Low-Hanging Fruit in the Energy Sector

Americans have a habit of being wasteful because so much of what we have is inexpensive and/or easy to replace.

Energy is no exception. For decades energy has been relatively inexpensive in the United States and it was easy to ignore some of the inefficiencies in the energy sector. But with energy becoming more expensive, and/or the government putting in place new energy regulations, it is my contention that there is some "low-hanging fruit" in the energy arena in which to make a bit of money.

This is a "cut and paste" note from a longer note I sent my son-in-law. We had been discussing my contention, that within the energy sector, there must be some "low-hanging fruit."  This note should probably be cleaned up because it talks about much more than just "low-hanging fruit," but I hate re-writing.

Whatever.

Those interested in investing in Enbridge should find it very interesting:

So, here goes:

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Someone who reads my blog passed on to me that Enbridge (parent company of EEP) just bought a huge wind farm in Colorado; I remembered that Enbridge had bought a solar farm in Ontario and that brought me back to one our discussions some time ago.

I mentioned that with energy becoming more expensive, and the fact that energy in America (both the US and Canada)  has historically been quite "cheap," there must be a lot of "low-hanging fruit" -- or a lot of inefficiencies that could be transformed easily into money-paying ventures.

It appears Enbridge (a natural gas company has done just that).

1. WASTE HEAT RECOVERY FACILITIES: Enbridge has one of the longest natural gas pipelines (if not the longest) in North America, from NW Canada to Illinois. The compressor stations can take waste heat and generate enough electricity for 5,000 homes.

Enbridge operates four non-regulated waste heat recovery facilities located in Saskatchewan along the Alliance Pipeline.

Electricity is generated by harnessing the waste heat produced by Alliance Canada's gas turbines at its compressor stations and converting it to electrical energy. Each of the four units produce approximately 5 megawatts (MW) of power – enough energy to power the equivalent of approximately 5,000 homes.

Investors can invest in that project through the Enbridge Income Fund (ENF.UT).

2. HYBRID FUEL CELL: Enbridge put a hybrid fuel cell in its headquaraters parking lot to generate electricity from unused waste heat. The parking lot (22 parking spaces) generates enough electricity for 1,700 homes.

In 2008, Enbridge officially launched the world’s first hybrid fuel cell power plant that is designed for gas utility pressure reduction stations.

The plant converts unused pipeline energy, a byproduct of distributing natural gas to customers, into ultra-clean electricity. Built on approximately 22 parking spots in the company’s parking lot, the fuel cell operates without burning any fuel to produce about 2.2 megawatts of environmentally preferred, near zero-emissions electricity, enough to serve about 1,700 Ontario homes.

Enbridge has exclusive North American distribution rights for the hybrid fuel cell technology. We plan to replicate the plant throughout our distribution network in Ontario and market the hybrid fuel cell to other natural gas pipeline companies in North America.

3. So, this natural gas pipeline company has found some low-hanging fruit and converting it to money-making ventures.

4. Solar energy: But then, this natural gas pipeline company does something I never thought it would do -- it bought the Solar Farm in Ontaria, Canada from First Solar. I never thought anything of it at the time, but it is the world's largest solar cell farm -- yes, in the world -- of all places, it's located in Canada. It's a 40-MW farm, and now they will double it to 80 MW, and will be remain the largest in the world by far, until a 125-MW farm in Australia comes on line in 2012.

5. And Enbridge just bought its seventh (7th) wind farm -- this one is 75 miles west of Denver.

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That's it. There are more Enbridge stories below this one, posted within the last couple of days.

Enbridge reports earnings this week, July 28. Enbridge Energy Partners, L.C., reported earnings yesterday, blowing through estimates, reporting income 14 cents higher than forecast.