electrification

I am always excited at the beginning stages of a new product or project, especially if it’s a brand new area of focus - a “blue water” opportunity that has tremendous potential, but is also uncharted. The first part is easy, you simply have to start moving. Of course, having a goal in mind and a rough idea of how to proceed is helpful. Over time, you need to get smarter and demonstrate the ability to adjust both your direction and strategy to develop better, faster, more coherent ways to reach your goal.

This article is the first in a series referencing a paper Sue Coakley and I authored for the Electricity Journal. This special edition of the Electricity Journal titled “Energy Optimization is the Key to Affordable, Reliable Decarbonization” was coordinated by the Regulatory Assistance Project.

This article is the second in a series referencing a paper Sue Coakley and I authored for the Electricity Journal. This special edition of the Electricity Journal titled “Energy Optimization is the Key to Affordable, Reliable Decarbonization” was coordinated by the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP).

This post was written by Suzanne Shelton, founder and CEO of Shelton Group, the nation's leading marketing communications firm entirely focused on energy and the environment.

At Shelton Group, we poll Americans several times a year to dig into their beliefs and expectations about energy and the environment. For years, we’ve seen that we have a few fundamental value proposition problems with energy efficiency:

Is using electricity almost exclusively for all energy needs – such as transportation, home heating and industry uses – really a key part of the global warming solution? Well, it absolutely is. Of course it’s critical to decarbonize the grid with wind and solar and other renewables as part of the process, but dramatically shifting energy uses to electricity, while also making them more efficient, is indeed a key part of deep carbon reduction.