Articles from BusinessWeek

Scotland's Next Wave: Marine Power

Explore BusinessWeek (Aug 1 2011) Hydro

From his office in a converted Victorian schoolhouse, Neil Kermode can see little more than centuries-old stone buildings and narrow streets better suited to horse carts than Land Rovers. Yet Kermode, head of the European Marine Energy Centre in Scotland’s Orkney Islands, will tell you he can also see the future. Orkney, a collection of green, hilly islands where the North Sea collides with the Atlantic Ocean, has become a testing ground for wave and tidal power, technologies that will be instrumental in helping Scotland reach its goal of getting all its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. “The bit of alchemy of turning seawater into electricity has been done,” Kermode says as he gazes out at the busy harbor in Stromness, a 90-minute ferry ride from the Scottish mainland. “Now what we’ve got to do is to industrialize it and do it reliably.” (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Europe

Scotland Aims to Be the Arabia of Green Energy

Explore BusinessWeek (Jul 5 2011) Hydro

Above the entrance to a converted school in the Orkney Islands, off the northern tip of Scotland, a line from John F. Kennedy is inscribed on the wall: “We need people who can dream of things that never were.” Beyond the portals of the European Marine Energy Centre, researchers are seeking to transform this island archipelago into a global hub of the renewable age. Situated where the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean collide, a maritime crossroads that Vikings featured in their sagas, companies such as EON AG and Iberdrola SA are today drawn to Orkney as a test bed for the latest wave and tidal power technologies. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Europe   Norway   John F. Kennedy

Iceland Channels Volcanoes to Win Europe’s Energy-Supply Race

Explore BusinessWeek (Feb 28 2011) Geothermal

Iceland is doing a feasibility study into building a 1,170- kilometer (727-mile) power cable to Scotland to transport as much as 18 terawatt-hours of geothermal and hydropower a year -- that’s enough to fuel as many as 5 million European homes. The project has the full backing of the government, Industry Minister Katrin Juliusdottir said in an interview. “Icelanders live with earthquakes and volcanic activity but the benefits are that now we can monetize these powers,” said Valdimar Armann, an economist at Reykjavik-based asset manager GAMMA, who estimates annual clean-energy exports could reach about a tenth of the island’s $12 billion economy. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Iceland   Europe   Norway

Gates, Brin Fight for California Carbon Law

Explore BusinessWeek (Oct 25 2010) Solar

Clean-energy investors and environmentalists in California raised $11.9 million in the past two weeks to snuff out a challenge, backed by oil refiners Tesoro Corp. and Valero Energy Corp., to the state’s global- warming laws. Voters in the most-populous U.S. state will decide in eight days on Proposition 23, a proposal to suspend a state law restricting greenhouse-gas emissions until California’s unemployment rate falls to at least 5.5 percent. The rate in September was 12.4 percent, third-highest after Nevada and Michigan. Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates, Google co-founder Sergey Brin and James Cameron, director of the world’s top- grossing film “Avatar,” have donated to the campaign in the past two weeks, according to state records. If passed, the measure would undermine the nation’s largest solar market and threaten $9 billion in venture capital investments, according to analysts, investors and renewable-energy companies. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Google   Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers   Arnold Schwarzenegger

Power Price Gaps Shrink Amid European Mergers: Energy Markets

Explore BusinessWeek (Oct 21 2010)

Price differences in Europe’s power markets are evaporating as exchanges merge and transmission cables are used more efficiently, advancing the continent’s push for a single trading arena. The average gap between French and Dutch electricity for next-day delivery was 1.38 euros ($1.93) a megawatt hour in the first nine months of this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It was 7.85 euros in the same period four years ago, before exchanges and grid operators began “market coupling,” the system that automatically directs energy to the country with the highest prices. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Europe   Netherlands

Google Makes Its Case for Wind Power

Explore BusinessWeek (Oct 13 2010) Nuclear , Wind

Comment Mentions:   Natural Resources Defense Council   Google   Eric Schmidt

China Beats U.S. on Renewable-Energy Investor Ranking

Explore BusinessWeek (Sep 8 2010) Solar , Wind

China overtook the U.S. to lead a quarterly index of the most attractive countries for renewable energy projects for the first time, according to a list compiled by the global accounting firm Ernst & Young. After sharing the lead with the U.S. in the first quarter, China moved ahead of the world’s largest economy to rank as the most appealing nation for investing in wind and solar power projects, according to the report released today. The move follows the failure of U.S. Congress to pass legislation that would have required utilities to use clean energy. The Asian nation, the world’s biggest energy consumer, has set itself a goal of generating 15 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. It almost doubled consumer subsidies for renewable-power generation in the second half of last year to $545 million, the most recent period reported. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Europe

Vodafone Sells China Mobile Stake for $6.6 Billion

Explore BusinessWeek (Sep 7 2010)

Vodafone Group Plc, the biggest mobile-phone company by sales, is selling its 3.2 percent stake in China Mobile Ltd. for about $6.6 billion (4.3 billion pounds). About 70 percent of the proceeds will be returned to shareholders through a stock repurchase and the rest will be used to pay down debt, Newbury, England-based Vodafone said today in an e-mailed statement. Morgan Stanley, UBS AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. are managing the offer. Vodafone has said it doesn’t consider its minority holdings essential to the business. The company bought its stake in China Mobile in two transactions between 2000 and 2002 for $3.25 billion. China Mobile, which is 74 percent held by state-owned China Mobile Communications, is the world’s biggest phone carrier by market value. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Europe   Verizon Wireless   NACF Green Energy Clean Fuels

Intel to Buy McAfee for $7.68 Billion for Software

Explore BusinessWeek (Aug 19 2010)

Comment Mentions:   Intel   New York Stock Exchange   Symantec Corp.

China Solar Projects Draw Interest From 50 Companies

Explore BusinessWeek (Aug 12 2010) Fossil Fuel , Nuclear , Solar

China’s effort to double its capacity to produce solar power has attracted project bids by 50 companies, ranging from nuclear plant operators to circuit-breaker makers, one of the participants said. The tender process has generated 135 offers to build and run solar plants in six provinces, including from China Guangdong Nuclear Power Group Co., the nation’s second-biggest atomic plant builder, according to Qiu Zhanwei, vice-director of Beijing-based solar-module maker Astronergy, which also has bid. “A lot of companies are interested in getting involved in these projects as the government is keen to develop this sector and they want to get an early piece of the action,” said Dennis Lam, an analyst at DBS Vickers Hong Kong Ltd. (Read Full Article)

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Rutgers’ Chinese Solar Panels Show Clean-Energy Shift

Explore BusinessWeek (Jul 23 2010) Fossil Fuel , Solar

At Rutgers University in New Jersey, 7,600 panels convert sunlight into electricity, saving some $200,000 in energy costs this year in the biggest solar-power experiment at a U.S. college. Yingli Green Energy Holding Co., China’s second-largest solar-panel maker, supplied the $10 million project. Yingli is one of several Chinese manufacturers that have slashed costs to reduce global prices for solar modules by about 50 percent in two years. The drive made them more affordable for buyers from Rutgers to Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the biggest U.S. retailer. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   New York Stock Exchange   Pike Research

Your Next IT Budget: 6 Ways to Support Business Growth

Explore BusinessWeek (Jul 21 2010) Cloud Computing

After a year of deep recession affecting IT budgets, businesses are finally returning to a growth agenda. And infrastructure and operations is no exception: in the coming year, Forrester expects a noticeable bump in IT spend. So what does this mean for the infrastructure professional? It's time to reprioritize initiatives to align with the business' focus on growth. To do so, look at where your dollars are coming from, tap into funds set aside for innovation and growth, and deliver on three critical I&O initiatives. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Forrester Research

Apple Falls After Consumer Reports Won’t Back IPhone

Explore BusinessWeek (Jul 13 2010)

Apple Inc. declined a day after Consumer Reports said it wouldn’t recommend the iPhone 4, fueling concern that demand for the smartphone may drop and speculation that the handset may be recalled. Apple fell as much as $10.86, or 4.2 percent, to $246.43 at 11:39 a.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading, the biggest drop in two weeks. The stock had risen 22 percent this year before today. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Apple   At&T

U.K. to Cut Barriers to Nuclear Power, Minister Says (Update1)

Explore BusinessWeek (Jun 16 2010) Nuclear

June 16 (Bloomberg) -- Nuclear power can play a key role in the U.K.’s future energy mix, Minister Charles Hendry told executives from Electricite de France SA, Centrica Plc and other utilities. While the new coalition government won’t subsidize the industry, it will remove regulatory barriers and encourage nuclear power by establishing a minimum price for carbon, the energy minister said at the Nuclear Industry Forum in London. Britain, needing 200 billion pounds ($300 billion) to renew aging power plants in the next two decades, will have to tap international investors for the first time, according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Europe

The Next Sparks for the Economy Could Surprise Us

Explore BusinessWeek (Jun 8 2010)

The U.S. economy is slowly reviving, leaving behind with each passing month the worst downturn since the Great Depression. It goes without saying that an expanding economy is better than a contracting one, but the consensus outlook is far from cheery. Instead, it calls for years of muted growth and high unemployment. (Read Full Article)

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U.S. Falls From Internet Elite, Aims to Catch Iceland, Hungary

Explore BusinessWeek (Jun 2 2010) Networking

Laurent Bernard, an intern at HSBC Holdings Plc in Paris, recalls his U.S. Internet experience in 2008, the year he moved to New York City as a student. “I noticed right away that the Internet was slower,” Bernard, 24, said in an e-mail. “The most annoying thing was the time it took for each Web page to load on the screen. In France, it’s pretty much instantaneous.” After ranking third in the world a decade ago, the U.S. has dropped to 15th in the proportion of citizens receiving fast Web service, or broadband, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. South Korea, Iceland and Germany are among the countries that ranked higher in 2009, the Paris-based group says. Connections were both faster and cheaper in 12 countries, including Hungary and Denmark. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Iceland   Europe   Google

IBM’s Palmisano to Spend $20 Billion on Takeovers (Update1)

Explore BusinessWeek (May 12 2010) Cloud Computing

International Business Machines Corp. Chief Executive Officer Sam Palmisano, seeking to boost earnings by focusing on software and services, said he plans to spend $20 billion on acquisitions in the next five years. Operating earnings will jump to at least $20 a share by 2015 from $11.35 or more this year, helped by cost savings and software demand, Palmisano said in a meeting with investors in New York today. The company also predicted sales growth that beat analysts’ estimates, sending the stock higher. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Amazon.com   New York Stock Exchange   IBM

‘Black Swan’ Volcano Offers Three Simple Lessons: Matthew Lynn

Explore BusinessWeek (Apr 20 2010)

For a generation or more, no one ever gave a second thought to Iceland. Now it has shaken up the world twice in a couple of years. First its banks collapsed in the most dramatic illustration of the fragility of our financial system. Now an Icelandic volcano is spewing ash into the sky, prompting a shutdown of European airspace. The continent is paralyzed. Planes are grounded. Travelers are stuck thousands of miles from their families and workplaces. Business is grinding to a halt. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Iceland   Europe

A Gold Rush in Green Technology

Explore BusinessWeek (Apr 15 2010) Carbon Footprint , Geothermal , Solar , Wind

Like bright sunshine charging up solar panels, investor fervor is fueling the market for public offerings of green companies. Electric automaker Tesla Motors, U.S. green energy producer Ameresco, and Spain's T-Solar have filed to go public, and many more are waiting in the wings. "There's renewed appetite for green IPOs," says Luigi Ferraris, chief financial officer of Italian utility Enel, which plans to sell a minority stake of its renewables subsidiary Enel Green Power for $5.4 billion by the end of the year. That would be Europe's largest listing since 2007. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Europe   Business Week

U.K. Shuts Airports as Iceland Eruption Chokes Skies (Update1)

Explore BusinessWeek (Apr 15 2010)

Airports in the U.K. and northern Europe shut down as a cloud of volcanic ash swept south from an eruption in Iceland, disrupting travel for thousands of people booked on flights with British Airways Plc and other carriers. U.K. airspace is closed until at least 7 a.m. tomorrow, according to flight-control body National Air Traffic Services, while Norway and Sweden also shut airports as the ash threatens to stall jet engines and affect the air quality in plane cabins. British Airways scrapped flights for the rest of the day and carriers including AMR Corp.’s American Airlines cut services. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Iceland   Europe   Norway

U.K. Lawmakers Call for Intervention in Carbon Market (Update1)

Explore BusinessWeek (Feb 8 2010) Construction , Carbon Tax , Emissions , Fossil Fuel , Nuclear

Europe needs stricter limits on greenhouse gases and the power to intervene in carbon markets as its cap-and-trade program fails to encourage investments in cleaner energy, U.K. lawmakers said today in a report. “It is imperative that there are mechanisms for reducing the EU cap,” the committee said. While the U.K. alone couldn’t change EU caps, the 16-member panel representing the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties said “the U.K. should be prepared to act “unilaterally” to curb its supply of permits and “demonstrate a continuing leadership role on tackling climate change.” (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Europe

India May Start Trading of Renewable-Energy Credits in May

Explore BusinessWeek (Jan 21 2010) Emissions

India may let power companies start trading renewable-energy credits in May in a push to create a multibillion-dollar market to encourage reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions. India is pressing ahead with its own efforts to fight climate change after last month’s Copenhagen talks failed to reach a new global climate treaty. The move puts the world’s fourth-largest emitter ahead of China and other developing nations in creating a domestic emissions-trading market to boost investment in solar, wind and other clean-energy projects. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Europe

A Breakthrough for Hydrogen Storage?

Explore BusinessWeek (Dec 11 2009) Emissions

Israeli entrepreneur Moshe Stern admits he didn't know much about alternative energy when Russian scientist Evgeny Velikhov first approached him in 2005 about a novel technology for safely storing hydrogen gas. But four years later, the 62-year-old Stern has become an expert—and a believer. He is convinced that the Russian invention could play a major role in helping scientific institutions and industrial giants harness the commercial potential of hydrogen as a green energy source. Now, Stern's conviction has just gotten a big outside boost. The hydrogen storage technology, being developed by Stern's Swiss-based startup, C.En, has been endorsed for its safety by a top German institute—an important vote of confidence, given that hydrogen is highly explosive and that safety has long been a major stumbling block to its commercialization. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Business Week

Cisco's Chambers: Tough Talk on Data Centers

Explore BusinessWeek (Dec 9 2009) Servers

Cisco Systems Chief Executive John Chambers had pointed words for journalists skeptical of his company's foray into equipment for big corporate data centers, an area of technology traditionally dominated by computer makers. "We've taken on big peers in the past," Chambers said over a bento-box lunch for members of the media at Cisco's financial analyst conference on Dec. 8. He was referring to Cisco's move early this decade into corporate telephony, a market where it now has a 33% share. "We didn't know anything about that market when we got started," he said. By contrast, data centers are run by big companies, which have been relying on Cisco (CSCO) for networking gear for 25 years. "That's our home," Chambers noted during the break in a series of presentations for analysts. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Cisco   Hewlett Packard   IBM