1. Home
  2. Articles posted by: Rona Fried (Page 1429)

Report: State RPSs Will Hardly Raise Electricity Rates

A report by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory concludes that state-based renewables portfolio standards (RPS) will raise retail electricity rates on average by less than 1% On average, they authors predict state RPS’s would cost an average household roughly 40 cents per month. This doesn’t include the many benefits of state RPS obligations, including economic development benefits, risk mitigation, and environmental gains. The report synthesizes the results of a large number of state-level RPS cost-impact analyses. “These studies have been conducted by a wide range of organizations, and persuasively demonstrate that state-level RPS policies need not break the bank,” says report co-author Ryan Wiser. State RPS policies have emerged as one of the most important drivers of renewable energy in the U.S. Collectively, the RPS policies that are in place today in 21 states apply to roughly 40% of U.S. electricity load. But the adoption of these policies often hinges on debates over the expected costs and benefits of increased renewable energy use. To inform these debates, a large number of studies have been conducted to forecast the potential impacts of state RPS programs. Said Cliff Chen, “In our sample are 28 different analyses that cover 18 states, with renewable energy […]

Read More

FuelCell Energy Reports Q1 Results

FuelCell Energy, Inc. (NasdaqGM:FCEL), a manufacturer of stationary fuel cell power plants, announced results for its 2007 first fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2007. Revenues rose to $6.8 million from $5.9 million in Q1 06; research and development contract revenue was $1.9 million compared to $2.9 million. Product backlog, including long-term service agreements, increased to $36.7 million, compared to $24.5 million for Q1 2006, primarily from orders for megawatt-class products and service contracts. R. Daniel Brdar, FuelCell Energy’s CEO said, “Over the last several months we have made significant measurable progress toward our goal of increasing our penetration in repeatable and multi-megawatt markets. We closed the strategic alliance with POSCO Power, a leader in independent power generation, which not only significantly improves our strategic position in Asia through a 10-year manufacturing and distribution agreement in South Korea with an experienced producer and developer of power plants, but also brings FuelCell Energy a key strategic investor through an investment of $29 million. As important, we continue to achieve our cost-out objectives and prepare the Company to execute a higher volume of orders.’ The net loss to common shareholders for the first quarter was $20.0 million or $0.38 per basic and diluted […]

Read More