Free All Wisconsin Utilities to Make Money Helping Customers Save Energy
Originally posted by Energy Central December 20, 2005 | By Stephen Heins Why does Wisconsin continue to reward electrical consumption, generation and marginally competitive solutions in an era when we are in a major construction phase for new power plants and transmission infrastructure? Yes, construction of new power plants and transmission lines may be inevitable, but appropriate deployment of [...]
Wisconsin’s New Energy Efficiency Bill. A Step Forward or A Continuation of Out-Dated Thinking?
Originally posted by Energy Central November 15, 2005 | By Stephen Heins We applaud the very positive features of the new Energy Bill proposed by Representative Phil Montgomery and Senator Rob Cowles. With the upward pressure on energy costs for both oil and electricity, the timing of the new bill could not be better. This is especially true now [...]
California Gets its Energy Policy Affairs in Order: Energy Action Plan II is Blueprint for Optimization and Cooperation
Originally posted by Energy Central September 19, 2005 | By Stephen Heins Now that California is in the last stages of adopting its Energy Action Plan II, it is an opportune time to discuss the comprehensive solutions being enacted there. First and foremost, California has been able to conduct a thorough discussion of energy policy and legislation without sounding [...]
Nevada’s Energy Bill Gets Clean Power Right
Originally posted by Energy Central August 30, 2005 | By Stephen Heins Now that the dust has started to settle on Nevadas Assembly Bill 03, which was signed into law by Governor Kenny Guinn on June 17, 2005, I would like to review its most forward-looking provisions. This then is another article about best practices for utilities, energy legislation, [...]
Recent PSC Ruling on Energy Efficiency Is Positively Ground-Breaking
Originally posted by Energy Central August 8, 2005 | By Stephen Heins The most recent Wisconsin Public Service Commission (PSC) decision on July 20, 2005, must be considered an important ruling for the future of energy policy in Wisconsin. With this decision, Wisconsin became the first state in the U.S. to take the bold step of recognizing utility investments [...]
Open Letter to Governor Schwarzenegger: A New Age of Practical Environmentalism for California
Originally posted by Energy Central October 22, 2004 | By Stephen Heins Dear Governor Schwarzenegger: In a recent article in the New York Times Magazine section, David Brooks - a columnist on the Op-Ed page of The New York Times, a senior editor at The Weekly Standard, a contributing editor at Newsweek and the Atlantic Monthly, and a commentator [...]
Energy Efficiency is no Longer the Rodney Dangerfield of Energy
Originally posted by Energy Central September 8, 2004 | By Stephen Heins Energy Efficiency is finally being recognized as an important component to America's energy future. In particular, states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have begun discussion about including Energy Efficiency into what many states call Renewable portfolios and Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS). The whole idea being that combining Energy [...]
Happy First Anniversary to Blackout 2003
Originally posted by Energy Central August 24, 2004 | By Stephen Heins On August 13th and 14th, 2003, Americans and Canadians received a vivid illustration of the potential damage caused by electrical outages when a massive blackout hit both Canada and the U.S. in the Northeast and Upper Midwest. While headlines screamed "third-world electrical infrastructure" and "$100 billion needed [...]
Hey, Willie, Wisconsin Manufacturing Doesn’t Need a Live-Aid Concert!
13 Jul 2004 | by Stephen Heins Six months ago I wrote an article which the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published, titled "Barron's Article Knocks the Rust Off State Manufacturing outlook," that recounted the predictions of a hedgefund manager named Jeff Gendell in an interview from a December edition of Barron's Magazine. In "Rust Removal," Gendell stated that he expected [...]
The Best Way to Save on Energy? Use Less
Originally posted in Marketplace 15 June 2004 | by Stephen Heins, The Word Merchant Companies throughout Northeast Wisconsin are finding that one of the fastest ways to save on energy costs is to use less of it in the first place. Those same companies have found the best way to use less energy is to invest in new, more [...]
Energy Efficient Lighting Vital to Recovery 2004 – Applying New Technology to Contain Costs, Improve Workplace and Protect the Environment
Originally posted by Energy Central March 21, 2004 | By Stephen Heins While the worst part of the economic recovery process is probably past, the gut-wrenching changes brought on by the manufacturing sector's recession of 2001-2003 are likely to be permanent. One clear economic theme has emerged: The necessity to transform as many fixed costs into variable costs as [...]
Solving the Problems of the U.S. Power Grid: A Cautious First Step
Originally posted by Energy Central September 18, 2003 | By Stephen Heins September 8, 2003. As of August 14th, 2003, Americans with short memories or no memory at all about previous blackouts received a vivid illustration of the potential damage caused by electrical outages. While the headlines screamed third-world electrical infrastructure and $100 billion needed to up-date U.S. electrical [...]