262 | Business World Magazine |
April 2013
electricity portfolio. A combination of pri-
vate sector ingenuity and investment, along
with government policy, has driven signifi-
cant cost reduction, technology improve-
ment and scale-up of the renewable energy
industry. Over the last five years, 35% of all
new power production has come from re-
newable energy generation. At the same
time, developments in natural gas extraction
present game-changing opportunities. Strin-
gent environmental standards are raising
performance requirements. The central gen-
eration fleet is aging and the transmission/
distribution systems require expansion and
upgrade. The broadening fuel portfolio and
need for extraordinary capital investments
are occurring even as technological innova-
tions, regional differences in resource avail-
