[The Vector] Energy Leaders Weigh in on the Future

What do top green energy executives and industry leaders think of the clean energy future? That’s what Bloomberg Businessweek Research Services wanted to know. In September and October 2010, Bloomberg polled leaders for the company ABB to learn about their perspectives and insights about the future of energy.

The survey results were presented in several white papers, including, “A Smarter Energy Future“ and “Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy“ Before examining the results, it is important to understand who responded to the survey.

39% were North American
36% were European
12% were from Asia
13% elsewhere

35% were at the CEO level
31% were at the VP level, Director or Dept. Manager level
17% were Technical Professionals
8%  were consultants
9%  other

42% were in Green energy generation or services & support
13% were in non-renewable energy generation
12% were government, academic or non-profit officials
10% were in transmission or distribution of energy
10% were in financing
13% were not defined

While there are many promising developments in energy and energy systems, there are also barriers. Systematic lack of incentives is seen as the most important barrier in developing renewable energy and energy efficiency, followed by cost of investment and fragmented stakeholders (said a total of 53% of the respondents). 31% of the energy leaders said the low price of energy is also a large barrier to improving energy efficiency.

82% of the respondents indicated that environmental protection should be given priority even if it increases the cost of energy. This seems to indicate that business leaders recognize the problem with CO2 emission and environmental distress. Regarding costs of renewable energy, a majority of the industry experts (54%) say that renewable energy should be funded by a combination of price increases and government subsidies.

(To be continued soon…)