Capturing Markets and Delivering Value in the Electric Utility Industry

The electric utility industry is undergoing rapid changes in response to political, economic and environmental forces and expectations. California has become the focal point of debate regarding the ability of our existing energy production and delivery infrastructure to provide the kind of reliability required by corporations so dependent upon electricity for day-to-day operations. At the same time, growing concerns over global climate change is increasing the value of renewable energy technologies. Moving from a central power plant model to a more distributed system featuring a greater diversity of fixed-price renewable fuels offers solutions to an array of energy challenges facing companies in the industrialized world. This fundamental paradigm shift also offers major growth opportunities for companies developing new technologies whose most critical contribution to the global economy and environment may indeed occur in the developing world. Those companies that seize this opportunity to upgrade our aging energy infrastructure in the industrialized world, or foster new approaches to energy in the developing world, may prove that the ultimate corporate environmental strategy lies with distributed renewable energy systems.