FXSTD – Alternative Energy Center

By: James Fraley
A lot of business enterprises have large monthly electric bills. As these companies try to make a profit, one of their largest concerns is controlling the spiraling increasing electric costs that their business requires. In many areas of the country the prices of electricity has increased so much that its cost is now a critical and determining factor of whether the business can turn a profit.

Coal is the source for most of the electricity generated in the U.S. Followed by petroleum and gas. With an increased emphasis on clean air and global warming, many businesses are looking for alternative ways of acquiring electricity and other energy for their office and factory needs. One of the alternatives that many companies are looking at is solar power.

Solar cells and panels are much more efficient than they used to be. They've become very efficient in producing electricity even on cloudy and overcast days. Before a company has solar panels installed however, they should do a cost/benefit analysis that compares their current electricity usage with the installation of solar panels plus projected maintenance costs. If the forecasted savings turn out to be enough, it's a simple business decision to begin their transition to more eco-friendly energy usage. The end result could be significant savings on the company's electricity bills.

California is a bell weather state in many respects. They are progressive in many areas, including energy. And being one of our largest states, many times changes that occur there slowly filter out to the rest of the country. One significant thing that has happened just recently is that a major California utility company has signed a deal to buy solar power to help drive down the prices for electricity. The decision, largely driven by a state deadline mandating the state to lessen it's dependency on fossil fuel energies, has resulted in one of the hugest deals ever struck in the U.S. for solar power.

But solar power is not the only alternative to fossil fuels that are piquing the interests of "green" advocates. Some commercial businesses in New York City are seriously looking at wind power as a way to supply electricity to businesses. In fact, one of the major electricity suppliers, ConEdison, has seen its wind power sales increase over twenty five percent in the past couple of years. And even though that translates to less than two percent of ConEdison's business customers, it does indicate that there is a definite market among businesses for alternative energy sources.

Although many refuse to face up to it, climate change is having drastic effects on our planet. It's already begun to cause extreme and erratic weather patterns in certain parts of the globe.

Alternative fuels seems to be very near that tipping point where it's about to become big business. Whether by customer demand, scientific advancement, government edict, or other reasons - after years of talking about solar power, wind power, and so on - this is maybe the era when all of these new technologies take shape and fly.