Viewpoints

Many private and public enterprises are diligently managing costs in this difficult environment, awaiting an improvement in the economic outlook.  Meanwhile, policy, cultural, and investor expectations increasingly demand that organizations conduct bu...

As heightened renewable portfolio standards are mandated across the United States, wind energy has moved to the forefront of the renewable power discussion. Wind is a clean source of energy, and its lack of reliance on fossil fuels makes it even more attra...

Want to achieve operational and management excellence for your generation fleet? A team playbook can help your organization improve business results, achieve synergies and economies of scale, address cultural issues, and implement best practices consistent...

Wholesale energy markets in the United States that are managed by Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) face a number of challenges. These challenges are being driven by current economic pressures coupled with emergent public policy, including fe...

Renewables present unprecedented challenges to planning, building, and operating the transmission system.  Given the ever-increasing need for renewables, driven by state and possibly federal renewable portfolios standards, addressing these issues will...

Nanotechnology, the science and technology of controlling matter at the nanoscale, could significantly impact many industries from computer science to pharmaceuticals. Many applications of nanotechnology have yet to become commercially available, but alrea...

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (aka, ARRA or the stimulus bill) will fund renewable energy, smart grid, and energy efficiency projects. But the protocols are neither fully defined nor easily navigated.    ScottMadden analysi...

Project management deliverables are increasingly more difficult to achieve. The life cycle for projects is straightforward and repeatable for projects of all sizes, but pressure to start later and end sooner affects every stage of large capital project dev...