Financial Advisors Are Adopting Social Media, Fitfully – Forbes

See on Scoop.itTwitter & Social Media

Active social media strategies are proving profitable for financial advisors.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

Alex Pigliucci, global managing director of Accenture wealth management services, said  social media creates a huge opportunity for firms that get it right and a real risk for firms that regard it mostly as a threat. Firms will have to recruit and train advisors on the basis of their ability with social media if they are going to survive the generational change when millennials will become increasingly important as both advisors and investors.

See on www.forbes.com

TD Bank Announces Energy-Saving Monitoring Data For Net-Zero Store

See on Scoop.itGreen Building Design – Architecture & Engineering
TD reports that the first net-zero bank built in the United States is exceeding expectations according to first-year monitoring data.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

TD Bank’s net-zero energy store opened on May 13, 2011. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory defines a net-zero energy building (NZEB) as a residential or commercial building that produces and exports in a year at least as much renewable power as the total energy it uses.

[…] A NZEB has two key energy features: The building is constructed with energy-efficient technologies that significantly reduce its energy demand, and renewable energy sources supply at least as much energy as the building uses over the course of a year.

See on www.stockhouse.com

Energy Storage Series: Why We Need It, And Why We Don’t

See on Scoop.itGreen Energy Technologies & Development

It’s almost a cliché that there’s a “friendly debate” pitting utilities against renewable energy. But concerns on the utility side of the table are real: intermittency, potential destabilization at the feeder level, non-baseload, and peaks in generation that don’t necessarily match demand peaks. Today’s power infrastructure involves unpredictability in both supply and demand that is extremely difficult to manage.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

The big question in energy storage, Wheaton says, boils down simply: what does it cost to build more generation (to oversupply), vs. how to store and manage energy? Today it’s more “economically rational” to build more generation, whether it’s solar or wind or even coal, he noted. As energy storage technology costs come down — and as there is better understanding and calculation of externalized costs, such as societal impacts — “we will see those lines cross, and more utilities will go to energy storage as a more economical means to serve the grid.”

Fundamentally, economics determines the decision of over-generation vs. energy storage; right now “either energy storage is not cheaper, or the payback is not enough to shift over,” noted Luebbe. As the cost (dollars per kilowatt-hour) come down and energy storage costs intersect with those in over-generation, “then everyone will do it because it’s economically the logical thing to do.”

See on www.renewableenergyworld.com

Sun Shade Help Efficient Energy Usage

sembangahad's avatarsembangahad

The use of sun control and shading devices is an important aspect of much energy-efficient building design.

Shading devices can have a dramatic impact on building appearance.

The energy a building requires can be divided into two basic categories.

First, the energy needed so that a building can be used, to create a comfortable climate.

This means the production and control of heat, cold, light and air.

Second, the additional energy required, dependant on the use of the building such as to power computers and secondary equipment in office and administrative buildings, or for production machines on the factory floor.

Appropriate sun shading systems can significantly reduce the energy required to provide heating, cooling and light.

Control intense direct sunlight will ensure a comfortable workspace.

This is critical for occupant visual and thermal comfort and for minimizing mechanical cooling loads.

In sunny weather, solar heat gains through glazing can represent…

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CHP: A new generation of renewable power technology

See on Scoop.itGreen Energy Technologies & Development

Today, a new breed of CHP gen set ranging from micro- to large-scale multi-megawatt power sources is emerging. Most are transportable or built into shippingcontainers. Unlike solar and wind generators, their systems can make a lot more power with less real estate and run 24 hours a day, seven days a week every day of the year

 

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

There are some new generating systems running on biomass wood chips or pellets although they are not as popular as the defacto standard — natural gas powered sets. The fuels from biogas components can be reclaimed from farm products and landfills, proving economical by using the methane gas created from food product waste. 

 

See on www.fierceenergy.com

SEC Allows Companies To Announce News To Investors Through Facebook – AllFacebook

See on Scoop.itTwitter & Social Media

Soon, investors will be able to learn more about companies in the same space where they play Candy Crush Saga. The Securities and Exchange Commission declared Tuesday that companies can notify their investors of news through Facebook and Twitter.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

George Canellos, acting director of the SEC’s division of enforcement, commented on this new development in a press release:

One set of shareholders should not be able to get a jump on other shareholders just because the company is selectively disclosing important information. Most social media are perfectly suitable methods for communicating with investors, but not if the access is restricted or if investors don’t know that’s where they need to turn to get the latest news.

What brought about this decision was a post on the …

See on allfacebook.com

Power Analytics: The model based approach to availability, energy and resource management

See on Scoop.itGreen Energy Technologies & Development

As the reliance on the data center infrastructure continues to grow, organizations will need to use model-based analytics to help make better IT decisions.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

Download this white paper to see how the use of model-based metrics is directly analogous to business analytics. With the complexity of today’s modern systems – without these metrics – management and financial decisions would be nearly impossible. As the reliance on the data center infrastructure continues to grow, organizations will need to use model-based analytics to help make better IT decisions. By utilizing model-based management, organizations will be able to see the powerful link to the overall value chain of designing, building and operating a data center.

See on www.datacenterknowledge.com

ComEd Created 2400 Jobs through Grid Modernization Programs in 2012

See on Scoop.itGreen Energy Technologies & Development

ComEd submitted this week to the Illinois Commerce Commission data showing that the 2011 Smart Grid law created more than 2400 full-time equivalent jobs in Illinois in 2012.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

“The grid modernization programs are putting many linemen, electricians and specialists who work on our electric grid back to work in well-paying, skilled jobs. This helps the Illinois economy and boosts other local industries, too,” said Michael Carrigan, president, Illinois AFL-CIO. “Getting the programs back on track will protect and increase jobs for Illinois workers.”

ComEd’s grid modernization investments have provided an important boost to Illinois manufacturers, suppliers and service providers with the expertise necessary to support the electrical system upgrade. Last year, ComEd awarded grid modernization contracts worth a total of $118 million, including 71 percent to Illinois companies providing services and products from engineering to cable to smart switches. Of the total, $54 million, or 46 percent, was spent with diverse suppliers.

See on tdworld.com

International Hydropower Association announces IHA World Congress – HydroWorld

See on Scoop.itGreen & Sustainable News

Members of the hydroelectric power community will convene in May for the International Hydropower Association’s World Congress for discussions concerning hydropower development around the world.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

This Congress — titled “Advancing Sustainable Hydropower” — runs May 21-24, 2013, in Sarawak, Malaysia, and includes four days of interactive sessions and discussions designed not only to be informative, IHA said, but to test current strategies and stimulate future thinking.

See on www.hydroworld.com

Small Hydro Power for micro hydro power generation in streams & rivers. HydroWorld

See on Scoop.itGreen & Sustainable News

Read the hot small hydro power project news & technology.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

Hydroelectric plants with a capacity of 20 MW or less are a valuable niche of the hydro industry, providing local power in underdeveloped countries and sources of new capacity in established markets.

See on www.hydroworld.com