The second wave of biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol, algae and others bypass the food vs. fuel controversy and are on the cusp of commercialization. This webinar will review the latest developments in the advanced biofuel space with leading companies more...
Join Intelligent Utility managing editor Kate Rowland, along with a panel from PHI including Rob Stewart, manager of technology evaluation and implementation, and Todd McGregor, AMI director, for an interactive discussion about this company's work to build a more intelligent more...
Join industry leaders and Marty Rosenberg, Editor-in-Chief of EnergyBiz magazine, for an interactive discussion about the critical relationship between transmission and distribution (T&D) investment and smart grid success. As the energy enterprise gets smarter toward the consumer end with smart more...
This webcast should be attended by those individuals that are responsible for identifying, planning and evaluating Smart Grid solutions, including those that empower and engage consumers and are easily assimilated with existing or new technology and business processes. more...
ACI's Smart Grid Revolution February 18-19, 2010 A two day strategic event bringing together utility professionals, government & state officials & consultants involved in deployment of the smart grid. To learn strategies which will improve energy efficiency programs & operations, more...
In 2009, a global economic meltdown collided with an energy crisis to turn the world on its ear. In the United States we've witnessed an unprecedented spending on energy resource development and infrastructure. As a result, a new energy architecture more...
CERAWeek, IHS CERA's 29th Executive Conference, is recognized as a leading forum offering insight into the energy future. Each year senior policymakers, energy and power executives, and financial and technology leaders from over 55 countries engage with CERA experts in more...
The conference will provide a comprehensive analysis of the thin film industry and its key challenges in an interactive manner. Leading companies will share their experiences through panel debates and high-level presentations. A great opportunity to network with the whole more...
Gas and Electric Business Understanding provides a comprehensive overview of the natural gas and electric industries. Position yourself for career success by gaining a solid understanding of how each business works, including key physical, market and regulatory aspects, as well more...
Gas Business Understanding provides a comprehensive overview of the natural gas industry. Position yourself for career advancement by gaining a solid understanding of how the gas business works including key physical, market, and regulatory aspects and how market participants navigate more...
Electric Business Understanding provides a comprehensive overview of the electric industry. Position yourself for career advancement by gaining a solid understanding of how the electric business works including key physical, market, and regulatory aspects and how market participants navigate this more...
Gas Market Dynamics offers participants an in-depth understanding of North American natural gas markets and how they function. Enhance your career by furthering your knowledge of market structure, supply and demand, services offered in gas markets, and how various participants more...
Joseph Somsel is a degreed nuclear engineer holding an MBA from California Polytechnic University. He has a broad work background in the nuclear power industry and in the overall electric utility business. This includes experience with architect/engineers, utilities, NSSS suppliers, and consulting firms. Current interests include the business end of electricity. He has also been involved in the entrepreneurial development of niche electrical generating sources in California and Colorado. His electricity went out TWICE during the California energy crisis.
Articles
8.22.08
Wind, Solar, Nuclear, and Electricity Storage
Topic: Energy Storage Article Viewed 6790 Times;
103 comments Advocates of intermittent alternate energy sources put enormous hopes in electricity storage development as a boon to the market acceptance of their technologies. It is recognized by anyone with an ounce of realism that the timing mismatch between God-given winds and sunbeams and the needs of man is one of the fundamental problems with alternative energy development.
9.20.06
Zeno's Paradox of Achilles versus the Tortoise, Calculus 101, and Nuclear Reactor Safety
Topic: Nuclear Article Viewed 6113 Times;
38 comments One would think that the mathematics of the ancient Greeks, circa 450 B.C. would have had time to diffuse into our journalistic, political, and cultural elites by now. One would hope, but the public debate on nuclear reactor safety of the last few decades shows that too many of us are stuck on a Manichaean logic scheme dividing the world into only black or white.
9.29.05
How Harry Reid can Save us $80 billion and Fuel $1 Trillion of Electricity
Topic: Nuclear Article Viewed 10242 Times;
30 comments Do you recycle your trash? Aluminum cans, glass bottles, plastics, paper generated in most US households gets separated in the home and sent to a recycling facility where the materials hopefully re-enter the commercial materials streams. With 8,875 curbside recycling programs operational in the US in 2003, it's a big business and the politically correct thing to do.
7.28.04
California's Electricity Future - Time for a Decision
Topic: Fossil & Biomass Article Viewed 7155 Times;
47 comments Governor Schwarzenegger's recent electricity policy pronouncements show again how difficult it is for a politician to provide clear and sound policy direction on energy. His efforts essentially punt the big questions to private businesses by endorsing "free market" decision making. I think he and his advisors know full well where this will lead.
2.20.04
Nuclear is Back in Business!
Topic: Nuclear Article Viewed 6540 Times;
22 comments One of the more unfortunate metaphors in recent energy news has been "the natural gas bubble." That phrase always brings to mind kids in a bathtub. From the viewpoint of electrical energy production, the bust in gas-fired generation has met the formal definition of a "bubble" - economic activity driven by "momentum" rather than fundamental supply and demand.
9.30.03
Negawatts - Enron-Style
Topic: Demand Response Article Viewed 5929 Times;
22 comments To paraphrase an infamous Woody Allen quip about casual sex, economics is a social science, but as social sciences go, it's gotta be one of the best. Consider "negawatts" - a term coined by soft energy path guru Amory Lovins in the 1970's. Its economic logic is difficult to refute.
2.27.03
Deregulation and Nuclear Power
Topic: Nuclear Article Viewed 7637 Times;
29 comments The high tide of electric market deregulation has come and gone. The good news is that we now have a surplus of new capacity in many markets. Almost all of that new capacity has been highly efficient natural gas combined cycle plants, the latest in fossil-fueled technology with great fuel economy and low, low emissions.
