Solar, wind energy a missed opportunity for Cuba - Boston Globe

var archivedState=0;

RAMON GORDO, Cuba (AP) — The sleepy country setting that farmer Juan Alonso calls home hasn’t changed much since he was born 74 years ago, with the two rustic wooden houses nestled among palm trees against a backdrop of green hills and clear skies.

Incongruously perched atop the homes are the only visual clues that his 150-acre (60-hectare) farm inhabits the 21st century: the gleaming solar panels that revolutionized the lives of Alonso and his family.

‘‘Just imagine, you toil all day in the field and then when you get home you have to grope around doing things with a gas lantern, with a torch to illuminate the patio at night,’’ Alonso said, describing life during decades past. Now his family has electric lights, a television and a DVD player. ‘‘It’s a change as radical as night to day.’’

Cuba is proud of its success in using alternative energy to bring electricity to isolated hamlets like Ramon Gordo, 90 miles (150 kilometers) west of Havana. Some 2,000 schools and at least 400 hospitals are lit up by solar panels in rural areas not plugged into the national grid. But scientists say the island, blessed with year-around sunshine and sea breezes but plagued with chronic energy shortages, could be doing much more on the national level, and that its communist government is missing a golden opportunity to reduce its dependence on subsidized oil from uber-ally Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez is sick with cancer.

It is vital that Cuba expand its energy horizons ‘‘so it doesn’t remain at the mercy of political changes in the region that could affect it adversely,’’ said Judith Cherni, an alternative energy expert at the Imperial College London Center for Environmental Policy.

The urgency to find alternative energy sources was driven home last month when an exploratory offshore oil well drilled by Spanish company Repsol turned out to be dry, a setback to Cuba’s hopes for a big strike that could be a boon for the limping economy, though exploration continues.

Despite recent essays by revolutionary hero Fidel Castro on impending global catastrophe due to climate change, Cuba gets just 3.8 percent of its electricity from renewables, a pittance even by regional standards and far behind global leaders.

In the nearby Dominican Republic, where a 2007 law establishes tax breaks for investment in alternative energy, renewables account for 14 percent of electrical generation. Germany, the gold standard for high-tech green energy, gets 20 percent of its considerably larger electrical consumption from renewables, mostly from wind.

The reality in Cuba today is that wind and solar energy sources are almost exclusively for local consumption and there has been little attempt to expand them to augment the national grid, which is powered mostly by fossil fuels. Scientists say the country lacks the investment and expertise for such a move.

Around the region, examples abound for Cuba to emulate. Central American nations are using hydroelectric facilities to harness the power of rivers. Caribbean islands are passing laws stimulating foreign investment in renewables. Wind and solar farms are popping up where viable. Faraway in Europe, and nearby in the United States, individuals with solar panels can get paid for any extra energy they generate that goes back into the grid.

‘‘Possessing apt natural resources to generate energies is a tremendous boon, but that alone is not enough to create energy,’’ said Cherni.

Another obstacle to boosting renewable energy is a stubbornly fixed mindset that equates development with oil.

Memories are still vivid here of the ‘‘Special Period’’ of the 1990s, when the island’s economy tanked with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ushering in years of hunger, prolonged blackouts and fuel shortages. People thumbed rides to work on the back of bicycles as cars sat idle and empty-tanked.

To cope, Cuba began installing its first solar panels, building small hydroelectric plants, restoring old windmills and extracting gas from animal waste.

But after Chavez’s election in 1998 in oil-rich Venezuela, Cuba once again embraced fossil fuels wholeheartedly with the appearance of a new benefactor and ideological ally willing to help keep the lights on. Today Caracas provides nearly half Cuba’s petroleum needs, shipping about 100,000 barrels of oil a day to the island on beneficial terms while Cuba sends doctors and technical advisers to Venezuela.

‘‘Cuba is a nation that is dependent on oil, yes, but in addition the culture of its leaders and technicians, of its common citizens, is one of fossil fuels,’’ said Alejandro Montesinos, a renewable energy expert at Cubasolar, the island’s chief NGO for sustainable energy.Continued...

View the original article here

Solar, wind energy a missed opportunity for Cuba - Boston Globe

var archivedState=0;

RAMON GORDO, Cuba (AP) — The sleepy country setting that farmer Juan Alonso calls home hasn’t changed much since he was born 74 years ago, with the two rustic wooden houses nestled among palm trees against a backdrop of green hills and clear skies.

Incongruously perched atop the homes are the only visual clues that his 150-acre (60-hectare) farm inhabits the 21st century: the gleaming solar panels that revolutionized the lives of Alonso and his family.

‘‘Just imagine, you toil all day in the field and then when you get home you have to grope around doing things with a gas lantern, with a torch to illuminate the patio at night,’’ Alonso said, describing life during decades past. Now his family has electric lights, a television and a DVD player. ‘‘It’s a change as radical as night to day.’’

Cuba is proud of its success in using alternative energy to bring electricity to isolated hamlets like Ramon Gordo, 90 miles (150 kilometers) west of Havana. Some 2,000 schools and at least 400 hospitals are lit up by solar panels in rural areas not plugged into the national grid. But scientists say the island, blessed with year-around sunshine and sea breezes but plagued with chronic energy shortages, could be doing much more on the national level, and that its communist government is missing a golden opportunity to reduce its dependence on subsidized oil from uber-ally Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez is sick with cancer.

It is vital that Cuba expand its energy horizons ‘‘so it doesn’t remain at the mercy of political changes in the region that could affect it adversely,’’ said Judith Cherni, an alternative energy expert at the Imperial College London Center for Environmental Policy.

The urgency to find alternative energy sources was driven home last month when an exploratory offshore oil well drilled by Spanish company Repsol turned out to be dry, a setback to Cuba’s hopes for a big strike that could be a boon for the limping economy, though exploration continues.

Despite recent essays by revolutionary hero Fidel Castro on impending global catastrophe due to climate change, Cuba gets just 3.8 percent of its electricity from renewables, a pittance even by regional standards and far behind global leaders.

In the nearby Dominican Republic, where a 2007 law establishes tax breaks for investment in alternative energy, renewables account for 14 percent of electrical generation. Germany, the gold standard for high-tech green energy, gets 20 percent of its considerably larger electrical consumption from renewables, mostly from wind.

The reality in Cuba today is that wind and solar energy sources are almost exclusively for local consumption and there has been little attempt to expand them to augment the national grid, which is powered mostly by fossil fuels. Scientists say the country lacks the investment and expertise for such a move.

Around the region, examples abound for Cuba to emulate. Central American nations are using hydroelectric facilities to harness the power of rivers. Caribbean islands are passing laws stimulating foreign investment in renewables. Wind and solar farms are popping up where viable. Faraway in Europe, and nearby in the United States, individuals with solar panels can get paid for any extra energy they generate that goes back into the grid.

‘‘Possessing apt natural resources to generate energies is a tremendous boon, but that alone is not enough to create energy,’’ said Cherni.

Another obstacle to boosting renewable energy is a stubbornly fixed mindset that equates development with oil.

Memories are still vivid here of the ‘‘Special Period’’ of the 1990s, when the island’s economy tanked with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ushering in years of hunger, prolonged blackouts and fuel shortages. People thumbed rides to work on the back of bicycles as cars sat idle and empty-tanked.

To cope, Cuba began installing its first solar panels, building small hydroelectric plants, restoring old windmills and extracting gas from animal waste.

But after Chavez’s election in 1998 in oil-rich Venezuela, Cuba once again embraced fossil fuels wholeheartedly with the appearance of a new benefactor and ideological ally willing to help keep the lights on. Today Caracas provides nearly half Cuba’s petroleum needs, shipping about 100,000 barrels of oil a day to the island on beneficial terms while Cuba sends doctors and technical advisers to Venezuela.

‘‘Cuba is a nation that is dependent on oil, yes, but in addition the culture of its leaders and technicians, of its common citizens, is one of fossil fuels,’’ said Alejandro Montesinos, a renewable energy expert at Cubasolar, the island’s chief NGO for sustainable energy.Continued...

View the original article here

Business Opportunities in the Energy Infrastructure Construction Industry in India: Market Profile - new market research report - Transworld News

TransWorldNews, Inc. and its affiliate sites disclaim all liability for information and content provided by clients and appearing within their news and press releases.

View the original article here

Solar, wind energy a missed opportunity for Cuba - Boston Globe

var archivedState=0;

RAMON GORDO, Cuba (AP) — The sleepy country setting that farmer Juan Alonso calls home hasn’t changed much since he was born 74 years ago, with the two rustic wooden houses nestled among palm trees against a backdrop of green hills and clear skies.

Incongruously perched atop the homes are the only visual clues that his 150-acre (60-hectare) farm inhabits the 21st century: the gleaming solar panels that revolutionized the lives of Alonso and his family.

‘‘Just imagine, you toil all day in the field and then when you get home you have to grope around doing things with a gas lantern, with a torch to illuminate the patio at night,’’ Alonso said, describing life during decades past. Now his family has electric lights, a television and a DVD player. ‘‘It’s a change as radical as night to day.’’

Cuba is proud of its success in using alternative energy to bring electricity to isolated hamlets like Ramon Gordo, 90 miles (150 kilometers) west of Havana. Some 2,000 schools and at least 400 hospitals are lit up by solar panels in rural areas not plugged into the national grid. But scientists say the island, blessed with year-around sunshine and sea breezes but plagued with chronic energy shortages, could be doing much more on the national level, and that its communist government is missing a golden opportunity to reduce its dependence on subsidized oil from uber-ally Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez is sick with cancer.

It is vital that Cuba expand its energy horizons ‘‘so it doesn’t remain at the mercy of political changes in the region that could affect it adversely,’’ said Judith Cherni, an alternative energy expert at the Imperial College London Center for Environmental Policy.

The urgency to find alternative energy sources was driven home last month when an exploratory offshore oil well drilled by Spanish company Repsol turned out to be dry, a setback to Cuba’s hopes for a big strike that could be a boon for the limping economy, though exploration continues.

Despite recent essays by revolutionary hero Fidel Castro on impending global catastrophe due to climate change, Cuba gets just 3.8 percent of its electricity from renewables, a pittance even by regional standards and far behind global leaders.

In the nearby Dominican Republic, where a 2007 law establishes tax breaks for investment in alternative energy, renewables account for 14 percent of electrical generation. Germany, the gold standard for high-tech green energy, gets 20 percent of its considerably larger electrical consumption from renewables, mostly from wind.

The reality in Cuba today is that wind and solar energy sources are almost exclusively for local consumption and there has been little attempt to expand them to augment the national grid, which is powered mostly by fossil fuels. Scientists say the country lacks the investment and expertise for such a move.

Around the region, examples abound for Cuba to emulate. Central American nations are using hydroelectric facilities to harness the power of rivers. Caribbean islands are passing laws stimulating foreign investment in renewables. Wind and solar farms are popping up where viable. Faraway in Europe, and nearby in the United States, individuals with solar panels can get paid for any extra energy they generate that goes back into the grid.

‘‘Possessing apt natural resources to generate energies is a tremendous boon, but that alone is not enough to create energy,’’ said Cherni.

Another obstacle to boosting renewable energy is a stubbornly fixed mindset that equates development with oil.

Memories are still vivid here of the ‘‘Special Period’’ of the 1990s, when the island’s economy tanked with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ushering in years of hunger, prolonged blackouts and fuel shortages. People thumbed rides to work on the back of bicycles as cars sat idle and empty-tanked.

To cope, Cuba began installing its first solar panels, building small hydroelectric plants, restoring old windmills and extracting gas from animal waste.

But after Chavez’s election in 1998 in oil-rich Venezuela, Cuba once again embraced fossil fuels wholeheartedly with the appearance of a new benefactor and ideological ally willing to help keep the lights on. Today Caracas provides nearly half Cuba’s petroleum needs, shipping about 100,000 barrels of oil a day to the island on beneficial terms while Cuba sends doctors and technical advisers to Venezuela.

‘‘Cuba is a nation that is dependent on oil, yes, but in addition the culture of its leaders and technicians, of its common citizens, is one of fossil fuels,’’ said Alejandro Montesinos, a renewable energy expert at Cubasolar, the island’s chief NGO for sustainable energy.Continued...

View the original article here

Solar, wind energy a missed opportunity for Cuba - Boston Globe

var archivedState=0;

RAMON GORDO, Cuba (AP) — The sleepy country setting that farmer Juan Alonso calls home hasn’t changed much since he was born 74 years ago, with the two rustic wooden houses nestled among palm trees against a backdrop of green hills and clear skies.

Incongruously perched atop the homes are the only visual clues that his 150-acre (60-hectare) farm inhabits the 21st century: the gleaming solar panels that revolutionized the lives of Alonso and his family.

‘‘Just imagine, you toil all day in the field and then when you get home you have to grope around doing things with a gas lantern, with a torch to illuminate the patio at night,’’ Alonso said, describing life during decades past. Now his family has electric lights, a television and a DVD player. ‘‘It’s a change as radical as night to day.’’

Cuba is proud of its success in using alternative energy to bring electricity to isolated hamlets like Ramon Gordo, 90 miles (150 kilometers) west of Havana. Some 2,000 schools and at least 400 hospitals are lit up by solar panels in rural areas not plugged into the national grid. But scientists say the island, blessed with year-around sunshine and sea breezes but plagued with chronic energy shortages, could be doing much more on the national level, and that its communist government is missing a golden opportunity to reduce its dependence on subsidized oil from uber-ally Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez is sick with cancer.

It is vital that Cuba expand its energy horizons ‘‘so it doesn’t remain at the mercy of political changes in the region that could affect it adversely,’’ said Judith Cherni, an alternative energy expert at the Imperial College London Center for Environmental Policy.

The urgency to find alternative energy sources was driven home last month when an exploratory offshore oil well drilled by Spanish company Repsol turned out to be dry, a setback to Cuba’s hopes for a big strike that could be a boon for the limping economy, though exploration continues.

Despite recent essays by revolutionary hero Fidel Castro on impending global catastrophe due to climate change, Cuba gets just 3.8 percent of its electricity from renewables, a pittance even by regional standards and far behind global leaders.

In the nearby Dominican Republic, where a 2007 law establishes tax breaks for investment in alternative energy, renewables account for 14 percent of electrical generation. Germany, the gold standard for high-tech green energy, gets 20 percent of its considerably larger electrical consumption from renewables, mostly from wind.

The reality in Cuba today is that wind and solar energy sources are almost exclusively for local consumption and there has been little attempt to expand them to augment the national grid, which is powered mostly by fossil fuels. Scientists say the country lacks the investment and expertise for such a move.

Around the region, examples abound for Cuba to emulate. Central American nations are using hydroelectric facilities to harness the power of rivers. Caribbean islands are passing laws stimulating foreign investment in renewables. Wind and solar farms are popping up where viable. Faraway in Europe, and nearby in the United States, individuals with solar panels can get paid for any extra energy they generate that goes back into the grid.

‘‘Possessing apt natural resources to generate energies is a tremendous boon, but that alone is not enough to create energy,’’ said Cherni.

Another obstacle to boosting renewable energy is a stubbornly fixed mindset that equates development with oil.

Memories are still vivid here of the ‘‘Special Period’’ of the 1990s, when the island’s economy tanked with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ushering in years of hunger, prolonged blackouts and fuel shortages. People thumbed rides to work on the back of bicycles as cars sat idle and empty-tanked.

To cope, Cuba began installing its first solar panels, building small hydroelectric plants, restoring old windmills and extracting gas from animal waste.

But after Chavez’s election in 1998 in oil-rich Venezuela, Cuba once again embraced fossil fuels wholeheartedly with the appearance of a new benefactor and ideological ally willing to help keep the lights on. Today Caracas provides nearly half Cuba’s petroleum needs, shipping about 100,000 barrels of oil a day to the island on beneficial terms while Cuba sends doctors and technical advisers to Venezuela.

‘‘Cuba is a nation that is dependent on oil, yes, but in addition the culture of its leaders and technicians, of its common citizens, is one of fossil fuels,’’ said Alejandro Montesinos, a renewable energy expert at Cubasolar, the island’s chief NGO for sustainable energy.Continued...

View the original article here

Solar, wind energy a missed opportunity for Cuba - Boston Globe

var archivedState=0;

RAMON GORDO, Cuba (AP) — The sleepy country setting that farmer Juan Alonso calls home hasn’t changed much since he was born 74 years ago, with the two rustic wooden houses nestled among palm trees against a backdrop of green hills and clear skies.

Incongruously perched atop the homes are the only visual clues that his 150-acre (60-hectare) farm inhabits the 21st century: the gleaming solar panels that revolutionized the lives of Alonso and his family.

‘‘Just imagine, you toil all day in the field and then when you get home you have to grope around doing things with a gas lantern, with a torch to illuminate the patio at night,’’ Alonso said, describing life during decades past. Now his family has electric lights, a television and a DVD player. ‘‘It’s a change as radical as night to day.’’

Cuba is proud of its success in using alternative energy to bring electricity to isolated hamlets like Ramon Gordo, 90 miles (150 kilometers) west of Havana. Some 2,000 schools and at least 400 hospitals are lit up by solar panels in rural areas not plugged into the national grid. But scientists say the island, blessed with year-around sunshine and sea breezes but plagued with chronic energy shortages, could be doing much more on the national level, and that its communist government is missing a golden opportunity to reduce its dependence on subsidized oil from uber-ally Venezuela, where President Hugo Chavez is sick with cancer.

It is vital that Cuba expand its energy horizons ‘‘so it doesn’t remain at the mercy of political changes in the region that could affect it adversely,’’ said Judith Cherni, an alternative energy expert at the Imperial College London Center for Environmental Policy.

The urgency to find alternative energy sources was driven home last month when an exploratory offshore oil well drilled by Spanish company Repsol turned out to be dry, a setback to Cuba’s hopes for a big strike that could be a boon for the limping economy, though exploration continues.

Despite recent essays by revolutionary hero Fidel Castro on impending global catastrophe due to climate change, Cuba gets just 3.8 percent of its electricity from renewables, a pittance even by regional standards and far behind global leaders.

In the nearby Dominican Republic, where a 2007 law establishes tax breaks for investment in alternative energy, renewables account for 14 percent of electrical generation. Germany, the gold standard for high-tech green energy, gets 20 percent of its considerably larger electrical consumption from renewables, mostly from wind.

The reality in Cuba today is that wind and solar energy sources are almost exclusively for local consumption and there has been little attempt to expand them to augment the national grid, which is powered mostly by fossil fuels. Scientists say the country lacks the investment and expertise for such a move.

Around the region, examples abound for Cuba to emulate. Central American nations are using hydroelectric facilities to harness the power of rivers. Caribbean islands are passing laws stimulating foreign investment in renewables. Wind and solar farms are popping up where viable. Faraway in Europe, and nearby in the United States, individuals with solar panels can get paid for any extra energy they generate that goes back into the grid.

‘‘Possessing apt natural resources to generate energies is a tremendous boon, but that alone is not enough to create energy,’’ said Cherni.

Another obstacle to boosting renewable energy is a stubbornly fixed mindset that equates development with oil.

Memories are still vivid here of the ‘‘Special Period’’ of the 1990s, when the island’s economy tanked with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ushering in years of hunger, prolonged blackouts and fuel shortages. People thumbed rides to work on the back of bicycles as cars sat idle and empty-tanked.

To cope, Cuba began installing its first solar panels, building small hydroelectric plants, restoring old windmills and extracting gas from animal waste.

But after Chavez’s election in 1998 in oil-rich Venezuela, Cuba once again embraced fossil fuels wholeheartedly with the appearance of a new benefactor and ideological ally willing to help keep the lights on. Today Caracas provides nearly half Cuba’s petroleum needs, shipping about 100,000 barrels of oil a day to the island on beneficial terms while Cuba sends doctors and technical advisers to Venezuela.

‘‘Cuba is a nation that is dependent on oil, yes, but in addition the culture of its leaders and technicians, of its common citizens, is one of fossil fuels,’’ said Alejandro Montesinos, a renewable energy expert at Cubasolar, the island’s chief NGO for sustainable energy.Continued...

View the original article here

Energy Alliance USA helps people save money and make money with an energy business opportunity - WebWire

Times are tough, and many people are wondering how to save on electricity and gas. Others are looking for an affordable energy business opportunity. Both of these groups of people are in luck. There is now an energy company that is hiring new people and teaching them how to save with energy deregulation.

Someone may be asking, ?What is deregulation of energy?? Energy deregulation is a policy that allows homeowners to choose their own energy company. This allows people to save 20 percent or more on their energy bill. This new policy has also helped people gain access to energy deregulation business opportunities.

According to Rolf D. Johnson, owner of energyallianceusa.com: ?Today, there are a lot of business scams, and it is getting harder to tell what is real. However, many people who have used this particular business can attest to the fact that it is the real thing. Saving money and making money are two things that do not always seem to belong in the same sentence. However, this new company is dedicated to helping people do both. Those who are interested should give this company a call so that they can start saving and making money.?

Related Linksenergyallianceusa.comWebWireID157810

Tweet  affordable energysave energy deregulationderegulation businesshow to save on electricwhat is deregulationContact InformationRolf D. JohnsonOwnerEnergy Alliance USAContact via E-mail
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Best Energy Home Business

Call or text 585-20-GREEN (585-204-7336) to learn how to earn huge residuals when people save money on their electricity bill by switching to clean, green energy! http://spreadgreenenergy.com/

Don't join a MLM business pitching vitamins, lotions, potions, cleaning products, etc. That's a waste of your time and energy!

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View the original article here

Research and Markets: Business Opportunities in Energy Infrastructure Construction in BRIC - Business Wire

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/6ll4wf/business_opportuni) has announced the addition of the "Business Opportunities in Energy Infrastructure Construction in BRIC" report to their offering.

“Business Opportunities in Energy Infrastructure Construction in BRIC”

Key Highlights

- The Indian power infrastructure construction sub-category recorded the fastest growth among the BRIC countries during the review period, while China was the largest in terms of value in 2011.

- The Chinese oil and gas infrastructure construction sub-category recorded among the fastest growth among the BRIC countries during the review period, and was also the largest market in terms of value in 2011.

- In Brazil, growth is expected to be primarily driven by the cleantech energy project type, which accounted for the largest share of power infrastructure construction during the review period and is expected to record further growth over the forecast period.

- In Russia, growth is expected to be primarily driven by the oil and gas sub-category, which is expected to account for approximately three quarters of Russia's total energy infrastructure costs in 2012.

- In India, the growth is expected to be primarily driven by the power sub-category, which is projected to account for the majority of India's total energy infrastructure construction costs in 2012.

- Over the forecast period, the growth of the Chinese energy infrastructure construction market will be largely driven by investments in power generation projects.

PUBLICATION OVERVIEW

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the energy infrastructure construction market in the BRIC countries:

- It provides historical values for the BRIC energy infrastructure construction market for the report's 2007-2011 review period and forecast figures for the 2012-2016 forecast period

- It offers a detailed analysis of market size by cost type and by construction activity

- It offers a detailed analysis of market size separately for oil and gas, and the power sector

- It details the regulatory frameworks for the energy infrastructure construction industry in the BRIC countries

- The report covers an exhaustive summary on key trends, drivers and issues in the energy infrastructure construction industry

- It details the competitive landscape in the energy infrastructure construction industry in the BRIC countries

Reasons To Buy

- Gain insights into the energy infrastructure construction industry in the BRIC countries

- Identify the key market trends and opportunities for both existing companies and prospective new market entrants

- Analyze the regulatory environment governing the industry in the BRIC countries, enabling identification of the options available to enter the market by analyzing the business environment in each nation

- Gain insights into the marketing strategies used by energy infrastructure companies

For more information, including full table of contents and list of companies mentioned, please visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/6ll4wf/business_opportuni

View the original article here

Research and Markets: Business Opportunities in Energy Infrastructure Construction in BRIC

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/6ll4wf/business_opportuni) has announced the addition of the "Business Opportunities in Energy Infrastructure Construction in BRIC" report to their offering.

Key Highlights

- The Indian power infrastructure construction sub-category recorded the fastest growth among the BRIC countries during the review period, while China was the largest in terms of value in 2011.

- The Chinese oil and gas infrastructure construction sub-category recorded among the fastest growth among the BRIC countries during the review period, and was also the largest market in terms of value in 2011.

- In Brazil, growth is expected to be primarily driven by the cleantech energy project type, which accounted for the largest share of power infrastructure construction during the review period and is expected to record further growth over the forecast period.

- In Russia, growth is expected to be primarily driven by the oil and gas sub-category, which is expected to account for approximately three quarters of Russia's total energy infrastructure costs in 2012.

- In India, the growth is expected to be primarily driven by the power sub-category, which is projected to account for the majority of India's total energy infrastructure construction costs in 2012.

- Over the forecast period, the growth of the Chinese energy infrastructure construction market will be largely driven by investments in power generation projects.

PUBLICATION OVERVIEW

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the energy infrastructure construction market in the BRIC countries:

- It provides historical values for the BRIC energy infrastructure construction market for the report's 2007-2011 review period and forecast figures for the 2012-2016 forecast period

- It offers a detailed analysis of market size by cost type and by construction activity

- It offers a detailed analysis of market size separately for oil and gas, and the power sector

- It details the regulatory frameworks for the energy infrastructure construction industry in the BRIC countries

- The report covers an exhaustive summary on key trends, drivers and issues in the energy infrastructure construction industry

- It details the competitive landscape in the energy infrastructure construction industry in the BRIC countries

Reasons To Buy

- Gain insights into the energy infrastructure construction industry in the BRIC countries

- Identify the key market trends and opportunities for both existing companies and prospective new market entrants

- Analyze the regulatory environment governing the industry in the BRIC countries, enabling identification of the options available to enter the market by analyzing the business environment in each nation

- Gain insights into the marketing strategies used by energy infrastructure companies

For more information, including full table of contents and list of companies mentioned, please visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/6ll4wf/business_opportuni

View the original article here

Energy Alliance USA helps people save money and make money with an energy business opportunity - WebWire

Times are tough, and many people are wondering how to save on electricity and gas. Others are looking for an affordable energy business opportunity. Both of these groups of people are in luck. There is now an energy company that is hiring new people and teaching them how to save with energy deregulation.

Someone may be asking, ?What is deregulation of energy?? Energy deregulation is a policy that allows homeowners to choose their own energy company. This allows people to save 20 percent or more on their energy bill. This new policy has also helped people gain access to energy deregulation business opportunities.

According to Rolf D. Johnson, owner of energyallianceusa.com: ?Today, there are a lot of business scams, and it is getting harder to tell what is real. However, many people who have used this particular business can attest to the fact that it is the real thing. Saving money and making money are two things that do not always seem to belong in the same sentence. However, this new company is dedicated to helping people do both. Those who are interested should give this company a call so that they can start saving and making money.?

Related Linksenergyallianceusa.comWebWireID157810

Tweet  affordable energysave energy deregulationderegulation businesshow to save on electricwhat is deregulationContact InformationRolf D. JohnsonOwnerEnergy Alliance USAContact via E-mail
This news content may be integrated into any legitimate news gathering and publishing effort. Linking is permitted.

News Release Distribution and Press Release Distribution Services Provided by WebWire.

View the original article here

ISMI Energy Study Reveals Significant Opportunities to Reduce Consumption, Emissions and Costs in Semiconductor ...

Tue, Jun 5, 2012, 8:47 AM EDT - U.S. Markets open in 43 mins.

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Expert: Energy efficiency is a business opportunity - EurActiv.com

Energy companies will have to change their business models from gas and electricity supply only as the EU's Energy Efficiency Directive takes shape, says Jon Slowe, director at Delta Energy and Environment, a consulting firm. 

Jon Slowe is a founding director of research and consulting company Delta Energy and Environment. Slowe leads Delta’s work with utilities, helping them develop decentralised energy and low carbon strategies and tactics. He spoke to EurActiv's Ana-Maria Tolbaru.

?Read a related news article here.

What can companies do to sell their energy services?

Jon Slowe is a founding director of research and consulting company Delta Energy and Environment. Slowe leads Delta’s work with utilities, helping them develop decentralised energy and low carbon strategies and tactics. He spoke to EurActiv's Ana-Maria Tolbaru.

?Read a related news article here.

What can companies do to sell their energy services?

For me it is a matter of developing a position where the customer really trusts what you are saying and you are making it exciting for them.

The company Opower in the US works with utility companies to get customers to take up energy efficiency. In their first work, they tried telling customers "you could save money". The customers were not interested. They tried telling customers "you could save the environment". The customers were not interested. They told their customers "you are doing the right thing for the country, you are increasing energy efficiency". The customers were not interested. But when they told their customers "here is how you are using energy compared to how other customers use energy, they were suddenly interested.”

There is no big investment there for the customer; you find out a bit more about the customer, you can help them understand how they are doing and then give them very tailored and personal advice on how to get better. You could give them for example some rewards or presents if they meet some pre-defined targets. Companies are starting to experiment with this, but I haven't yet seen any that is doing it very well.

Why is that?

Because many utilities see their core business as supplying electricity and gas to the metre and they are not fully engaged in working with their customers on how they use energy. Because they think customers are not interested and it goes against their current business model, which is selling more electricity and more gas. They have not had to do it, it is not their core business, it is not what they're good at.

Only now some companies are starting to realise that they could actually make some money doing this or that they are going to have to do this. For example, with the Green Deal and Energy Efficiency Directive, they can see what is coming. They realise that the Energy Efficiency Directive will maybe reduce demand for their product, so they would have to start doing some activities that they don't really understand or that are new to them or are not part of their core business.

Are energy services profitable for energy companies?

I think there is a real opportunity to develop really profitable businesses around energy efficiency services, but that is quite a new thing to do for most utility companies. My view is that this market will develop whether the utility companies get into this business or not, someone will create this business and I think the forward-thinking utilities see that they have the opportunity to get some of this business. 

Countries could create a regulatory incentive – they might offer some reward to the energy company for selling less energy.

You can try to bring in private-sector finance to help pay for the upfront costs of energy efficiency and this finance is paid back out of the energy savings – or, possibly, public money, but personally I don't think that's necessary. If you make the obligation on the energy companies, ultimately they'll have to pay for it and ultimately they'll pass this cost on to customers. Ultimately, they'll have to raise electricity price a little bit to pay for this.

Does this not mean that consumers will end up paying for all the costs?

Overall, the customer is winning as he or she uses less energy overall. If you do the cost benefit analysis - nearly every time you see the customer is better off; even if the company has to cover the cost of their activity through higher prices, the customer is saving more than they are paying extra.

Companies don't want this, but, ultimately, to achieve the EU's carbon targets, buildings and appliances and heating systems will have to be much more efficient. We cannot achieve these targets only through renewable electricity generation, we must achieve this partly through better energy efficiency. This is going to happen anyway, whether the energy companies like it or not.

Increasing energy efficiency by 1.5% a year won't destroy their business. Energy companies will sell less units of energy, so that's why many see it as a threat. But if they define their business just as generating and supplying energy for sure, it will have a negative impact on their business. If they define their business as generating, supplying energy and helping customers use energy efficiently, then they can grow their business.

So what will it take for companies to switch to the energy services business model?

I think it will take imagination, I think it will take innovative sales and marketing, it will take propositions for example where the customer doesn’t need to pay anything upfront and then they can pay things back out of their savings.

It will be targeting the right customer with the right proposition at the right time. Maybe a new brand. You have to understand that every customer is different. And you divide up your customers and you target the right group of customers with the right offering.

Some energy companies already understand this with detailed customer segmentation. They have lots of different products and services and they target the right customer group with the right products and services. For other energy companies this is still new thinking to them. It’s not how they traditionally work.

To make this work you have to become a customer-focused business. If you look 10 years ago, utility companies, you could even argue, they didn’t have customers.  They just had meters and bills that they read. They have not had to be very customer-focused, innovative, quick thinking, quick moving organisations.

If you compare them to telecommunications companies, which are a long, long way ahead, in terms of how they think about their customers, the types of deals they offer their customers. Many energy companies don’t have that mindset.

Should consumer behaviour be the key concern of energy companies?

I think the overall goal for me is helping customers understand more about their energy consumption. There are different ways to do this. The way I describe that I now see my energy consumption doesn’t involve a smart metre at all. But, you can do this with smart metres as well.

You can have individual display units that we see on the market. Customers can do this on applications on their smart phones. They could see it on their computers. They could even see it on the television. They could even get hard copy analysis of how they’re using energy, such as individual reports.

I’ll give you an example. There is an energy company in Norway that, if you improve your house’s energy efficiency to a certain level, the energy company will give you a little badge to put on your building. And this makes the homeowner feel good. It allows them to show off. It’s a bit like driving a hybrid car.

Just like the eco-design products…

Yes, exactly. That’s exactly the sort of innovation I think it will take to get customers interested and excited. The market research we do we see that customers do want to do more with energy. They are genuinely interested in this topic. But there is a huge gap between this interest and their actions.

Fundamentally, I think many people are interested in the environment; many people would like to do something. But there is a big disconnection between what they would like to do and what they actually do.

Having some kind of obligation, or some kind of incentive for energy companies to offer these services to help their customers become more efficient, I think is needed.

Is EU legislation tackling this adequately?

I think the energy efficiency directive is quite an interesting way they’re doing this. For me it’s very encouraging. There are huge opportunities for carbon savings through energy efficiency.

If we look back at previous directives, the strongest directives have been around the production of energy - the carbon trading, the renewable energy directive. And these are good, they are necessary.

But now we’re starting to see some stronger emphasis on how energy is used. And using energy more efficiently is good for consumers, it’s good for European competitiveness, it’s good for security of supply, it’s good for carbon emissions. I think it’s difficult to achieve, because you have to influence large numbers of people, but I think it’s absolutely the right direction to move in, and the Energy Efficiency Directive that I see is a very good step in this direction.

But the industry, even companies that are already offering energy services, oppose this directive. Why is that?

Generally the less regulation from their side, the better. If I was an energy company I would want as little regulation as possible. So I can sympathise with this.

And you could say that if there is an economic case for energy efficiency then the market will deliver that. People will become more efficient, they’ll insulate their homes, they’ll do everything necessary. But we see that isn’t happening, for different reasons. So if you want to keep the goal of high energy efficiency, you need to intervene in the market to encourage this to happen and ensure it happens.

What are the biggest challenges for the industry right now?

I think there are maybe two or three challenges. One is how to get customers interested - for energy companies, this is one of the biggest challenges.

Another challenge is: what role does the energy company have in this market? Should they give energy efficiency services capability within their business? Is it part of their core business? Or is it something that they outsource? Or they just look to meet their obligation at the lowest cost?

And then thirdly, how can they turn this obligation into an opportunity to help grow their businesses, and grow revenue streams into new profits, in the same way that Centrica is already doing in the UK?

Ultimately, if you set the overall framework for energy services, or energy efficiency services and that framework may have to initially or for some time require obligation, and you get sufficient competition in the energy services market, and you start to grow customer demand for this, then you would not need regulation in the medium to long term. If the market can deliver the energy efficiency savings that are necessary, there is no need for anything else.

View the original article here

UPDATED: Look for Buying Opportunity in Lime Energy Following Earnings Miss, Market Inattention - Forbes

Lime Energy (NASD:LIME) reported first quarter earnings after market close on Thursday with a loss of 19 cents per share,  5 cents below analyst expectations.

Revenue in the first quarter was 3.5% lower than a year ago, with the drop attributable to declining revenues in Lime’s Commercial and Industrial (C&I) business following last year’s decision to refocus this business on opportunities where Lime has a competitive advantage.

Utility Programs

Those opportunities are falling into place nicely.  Central to Lime’s strategy is the company’s utility business, where they bid for long term contracts to implement utility Demand Side Management (DSM) programs.

As I wrote last week, this strategy is being validated by contract wins.  A year ago, Lime had two utility contracts, today they have seven.  In the first quarter alone, they added four new contracts accounting for $65 million in potential revenue.

Lime’s Strategy

Utility direct install programs are the basis for Lime’s edge in the very competitive energy efficiency business.  Utility contracts tend to be long term, and less competitive because of the bureaucratic nature of utilities and their regulators.  Lime’s track record of successful implementation and experience in dealing with utility clients gives them an advantage.  The long term nature of the contracts means that Lime will also have a competitive advantage in bidding for future contracts from the same utility because they will have an infrastructure in place from having serviced the previous contract.

Utility programs have an added benefit.  They give Lime access to smaller C&I customers which competitors find difficult to reach.  In the process of implementing a utility program, Lime is paid by the utility to contact the customer and install a defined menu of energy efficiency improvements.  Once the relationship is established, Lime can go on to offer the customer energy upgrades that fall outside the utility program, but which are profitable to both Lime and the customer.

Investment Community Opinion

Lime’s utility-centric strategy has largely escaped the  notice of the investment community.  I polled my panel of eleven green money managers and analysts about Lime last week.  None said they were paying attention to this micro-cap company, and those who responded were negative.

Most of the comments focused on the highly competitive nature of the industry, and showed a lack of awareness of Lime’s current strategy.  No one on my panel wanted to be quoted by name, but one called it a lousy business “with no barriers to entry and low margins.  No technology; it’s just a body shop without any recurring revenues.”

As you can see, this shows a lack of awareness of Lime’s utility business, which produces both recurring revenues and a barrier to entry.  To me, that makes Lime an excellent candidate: Lime has adopted a new, more viable strategy in the last year which which should start having a noticeable impact on both the top and bottom lines next quarter, but most investors are still thinking about the company as if nothing had changed in the last two years.

View the original article here

Business Must Grasp Opportunities Of Delivering Global Growth With Managing Scarce Food, Water And Energy Resources - CSR Wire

President Clinton to join business, finance and political leaders for unique two day forum on world's resources

LONDON, Apr. 23 /CSRwire/ - The international business and finance community must take the lead in solving increasing food, energy and water scarcity as population growth and economic development puts greater strains on the planet’s resources.

The call to action was issued today by Re|Source 2012, a new initiative created by the University of Oxford, its Smith School of Enterprise and Environment and The Rothschild Foundation to tackle resource scarcity and highlight the business opportunities of sustainable management.

Sir David King, co-director of Re|Source and former chief scientific adviser to the UK government, said: “The growing demand for food, energy and water by our growing and increasingly wealthy population is creating unprecedented pressures on our finite natural resources.

“The associated risks represent major opportunities for innovative business communities. Managing resources efficiently and effectively in a way that protects the environment and meets rising demand is the only productive way forward.”

The need to better manage the challenges of resource scarcity is now rising rapidly up the agenda for governments, investors and businesses alike, as well as environmental leaders and organisations.  It has become a critical security issue for corporate leaders trying to ensure a reliable supply of water and energy to manufacture products and for governments concerned about energy or food supplies.

The world is expected to grow from seven billion people today to nine billion by 2050 - to meet this growth it will need to produce 70 per cent more food – which will place consequential demands on water and energy. More than 40 of the world’s top 100 economies are companies. Only eight per cent of the world’s fresh water is used by individuals – the rest is used by agriculture and industry.

Sir David, director of the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment at Oxford University, continued:

“Managing issues arising from resource scarcity and management is one of the over-riding issues of the first half of the 21st century. It is not just a matter of empty threats and negativity.

“There are huge advantages and opportunities for business, finance and government in responsible resource management. Companies and investors can enjoy far greater returns and rewards by effective resource management.

“This can be a win-win for everyone if we can engage the financial, business and environmental communities together to tackle these issues.”

To help drive this change Re|Source is bringing together 250 of the world’s most influential thinkers and leaders at Oxford University in July to start a new conversation on managing natural resources, longer-term thinking and aligning people and profit.

They will address key questions including: how will resource scarcity and volatility affect political, business and military planning? How can the financial community change to encourage CEOs and investee companies to rise to these global resource challenges? And how will capitalism evolve in a resource constrained world?

Key speakers include:

President Bill Clinton, Founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation and 42nd President of the United StatesPaul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, on the investment opportunities in tomorrow’s economiesDavid Nabarro, the UN’s Special Representative on Food Security and NutritionPeter Brabeck, Chairman of Nestle, the world’s largest food company, and Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister of the Environment and Water Resource in Singapore, speaking on the business and political risks of water securityJeremy Grantham, founder of GMO, one of the world’s largest investment funds, on commodity pricing and volatility and Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen on the economics of resource scarcityRt Hon David Miliband MP, former UK Foreign Secretary, on the role of government and Lord Browne of Madingley, former CEO of BP energy and now partner of Riverstone Holdings LLC, on private sector leadershipPlus senior military figures including Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti, Climate and Energy Security Envoy of the UK Ministry of Defence and FCO, and high-ranking officials from NATO (to be confirmed)In addition, James Cameron, internationally acclaimed film director, environmentalist and explorer, will give a special presentation at a dinner at the Ashmolean Museum.

Notes to editors:

Re|Source 2012 is hosted by the University of Oxford and its Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, in co-operation with The Rothschild Foundation. It will take place on July 12-13. For more information please visit: www.resource2012.org  and follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/resource2012

Journalist invites and accreditation details will be sent out closer to the event and you are invited to send requests for information to the media contacts below.

View the original article here

Business Must Grasp Opportunities Of Delivering Global Growth With Managing Scarce Food, Water And Energy Resources - CSR Wire

President Clinton to join business, finance and political leaders for unique two day forum on world's resources

LONDON, Apr. 23 /CSRwire/ - The international business and finance community must take the lead in solving increasing food, energy and water scarcity as population growth and economic development puts greater strains on the planet’s resources.

The call to action was issued today by Re|Source 2012, a new initiative created by the University of Oxford, its Smith School of Enterprise and Environment and The Rothschild Foundation to tackle resource scarcity and highlight the business opportunities of sustainable management.

Sir David King, co-director of Re|Source and former chief scientific adviser to the UK government, said: “The growing demand for food, energy and water by our growing and increasingly wealthy population is creating unprecedented pressures on our finite natural resources.

“The associated risks represent major opportunities for innovative business communities. Managing resources efficiently and effectively in a way that protects the environment and meets rising demand is the only productive way forward.”

The need to better manage the challenges of resource scarcity is now rising rapidly up the agenda for governments, investors and businesses alike, as well as environmental leaders and organisations.  It has become a critical security issue for corporate leaders trying to ensure a reliable supply of water and energy to manufacture products and for governments concerned about energy or food supplies.

The world is expected to grow from seven billion people today to nine billion by 2050 - to meet this growth it will need to produce 70 per cent more food – which will place consequential demands on water and energy. More than 40 of the world’s top 100 economies are companies. Only eight per cent of the world’s fresh water is used by individuals – the rest is used by agriculture and industry.

Sir David, director of the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment at Oxford University, continued:

“Managing issues arising from resource scarcity and management is one of the over-riding issues of the first half of the 21st century. It is not just a matter of empty threats and negativity.

“There are huge advantages and opportunities for business, finance and government in responsible resource management. Companies and investors can enjoy far greater returns and rewards by effective resource management.

“This can be a win-win for everyone if we can engage the financial, business and environmental communities together to tackle these issues.”

To help drive this change Re|Source is bringing together 250 of the world’s most influential thinkers and leaders at Oxford University in July to start a new conversation on managing natural resources, longer-term thinking and aligning people and profit.

They will address key questions including: how will resource scarcity and volatility affect political, business and military planning? How can the financial community change to encourage CEOs and investee companies to rise to these global resource challenges? And how will capitalism evolve in a resource constrained world?

Key speakers include:

President Bill Clinton, Founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation and 42nd President of the United StatesPaul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, on the investment opportunities in tomorrow’s economiesDavid Nabarro, the UN’s Special Representative on Food Security and NutritionPeter Brabeck, Chairman of Nestle, the world’s largest food company, and Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister of the Environment and Water Resource in Singapore, speaking on the business and political risks of water securityJeremy Grantham, founder of GMO, one of the world’s largest investment funds, on commodity pricing and volatility and Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen on the economics of resource scarcityRt Hon David Miliband MP, former UK Foreign Secretary, on the role of government and Lord Browne of Madingley, former CEO of BP energy and now partner of Riverstone Holdings LLC, on private sector leadershipPlus senior military figures including Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti, Climate and Energy Security Envoy of the UK Ministry of Defence and FCO, and high-ranking officials from NATO (to be confirmed)In addition, James Cameron, internationally acclaimed film director, environmentalist and explorer, will give a special presentation at a dinner at the Ashmolean Museum.

Notes to editors:

Re|Source 2012 is hosted by the University of Oxford and its Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, in co-operation with The Rothschild Foundation. It will take place on July 12-13. For more information please visit: www.resource2012.org  and follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/resource2012

Journalist invites and accreditation details will be sent out closer to the event and you are invited to send requests for information to the media contacts below.

View the original article here

Business Must Grasp Opportunities Of Delivering Global Growth With Managing Scarce Food, Water And Energy Resources - CSR Wire

President Clinton to join business, finance and political leaders for unique two day forum on world's resources

LONDON, Apr. 23 /CSRwire/ - The international business and finance community must take the lead in solving increasing food, energy and water scarcity as population growth and economic development puts greater strains on the planet’s resources.

The call to action was issued today by Re|Source 2012, a new initiative created by the University of Oxford, its Smith School of Enterprise and Environment and The Rothschild Foundation to tackle resource scarcity and highlight the business opportunities of sustainable management.

Sir David King, co-director of Re|Source and former chief scientific adviser to the UK government, said: “The growing demand for food, energy and water by our growing and increasingly wealthy population is creating unprecedented pressures on our finite natural resources.

“The associated risks represent major opportunities for innovative business communities. Managing resources efficiently and effectively in a way that protects the environment and meets rising demand is the only productive way forward.”

The need to better manage the challenges of resource scarcity is now rising rapidly up the agenda for governments, investors and businesses alike, as well as environmental leaders and organisations.  It has become a critical security issue for corporate leaders trying to ensure a reliable supply of water and energy to manufacture products and for governments concerned about energy or food supplies.

The world is expected to grow from seven billion people today to nine billion by 2050 - to meet this growth it will need to produce 70 per cent more food – which will place consequential demands on water and energy. More than 40 of the world’s top 100 economies are companies. Only eight per cent of the world’s fresh water is used by individuals – the rest is used by agriculture and industry.

Sir David, director of the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment at Oxford University, continued:

“Managing issues arising from resource scarcity and management is one of the over-riding issues of the first half of the 21st century. It is not just a matter of empty threats and negativity.

“There are huge advantages and opportunities for business, finance and government in responsible resource management. Companies and investors can enjoy far greater returns and rewards by effective resource management.

“This can be a win-win for everyone if we can engage the financial, business and environmental communities together to tackle these issues.”

To help drive this change Re|Source is bringing together 250 of the world’s most influential thinkers and leaders at Oxford University in July to start a new conversation on managing natural resources, longer-term thinking and aligning people and profit.

They will address key questions including: how will resource scarcity and volatility affect political, business and military planning? How can the financial community change to encourage CEOs and investee companies to rise to these global resource challenges? And how will capitalism evolve in a resource constrained world?

Key speakers include:

President Bill Clinton, Founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation and 42nd President of the United StatesPaul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, on the investment opportunities in tomorrow’s economiesDavid Nabarro, the UN’s Special Representative on Food Security and NutritionPeter Brabeck, Chairman of Nestle, the world’s largest food company, and Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister of the Environment and Water Resource in Singapore, speaking on the business and political risks of water securityJeremy Grantham, founder of GMO, one of the world’s largest investment funds, on commodity pricing and volatility and Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen on the economics of resource scarcityRt Hon David Miliband MP, former UK Foreign Secretary, on the role of government and Lord Browne of Madingley, former CEO of BP energy and now partner of Riverstone Holdings LLC, on private sector leadershipPlus senior military figures including Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti, Climate and Energy Security Envoy of the UK Ministry of Defence and FCO, and high-ranking officials from NATO (to be confirmed)In addition, James Cameron, internationally acclaimed film director, environmentalist and explorer, will give a special presentation at a dinner at the Ashmolean Museum.

Notes to editors:

Re|Source 2012 is hosted by the University of Oxford and its Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, in co-operation with The Rothschild Foundation. It will take place on July 12-13. For more information please visit: www.resource2012.org  and follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/resource2012

Journalist invites and accreditation details will be sent out closer to the event and you are invited to send requests for information to the media contacts below.

View the original article here

Europe Could Receive Renewable Energy From Iceland via Submarine Cable - msnbc.com

REYKJAVIK, ICELAND — The Icelandic energy provider, Landsvirkjun, one of Europe's leading renewable energy companies, may help supply Continental Europe with renewable energy via a North Atlantic submarine power cable.

Iceland currently holds a unique position amongst European nations in its potential to increase reliable electric energy production from renewable energy resources. This increased energy production could be used to conduct business through an interconnector -- a submarine cable to Europe across the North Atlantic seabed.

Hörður Arnarson, CEO of Landsvirkjun, stated, "Providing sustainable energy to Europe through a submarine power cable offers an interesting business opportunity for the nation of Iceland and at the same time presents a partial solution to Europe where they are looking for an increased supply of renewable energy. Numerous countries in Europe have already expressed interest in the possibility to connect with Iceland's clean energy resources."

Laying a submarine cable will be a well suited addition to the ongoing industrial development of the country. Arnarson went on to emphasise that Landsvirkjun will continue to support further growth of its current customers, as well as new greenfield Data Centers and industrial customers.

Landsvirkjun proposed additional analysis and research over the next few years into the potential impact on social, environmental, legal, and technical issues which will be undertaken in cooperation with interested parties including the Icelandic authorities, universities, interest groups, and energy and transmission companies.

Oddný Harðardóttir, the Icelandic Minister of Finance, announced that a working group will be appointed to research the feasibility of laying a submarine cable between Iceland and the British Isles and or mainland Europe.

Visit www.landsvirkjun.com to learn more about renewable energy in Iceland.

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© Marketwire 2012

View the original article here

Business Must Grasp Opportunities of Delivering Global Growth With Managing Scarce Food, Water and Energy Resources

LONDON, April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

President Clinton to join business, finance and political leaders for unique two day forum on world's resources

The international business and finance community must take the lead in solving increasing food, energy and water scarcity as population growth and economic development puts greater strains on the planet's resources.

The call to action was issued today by Re|Source 2012, a new initiative created by the University of Oxford, its Smith School of Enterprise and Environment and The Rothschild Foundation to tackle resource scarcity and highlight the business opportunities of sustainable management.

Sir David King, co-director of Re|Source and former chief scientific adviser to the UK government, said: "The growing demand for food, energy and water by our growing and increasingly wealthy population is creating unprecedented pressures on our finite natural resources.

"The associated risks represent major opportunities for innovative business communities. Managing resources efficiently and effectively in a way that protects the environment and meets rising demand is the only productive way forward."

The need to better manage the challenges of resource scarcity is now rising rapidly up the agenda for governments, investors and businesses alike, as well as environmental leaders and organisations. It has become a critical security issue for corporate leaders trying to ensure a reliable supply of water and energy to manufacture products and for governments concerned about energy or food supplies.

The world is expected to grow from seven billion people today to nine billion by 2050 - to meet this growth it will need to produce 70 per cent more food - which will place consequential demands on water and energy. More than 40 of the world's top 100 economies are companies. Only eight per cent of the world's fresh water is used by individuals - the rest is used by agriculture and industry.

Sir David, director of the Smith School of Enterprise and Environment at Oxford University, continued:

"Managing issues arising from resource scarcity and management is one of the over-riding issues of the first half of the 21st century. It is not just a matter of empty threats and negativity.

"There are huge advantages and opportunities for business, finance and government in responsible resource management. Companies and investors can enjoy far greater returns and rewards by effective resource management.

"This can be a win-win for everyone if we can engage the financial, business and environmental communities together to tackle these issues."

To help drive this change Re|Source is bringing together 250 of the world's most influential thinkers and leaders at Oxford University in July to start a new conversation on managing natural resources, longer-term thinking and aligning people and profit.

They will address key questions including: how will resource scarcity and volatility affect political, business and military planning? How can the financial community change to encourage CEOs and investee companies to rise to these global resource challenges? And how will capitalism evolve in a resource constrained world?

Key speakers include:

President Bill Clinton, Founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation and 42nd President of the United StatesPaul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda, on the investment opportunities in tomorrow's economiesDavid Nabarro, the UN's Special Representative on Food Security and NutritionPeter Brabeck, Chairman of Nestle, the world's largest food company, and Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister of the Environment and Water Resource in Singapore, speaking on the business and political risks of water securityJeremy Grantham, founder of GMO, one of the world's largest investment funds, on commodity pricing and volatility and Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen on the economics of resource scarcityRt Hon David Miliband MP, former UK Foreign Secretary, on the role of government and Lord Browne of Madingley, former CEO of BP energy and now partner of Riverstone Holdings LLC, on private sector leadershipPlus senior military figures including Rear Admiral Neil Morisetti, Climate and Energy Security Envoy of the UK Ministry of Defence and FCO, and high-ranking officials from NATO (to be confirmed)In addition, James Cameron, internationally acclaimed film director, environmentalist and explorer, will give a special presentation at a dinner at the Ashmolean Museum.Notes to editors:

Re|Source 2012 is hosted by the University of Oxford and its Smith School of Enterprise and Environment, in co-operation with The Rothschild Foundation. It will take place on July 12-13. For more information please visit: http://www.resource2012.org  and follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/resource2012

Journalist invites and accreditation details will be sent out closer to the event and you are invited to send requests for information to the media contacts below.

View the original article here

The Best Home Based Energy Business Just Got Even Better - Energy Is Going Global - Houston Chronicle

Making money when people pay their electric bill is an extremely attractive way to make a residual income from home. This home based energy business is going places as the opportunity is expanding beyond North America, starting with the U.K. Freedomfflow LLC's independent representatives are excited to announce their participation in the expansion of international recruitment of entrepreneurs seeking to work from home.

(PRWEB) April 23, 2012

Statistics from sources like the U.S Census, the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, and others reveal a growing trend in home based business start ups. Two of the more noteworthy statistics found are that more than 12% of households in the U.S. have a home based business, and the annual revenue generated from home based business owners exceeds $400 billion dollars.

The economy hasn't been this bad in more than half a century and the U-6 unemployment rate has been in double digits for quite some time. The rising number of people stepping up and becoming entrepreneurs leads one to ask the question, "What is the best home based business?"

Determining the best home based business opportunity is somewhat subjective, as there are many factors that can be weighted differently by each individual. These include the following:
Start up costInventory requirementsMarket sizeProduct or service fulfillment requirementsCompensation plan and profit potentialResidual income potential and attrition ratesComplexity of sales cycle

The best home business opportunity would include a low start up cost, no inventory requirements, a massive and ubiquitous market, a simple sales process that is easily duplicated, a compensation plan that leverages the work of others, and the potential for a large residual income with a very low attrition rate for the monthly services that contribute to that residual income.

From the many home based business opportunities that have been reviewed by Freedomfflow LLC, they have chosen Momentis as the best one as it has all of the metrics described above.

Let's examine some of these items a bit more closely.

Most times the bulk of the start up cost is for purchasing inventory. More and more businesses do not require the business owner to hold significant inventory as the product is typically housed and fulfilled by a parent company the home business owner represents. Yet many of these same businesses require a monthly inventory purchase, typically called an "auto-ship," by the business owner to maintain their status as a representative of the company. More than 90% of home based businesses that require such an auto-ship fail within the first six months as the business owner quits due to the monthly cost of purchasing this inventory and their inability to recoup that cost by selling it.

The market type and market size must be considered closely. Clearly, the bigger the market, the easier it should be to find customers. However, products considered luxury products or non-essential products are risky because they are the first to be cut when consumers tighten their budgets. These types of products also will have a higher attrition rate which leads to a short residual income potential. Health and wellness products are very viable as the massive baby-boomer segment of our population is focused on staying healthy and looking younger. Although these products and services are considered essential by many of the people who use them, in a very tough economy the juices, vitamins, and supplements are also likely to become expendable.

The best product for a home based business would not be a product at all. It would be a service, and it would be a service that the potential customer is already paying for. In this case, there is no new bill. To attract a customer for a service they are already using requires a better price or a better service, or both. Energy deregulation is creating that choice for a massive market place.

The Momentis opportunity enables a home based business owner to enter into the home energy market place. This market is over $500 billion dollars strong in North America. Momentis is soon to be expanding into the United Kingdom, expanding this massive market even further.

The basic concept is to direct a potential customer to a website where they can see the options they have to purchase electricity and natural gas. Deregulation of the energy industry allows competition and competition will drive down prices. The same infrastructure and local companies still deliver, bill, and service the energy buyer. However, the actual energy can be purchased from different suppliers at different rates.

Deregulation only happens once to an industry. It is happening right now to the energy industry. Momentis offers a very attractive vehicle to work from home in this market place. Momentis is looking to expand its energy customer base and has embraced relationship marketing as the vehicle to reach its expansion goals. This has opened the door for a growing number of people to start a home based business that offers many advantages including market size, product appeal, and earnings potential.

Furthermore, this opportunity is expanding from the North American continent to the European continent, starting in the U.K., and the current success and other signs point to a broader global expansion in the months ahead.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebbest_home_based_business/homebasedenergybusiness/prweb9430000.htm

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