Keystone pipeline votes reflect empty promises

Tens of thousands of American jobs and oil independence for the U.S. That’s what proponents of the Keystone pipeline promise in exchange for the inevitable oil spills and accelerating climate change due to burning the exceptionally carbon-laden heavy crude.

Recent votes in the U.S. Senate made it clear that neither of these promises is true.

As outlined by nationofchange.org, supporters voted against requiring American-made steel and other supplies for the pipeline. All those senators who had told…

Matthews startup gets grant for expansion

TVL International, the Matthews company developing the SmartCharge LED bulb that operates even during a power outage, has won a $75,000 loan from the Innovation Fund North Carolina.

Founder and CEO Shailendra Suman says the money will be used pay for getting the latest iteration of the SmartCharge bulb certified by Underwriters Laboratories, as well as for tooling and bulb molding for production and for marketing expenses.

TVL must match the loan dollar for dollar as it produces the new line of…

A slow start for Duke Energy’s green-power plan

Duke Energy continues to find its plans for providing large customers with renewable energy under special contracts a long slog, but the company tells regulators interest in the pilot program remains strong.

In its first annual filing for the Green Source Rider, approved in December 2013, Charlotte-based Duke says it is in negotiations with data centers, manufacturers and college campuses as potential customers. Duke says if current negotiations come to fruition, it would have contracts for half…

What made Toshiba pick Charlotte

Ali Azad has watched Charlotte’s energy industry grow from inside — 17 years at Duke Energy — and out — stints at American Electric Power and First Solar.

Now he plans to be an active player in that growth.

On Jan. 16, Toshiba Corp. named him chief executive of its new Toshiba America Energy Systems. The business stems from the consolidation of three independent Toshiba companies, along with a small number of employees from Toshiba subsidiary Westinghouse.

Azad describes it as a one-stop…

New PFES office in Charlotte to target nuclear services

A two-year-old nuclear energy services startup is opening an office in Charlotte this spring, hiring six employees initially with plans for as many as 25 staffers in two years.

PFES, with its headquarters outside Chicago and offices in Cleveland, San Francisco and South Bend, is considering eight locations around Charlotte. Paul Boyadjian, who has joined PFES as vice president of engineering, expects the location to be chosen within three months and the office to open soon after.

PFES provides…