Insurance Companies Find Increasing Role in Covering Risks Associated with Green Technologies. By Julie Makinen, NYTimes, August 8, 2010. "Every day, national and local officials, municipal utilities, corporations, homeowners and consumers are weighing the risks and rewards of adopting renewable energy. The up-front costs can be daunting… Increasingly, insurers are stepping in to bridge the gap between green intentions and actual capital outlays on green technology. They are backstopping warranties on solar panels, helping start-up companies with short track records offer multidecade guarantees on their products and win over skeptical customers and project financiers. They are studying weather patterns to offer protection in the event of, say, unusually weak winds that fail to spin turbines, or a volcanic ash cloud from Iceland that diminishes the output of a solar energy facility in Spain. They are advising companies on how best to incorporate renewable energy systems into their factory operations and offering property insurance that will pay not just to rebuild a structure in the event of a loss like fire but reconstruct it in a more environmentally friendly and energy-efficient way. They are even offering coverage to carbon traders."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment