Summary of recent Energy News headlines
There are a number of energy stories that are making business headlines these days. Interesting things to note from this week are: new efforts to make advances in energy storage; new efforts to regulate hydraulic fracturing in New York; and a wrap-up of the summer’s commodity price rally.
Focusing on Electricity Storage
Bloomberg published an interesting run-down on the state-of-the-market for energy storage. Identifying and implementing cost-effective small and large-scale storage for electricity is the great new frontier for energy development and innovation. The market is growing substantially, and therefore investment in new technology is starting to take off.
According to Bloomberg:
..annual investment in storage is currently about $2.6 billion, based on data from Pike Research. That’s set to grow to $9.2 billion in 2015 and then to $25 billion by 2021. Logan said Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE expects energy storage to generate $500 million to $1 billion in annual revenue by 2020.
The Bloomberg article reviews the state of investment and technology in this exciting sector: from traditional pumped water, to a simple, utility-scale mechanical system using gravel (from a Bill Gates-backed company called Energy Cache), to battery innovations. Take a look here for more details.
The bottom line for businesses: The world of buying, selling and investing in energy will change in a big way for businesses large and small when some smart entrepreneur finds a way to store electricity more cost-effectively. It is worth keeping an eye out for new technology, information, and investment in this area.
Continued Scrutiny of Fracking Processes
Environmental groups recently met with NY State officials in an effort to require an intensive medical review of the impacts of hydraulic fracturing before ruling on the issue in the State. Take a look at a brief summary of those meetings here .
The bottom line for businesses: It is still unclear whether Governor Cuomo will allow fracking in New York State. It is also unclear how much of a price impact a NY State ban would have.
Commodity price rally
What more is there to say, really? Commodities closed August with a rally for the 3rd month in a row.
The bottom line for businesses: Keep an eye on wholesale prices as the markets enter the “shoulder” months. (By “shoulder months” we mean the lower cost, off peak months of October, November.) For those of you with contracts expiring, it is best to keep a close eye on market movements.