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June 2018

Nuclear failures

Risks, uncertainties and future potential

In 2011 the tragic events at Fukushima called the nuclear industry to a sudden halt. In the months after the accident, several nuclear programmes for example in Switzerland, Thailand, The Netherlands and to some extent also in the U.S., were put on hold or stopped entirely. Now, seven years later,...
Utilities & alternative energy
May 2018

Future of batteries

Winner takes all?

Battery technologies are central to delivering significant advances in a wide range of industries, from electric vehicles to renewable power. This has catapulted battery technology to the top of the priority list for many players, leading to a huge boom in investment, as companies try to build key...
Utilities & alternative energy
April 2018

Saudi Arabia: World leader in solar power?

Can KSA meet >50% of its electricity demand through solar?

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has laid out an ambitious plan to modernize the country and move its economy away from its dependence on oil. A key part of this plan is to begin meaningfully tapping one of the country’s most abundant natural resources: solar power. Already, the Kingdom has...
Utilities & alternative energy
April 2018

Virtual Power Plants – At the heart of the energy transition

Increased competition and ongoing consolidation: A survival game for aggregators? Opportunities for utilities and investors?

Energy utilities are evolving towards greater reliance on flexibility to respond to an increasing supply-and-demand imbalance. In that context, the role of aggregators has become predominant in optimizing electricity generation and demand through virtual power plants (VPPs) and complementing...
Utilities & alternative energy, Strategy, Organization & transformation
December 2017

Electric vehicles and electric utilities

A clear opportunity with many shapes

While several stakeholders are supportive of the widespread adoption of electric vehicles, we have looked specifically at electric utilities to understand the opportunities that such a change in the transportation landscape can generate, and define the key questions to be addressed in order to...
Automotive, Utilities & alternative energy
December 2017

Who dares to take the “monkey” on their shoulder?

Why energy companies struggle to make decisions, and what they can do about it

Companies can evolve as long as people in steering positions maintain an entrepreneurial spirit. If no entrepreneurial decisions are made anymore, growth stagnates and organizations end up administrating themselves. In a world of stable energy prices and regulated markets, for energy companies...
Utilities & alternative energy, Organization & transformation
October 2017

In praise of perpetuity

National oil companies manifesto

Perpetuity is every national oil company’s mission. Their articles of incorporation proclaim that they must toil for future generations. While international operators can wander from one country to the next according to the circumstances and various regulatory frameworks of producing...
Utilities & alternative energy
August 2017

Energy Journal – Utilities

Perspectives on the Utilities Industry 2017

The energy industry, from oil and gas to utilities, is going through an unprecedented change. It’s a change similar to when the world moved from wood to coal, with the steam machine, or from coal to oil, when utilities centralized and the car industry took off early last century. Today, the shift...
Utilities & alternative energy
August 2017

Utilities’ contribution to national fiber development

How utilities and telecom operators can cooperate to accelerate fiber deployment

The ultra-broadband demand-supply balance remains an unsolved equationGlobally, the race for fiber infrastructure has been accelerating in the recent past. The number of countries that achieved 95 percent fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) coverage increased from 1 in 2012 to 6 in 2016. Similarly, the number...
Utilities & alternative energy
August 2017

Output-based regulation

Fields of innovation for energy-grid operators?

The regulatory environment in Europe is pushing network utilities to face new challenges that will heavily impact their operations. Regulators all over Europe are watching the tariff mechanism introduced in Great Britain, named RIIO, which is based on incentives, with interest. Many have plans to...
Utilities & alternative energy