Private equity backing out of green sector
Just as private equity houses are found to be ramping up their interest in the oil and gas sector, they are at the same time backing out of green energy and cleantech, worried about the possibility of a green bubble forming.
A survey by Rothstein Kass showed 24 per cent of more than 200 PE fund managers highlighting the green sector as the most likely to produce the next investment bubble.
Toshiba closes in on Landis+Gyr deal
With two private equity groups having pulled out of the bidding, Toshiba is closing in on a $2bn deal to buy Landis+Gyr, the world’s largest smart-meter maker by revenues.
The battle for the company shows how big an opportunity companies and governments view demand-side management. L+G already has orders to provide 62,000 meters to Finland’s Oulu Energy; and more than 10,000 to six provinces in China, which will create the world’s largest smart grid.
Landis+Gyr answer your smart meter questions – Part two
In this week’s readers’ Q&A session, Cameron O’Reilly (far left) and Steve Cunningham answer your questions. They are CEO and UK and Ireland chief, respectively, of Landis+Gyr, the world’s biggest maker of smart meters by market share.
In this second of two posts, they talk about how manufacturers and grid operators can work together on rolling out meters and how big the global market for the devices could be.
Earlier, they discussed what can be done with the data from smart meters, and how concerned the public should be about the use of this data.
Now, over to Cameron and Steve:
Landis+Gyr answer your smart meter questions – Part one
In this week’s readers’ Q&A session, Cameron O’Reilly (far left) and Steve Cunningham answer your questions. They are CEO and UK and Ireland chief, respectively, of Landis+Gyr, the world’s biggest maker of smart meters by market share.
In the first of two posts, they discuss what can be done with the data from smart meters, and how concerned the public should be about the use of this data.
In the second post, published later on Friday, they talk about how manufacturers and grid operators can work together on rolling out meters and how big the global market for the devices could be.
Now, over to Cameron and Steve:
Landis+Gyr: Smart meters could reduce energy consumption by 15%
Rolling out intelligent energy meters could help the UK reduce its energy usage by up to 15 per cent, five times current government estimates, the world’s biggest smart meter maker has said.
Answering Energy Source readers’ questions, Cameron O’Reilly and Steve Cunningham, the CEO and UK and Ireland chief (respectively) of Landis+Gyr, said the UK was being too pessimistic in their forecast for how much impact smart meters could make.
They said:
Even if the immediate benefit seen by home owners is the 2-3 per cent saving that the UK government’s model assumes, it is still a profoundly valuable exercise.
But we seriously doubt that those conservative savings will be the best that the UK achieves. Landis+Gyr’s experience is that deployments which have focused on encouraging energy budgeting have delivered usage reductions of 10-15 per cent, even when they have had far less sophisticated capabilities than those planned here. Our energy retailers are some of the most innovative in the world – it would be a surprise if, in partnership with their customers, they couldn’t at least match those figures.
Your chance to quiz the world’s biggest maker of smart meters
I am pleased to say that Cameron O’Reilly (right), chief executive of Landis+Gyr, has joined Steve Cunningham (left), the company’s UK & Ireland CEO, in the hotseat for next week’s readers’ Q&A.
The two are at the very top of the world’s biggest smart meter maker by market share. This is your chance to ask them about anything from how quickly it might be able to install 1m meters for British Gas, to the future of smart meters and grids worldwide, to the company’s plans for a flotation or sale.
Email all your questions to energysource@ft.com by Sunday, April 17th.
Your chance to quiz the world’s biggest maker of smart meters
Many thanks for all your questions for Michael Bromwich, the man in charge of offshore oil permitting in the US. His answers will appear on this site on Friday, April 15th.
Next week, the person in the hotseat will be Steve Cunningham, UK and Ireland chief executive of Landis+Gyr, the world’s biggest maker of smart meters.
This is your chance to ask Steve about anything from how quickly it might be able to install 1m meters for British Gas, to the future of smart meters and grids worldwide, to his company’s plans for a flotation or sale.
Email all your questions to energysource@ft.com by Monday, April 11th.
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