Search Results for: "Enron, wind power"
Relevance | DateSmart Grid Wiseup: Google and Microsoft Quietly Exit (energy efficiency vs. the hassle factor)
By Robert Michaels -- October 26, 2011 3 Comments“I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good. It is an affectation, indeed, not very common among merchants, and very few words need to be employed in dissuading them from it.”
– Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (1)
We all know that Google is incredibly future-oriented, and that, for all its problems, Microsoft, knows a lot about technology and markets. Why, then, did each shockthe ‘smart grid’ movement by announcing the phaseout of their home energy metering and control technologies (Microsoft’s Hohm and Google’s EnergyMeter)?
The deep meaning of this is less about technology than it is about politics.
Two PR Moments
You will learn nothing from the announcements from Google and Microsoft. Both companies’ PR departments broke the news as sanctimoniously as possible, using the language of planetary consciousness.…
Continue Reading"Rob Bradley at Enron" (for the record)
By Robert Bradley Jr. -- October 20, 2011 4 Comments“Sorry to bother you with this…. Rob is obviously not a fan of renewables or the global warming issue. Unfortunately, he works for a company that is.”
– “Rob Bradley’s Writings.” Tom White [chairman & CEO of Enron Renewables Energy Corp. ] to Ken Lay [chairman & CEO of Enron Corp.], June 8, 1998.
The Confluence, a blog advertising itself as “Democrats Putting Principle Over Party,” recently criticized a new initiative of the Institute for Energy Research, Stop the Energy Freeze. After reciting some peak-oil arguments against IER’s case for expanding access and production of domestic oil and gas resources for new jobs and greater BTUs, the post Sunday: Spreading the mess to YouTube goes after yours truly.
… Continue ReadingI also bothered to look up who was behind this Stop the Energy Freeze campaign.
Perry's Energy Speech: Part I (Real Energy, Real Jobs–but what about the governor's windpower baggage?
By Vance Ginn -- October 17, 2011 11 CommentsTexas Gov. Rick Perry is swimming upstream in his quest for the Republican nomination for President of the United States, primarily from his weak performances during several debates. To improve his odds, last Friday he gave his first policy speech, titled Energizing American Jobs and Security.
Energy is that important. And it is a breath of fresh air that Perry’s analysis and prescription is 180 degrees from President Obama’s government-knows-best approach to energy and energy/environment.
Four Objectives
The Governor’s plan focused on four objectives that promise economic growth and numerous jobs in America. In Perry’s words:
- “First, we will open several American oil and gas fields for exploration that are currently off limits because of political considerations.”
- “It is equally important that we take a second step: eliminate activist regulations already on the books and under consideration by the Obama Administration.”
Solar circa 1994: What Has Really Changed? (Remembering Enron's hoodwink in the age of Solyndra)
By Robert Bradley Jr. -- September 20, 2011 14 Comments[This post reproduces a front-page story in the New York Times business section that excitedly reported a breakthrough with solar energy as represented by a heady energy company named Enron. Formed in the mid-1980s, Enron had just entered into the solar business and was destined to revitalize–if not save–the U.S. wind industry just a few years later.]
“Federal officials, aware that solar power breakthroughs have shined and faded almost as often as the sun, say the Enron project could introduce commercially competitive technology without expensive Government aid.”
Allen Myerson, Solar Power, for Earthly Prices, New York Times, November 15, 1994.
The nation’s largest natural gas company is betting $150 million that it can succeed where the Government has so far failed: producing solar power at rates competitive with those of energy generated from oil, gas and coal.…
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