Electical Contractor

The road from potential to actual is often long, winding and windy. Add controversial, and you have the path taken by offshore wind to becoming a viable source of electricity for America’s energy markets.

Utilities in many parts of the world, and especially in the United States, are experiencing radical operational change as they deploy smart grid upgrades. Many utilities are already seeking consulting and implementation services from vendors to assist with smart grid deployments.

One of the biggest obstacles to kick-starting the alternative-energy industries is cash. Funding pays for research and development of new and more efficient products, which makes the industries more cost competitive with traditional power sources. Without the money, it’s a proverbial Catch-22.

Researchers at State University of New York (SUNY), Binghamton, Center for Advanced Microelectronics Manufacturing (CAMM), are giving the factory production of solar-energy cells a modern makeover.

Advances in technology are changing the way the world lights itself. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are becoming more common in the lighting industry.

For a little more than 70 years, the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA)printed and mailed a newsletter to members on a regular basis. It served its purpose well, but NECA retired it in May 2009 because it simply could not do what its replacement does.

In February’s column, I said that these are, in many ways, the best of times to be part of the electrical industry.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are evaluating the feasibility of developing renewable-energy production on Superfund sites, brownfields, and former landfill or mining sites.

Stimulus-funded infrastructure projects are saving and creating more direct construction jobs than initially estimated, according to a new analysis of federal data released by the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America.