POWERGRID International, 12/17/12 – from the editors based on an interview with Andre Begosso, managing director in the Accenture management consulting practice and is focused on the resources operating group. He has more than seventeen years of experience in the utility and energy industries and advises clients in the alternative energy, power generation and oil and gas sectors (“2013 trends for the power industry” December, http://www.elp.com/blogs/eye-on-the-grid/2012/12/2013-trends-for-the-power-industry.html)
In the absence of some major advance in energy storage, Andre said, he expects that renewable energy installation will probably start to slow as its shortcomings become more apparent to utilities and power companies.¶ "I would not expect these trends to continue because of the tremendous limitation that renewable technologies have. You cannot break the laws of physics or the laws of chemistry. The wind doesn't blow all the time and it never will, and the sun doesn't always shine and it never will," he said.¶ Trend No. 4: Energy back on the agenda¶ In my last blog post , I speculated about what it might take to get energy policy back on the agenda. When I asked about this, Andre said energy already is back on the agenda.¶ "Over the next 3 years, over $220 billion in new infrastructure will be built. Butthe problem with infrastructure is Rome wasn't built in a day. It takes time," he said.¶ This new wave of infrastructure upgrades will require a level of patienceand understanding on the part of ratepayersthat Andre wonders whether the average person is capable of. During Hurricane Sandy, for example, Con Edison had one of the most sophisticated electric grids available — yet it still failed, and people wonder why.