Elisa's Comments

Bob, In neighboring Massachusetts there is legislation pending that would provide financial incentives for homeowners to swap out old oil heaters for new more efficient ones. Perhaps the idea will spread to Connecticut.

Thanks for catching the typo. MWh is now changed to TWh.

Great overview of the state of the various subsidies for renewables. Useful and interesting. Thanks. Passing this along.

Brilliantly stated, Scott: "With politicians throwing brick bats at each other, the green industries are right in the middle dodging these projectiles."

Great blog and good to see those solar employment numbers put forward. Because of Solyndra and Evergreen there appears to be a misconception developing in the mainstream -- a lack of awareness about how quickly the industry has expanded.

Clee -- Click on the link in the blog to Steve Nadel's testimony. He lists the four bulbs...gives some good detail. Best, Elisa

Fascinating, Stephen. The idea isn't new people are more apt to pursue green energy if their neighbors do, and several companies are taking advantage of that human tendency. But I haven't seen the concept so clearly packaged as it is with Solar as a Social Network. This will be one to watch.

Great article. It connects the dots from deregulation to today's technology transformation. Innovation was one of the promises of electric deregulation and it did live up to that promise. David also raises interesting points about the pros and cons of bringing new technologies into a utility dominated industry. Really enjoyed reading this.

E Source's article about the survey is here: Who Is Most Likely to Participate in Energy-Efficiency Programs?
http://www.esource.com/email/ENEWS/2010/EE_Participants

Sounds like a great forum you have planned. I'm not sure I'd agree with the premise that energy efficiency is not happening. To the contrary, this has been a banner few years for the efficiency industry and the next few years look even better. A recent report by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the National Association of Energy Service Companies found that the energy service company industry grew by about 7% per year from 2006 to 2008 and forecasts an annual growth rate of 26% per year between 2009 and 2011.

It is fair to say that energy efficiency is happening more in certain areas than in others. For example, a report out of New York found that despite the availability of financial incentives, small businesses in New York City have been slow to adopt energy efficiency.

Thanks Jenn. John indicated that internships are really key. I think he said his son did 3-4 internships in the industry before landing the job he wanted.

Very funny headline and great blog. I wonder how much of a threat it is that nuclear will displace renewables for RPS compliance, given how long it is likely to take for the nuke plants to be built.

This seems to go back to what developers often say -- that what they need is political consistency. Even a less then favorable, but consistent policy, is better than one that leaves them stumped about how to proceed.

Thanks for the comments, Jonathan and Jennifer. Yes, what I hear over and over from developers is that the risk aversion right now among banks is incredibly high. Seems to be an enormous over-correction. One wonders when the logjam will end. Is anyone seeing any encouraging signs out there?

Very well articulated explanation of the US psyche, Stephen. It always seemed to me that the economic argument held more meaning in the US, and it is especially true now that we are in recession. A political consultant once told me an enviornmental argument only works in the US when the economy is running full tilt.