Perspectives

As electrification of fleets emerges as the next frontier in the EV market, Joe Halso — legal counsel for the environmental advocate Sierra Club — lauded Minnesota regulators and electric utility giant Xcel Energy for refusing to stay on the sidelines.

Rising demand for clean and sustainable energy has made this one of the most dynamic and exciting moments in the history of power supply. It's also one of the most vexing.

Surging growth in renewables and efforts to increase resilience will drive millions of dollars in new transmission investment over the next five years, according to Black & Veatch’s 2019 Strategic Directions: Electric Report survey.

From C-suites and state capitals to international governments and the United Nations, leaders of the world’s most influential economies are codifying the role of renewables in an increasingly sustainable power generation mix.

The sweeping survey that underpins Black & Veatch's 2019 Strategic Directions: Electric Report sharpens the focus on a power industry at a pivotal time of change punctuated by increasingly popular, clean renewable energy sources and a murky regulatory climate.

Hydropower producers have difficult decisions to make about where to invest in their assets. On the one hand, they need to invest in facility and equipment upgrades and unit availability and reliability. On the other, variable capital costs, rising operations and maintenance costs, and permit and licensing requirements are concerns.

At the core of digital transformation, or digital water, is aggregating, mapping and analyzing data for greater insights and actionable information. One goal of digital water is to provide predictive analytics by optimizing plant performance and identifying process exceptions before they become costly problems.

From food safety and regulatory compliance to packaging and supply chain logistics, the food and beverage industry is constantly hunting for solutions that balance profitability and sustainability. With market share increasingly on the line – particularly for large consumer goods companies – food and beverage companies are being squeezed to analyze every cost.

As energy costs continue to rise and more states adopt regulatory incentives and disincentives that drive large-scale sustainability and efficiency efforts, it is expected that utilities will become more aggressive in their approach to managing energy. 

With start-up electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers and even old guard automakers announcing ambitious plans to develop zero-emissions medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, the transportation industry is on the brink of a major transformation.

The runoff of phosphate and nitrogen from farming, stormwater, wastewater treatment plant discharges and other sources into waterbodies continues to unbalance ecosystems, resulting in toxic algal blooms and hypoxic dead zones.

The changing energy landscape is prodding businesses to rethink how they use and manage electricity, and 3M Co.’s aggressive shift to renewable energy illustrates that thirst for sustainability.

Utilities have plenty of large projects ahead: new pipelines, sewer lines, pump stations, reservoirs and more. In commissioning these initiatives, non-traditional delivery methods are gaining ground.

$10 trillion dollars. If you run, work for, or are seeking to invest in a global company, this is a figure that should be top of mind. $10 trillion is larger than the annual GDP of all but two of the world’s economies. $10 trillion is nearly double the market cap of the Dow Jones Industrial Average companies. And yet, $10 trillion is just a fraction of the financial might working to transform how companies view and invest in sustainability.

Water utilities the world over are faced with challenges, including increasing demand, falling revenues and climate change. While building new assets remains part of the solution, enhancing the performance of existing assets is more important than ever before.