which unveiled its own $875 million rooftop project in late March.
Like SCE,… Continue Reading