Electric energy savings with diesel

Diesel power generation can help lower costs for electric energy during peak demand periods. Metretek Technologies of Wake Forest, NC, provides remote control services to activate diesel generators and help businesses reduce dependence on electric companies when demand and cost is higher.

Defenders say "generators help the environment by relieving energy demand and delaying the need to build more power plants". Another view is that "in the nation's energy equation, dirty diesel is just a different shade of green".

News and Observer
June 13, 2007
John Murawski, Staff Writer

Generating savings on diesel

It's another sweltering summer afternoon and legions of air conditioners are maxing out the region's electricity supply.

That's the cue for 135 Food Lion grocery stores to temporarily stop buying electricity from their local utilities.

Instead, the Food Lions, along with hundreds of other heavy electricity users, crank up their own power sources: diesel generators as big as industrial trash bins.

Temporarily disconnecting from the power grid when electricity prices are at their highest can cut a store's annual energy bill in half.

Energy self-reliance is increasingly appealing to big business, for practical reasons.

But as public concern about global warming is renewing focus on renewables such as solar and wind, some companies are taking alternative energy in a different direction. Read more...