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Something to think about as a new year dawns

I think about the economic crisis, the housing crisis, the climate crisis, the energy crisis, the automotive crisis, the Middle
East crisis, the education crisis, the college affordability crisis and all the other crises — real, imagined and manufactured
— and I wonder whether they’ll drive us to the precipice, or even the apocalypse, and whether we’ll change at the last
minute, and, should we survive, whether we’ll remember what we want to forget or forget what we want to remember.

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IU launches new energy research center

IU has launched another energy research center, this time the Center for Research in Energy, administered by the School of
Public and Environmental Affairs, in Bloomington.

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Hoosier Energy hit with $120M claim from John Hancock

An electric co-op supplying power to customers in 48 central and southern Indiana counties could face a perilous spike in
its financial load following a $120 million claim against it by insurance giant John Hancock Life Insurance Co.

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Delays to development projects cost everybody money

Here’s a common scenario: A developer gets approval on zoning and planning permits to build a business on a piece of property. The business has signed an agreement to either lease or buy the building once it’s completed. The owner of the business then begins making plans to open the new facility. The developer, meanwhile, goes to work to prepare the property for construction, which includes everything from figuring out the utilities, access road, curbs, sidewalks and landscaping. Working with…

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No perfect fit for Main Street: Small-business owners fall on both sides of political line

Joe the Plumber has been getting plenty of attention in recent weeks, but what about Kimberly the Merchant or John the Manufacturer? For all the talk about whether this year’s presidential candidates favor Wall Street or Main Street, there’s little discussion of the fact that neither Democrat Barack Obama nor Republican John McCain may be perfect for all small-business owners. Indianapolis manufacturing firm owner John Raine is backing McCain because of his stance on taxes and labor unions. Local shop…

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A renewed call for renewable energy mandate: State bucks trend by not forcing utilities to diversify

Indiana has become the lone state in the upper Midwest not requiring that utilities supply a certain percentage of their electricity from renewable resources, such as wind turbines and landfill gas. Last month, Michigan’s legislature mandated that at least 10 percent of electricity supplied in that state be generated from renewable sources by 2015. Indiana’s conspicuous lack of a standard, along with growing environmental concerns over coal, could improve prospects for passing a standard during the 2009 session of the…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: How to avoid horror stories by pre-planning your move

If you’ve ever helped a friend move, you probably have horror stories to tell. About showing up to find not a single item boxed up. About countless cross-town trips in overloaded cars. About stacks and stacks of boxes labeled “Misc.” Or about unconnected utilities, lost keys, miscommunications, out-of-service elevators…well, you get the picture. Those kinds of scenarios might cost you years of good-natured teasing after you’re moving into your first apartment, but when the move involves a workplace, the stakes…

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Municipalities battle over township: Greenwood opposes Bargersville annexation plans

BARGERSVILLE-This town of 2,500 has raised the ire of Greenwood leaders, daring to annex land close to the city’s southern border and its sprawl of shopping centers. It’s been a long time in coming-since 1905 or thereabouts. That’s when the Illinois Central Railroad came through Bargersville, a burg created 55 years earlier in honor of local resident Jefferson Barger, and the heart of the town moved a half mile northwest to straddle the new tracks. These days, trains still rumble…

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Eco groups divided over gasification: New power plant has many critics, but some say it’s a necessary step

One might think a technology promising greener electric generation would please most environmentalists. Duke Energy Corp.’s 630-megawatt coal-gasification plant, scheduled to go online in Edwardsport in 2012, is expected to emit less sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulates than the smaller, 1940s-era plant it replaces-while generating 10 times as much electricity. However, more than a dozen Indiana and national advocacy groups are decrying the $2.3 billion plant being footed mostly by ratepayers, claiming it will raise emissions of greenhouse gas…

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Citizens’ new name is a gas-in a way: Parent company of local utility adds ‘energy’ to its moniker to reflect diversity of operations

Citizens Gas & Coke Utility on Aug. 25 will announce a new name and logo that reflect the diversification of its energy businesses and the closure last year of its 98-year-old foundry coke plant. Citizens Energy Group will be the name of the parent, a utility founded 120 years ago. Two units-Citizens Gas and Citizens Thermal-will retain their names. But a third, Citizens By-Products, will be renamed Citizens Resources. “We’re entering a new era,” said Citizens President and CEO Carey…

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Alternative-energy company eyes Indiana for 4 wind farms

Alternative-energy giant Horizon Wind Energy is opening an Indianapolis office focused on developing up to four new wind
farms in Indiana at a cost of more than $2 billion. The Houston-based company is renovating space on the
top floor of the 12-story J.F. Wild Building at 129 E. Market St., where it plans to manage development
of new wind farms in Indiana and Ohio.

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Revival in nuclear energy puts engineers in demand: Purdue concerned about possible shortage in field

A renewed interest in nuclear energy coming at the same time aging workers are leaving the industry has created the elements for a shortage of nuclear engineers. Nuclear energy as an electricity source is enjoying a resurgence nearly 30 years after a reactor meltdown at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania severely tarnished the industry’s image. Escalating oil prices and stiffening environmental regulations on coal-based systems are helping to spawn the rebirth of nuclear technology. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in…

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Energy savings program may not be bright idea: Duke ratepayer groups question complex payment plan

Duke Energy ratepayers have asked regulators for more time to study what they describe as an “unprecedented” way of paying for an energy-efficiency program the utility is proposing. They are concerned it might be a better deal for shareholders than customers. North Carolina-based Duke proposed its “save-a-watt” program last fall, arguing it will boost by more than 10 times the energy savings over existing efficiency options for its 777,000 Indiana customers. The program would offer such things as compact fluorescent…

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Charities are feeling pain of gas price spike: Groups scrambling for volunteers, dollars to beef up transportation

With gas prices on the rise-and expected to reach $4 a gallon this summer-local not-for-profits are losing volunteers and throwing money at skyrocketing transportation budgets. Indianapolis Meals on Wheels Inc. Executive Director Barb Morris is used to fielding calls from reporters whenever gas prices fluctuate. In the past, she quashed their theory that high prices at the pump drove away volunteers. Not now, though. “If you’d asked me four or five months ago, I would have said, ‘Absolutely not,'” Morris…

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