Better PLC, or Better Place as it goes by, wants people to imagine a world free of oil. The startup, which was founded in 2007 on $200 million of venture capital, is teaming with automakers, battery manufacturers, energy companies, and governments to help make electric cars more viable worldwide. As an alternative to traditional gas stations, the company is attempting to build and operate an electric recharge grid to power electric car battery recharging stations, which drivers pay to access (much as phone users pay to access a mobile network). Better Place has begun work with partners in Australia, China, Denmark, Israel, Japan,and the US on this sustainable model. The company was founded by CEO Shai Agassi.

Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) electrifies the Cornhusker State. The government-owned electric utility provides power in 91 of the state's 93 counties. The firm has a generating capacity of more than 3,000 MW and operates more than 5,000 miles of transmission lines. NPPD distributes electricity to more than 88,000 retail customers in 80 cities and towns; it also provides power to about 1 million customers through wholesale power contracts with 52 towns and 25 public power districts. In addition, NPPD purchases electricity from the federally owned Western Area Power Administration and operates a surface water irrigation system.

Rutherford Electric Membership Corporation provides power to more than 67,000 members located in 10 counties (Burke, Catawba, Caldwell, Cleveland, Gaston, Lincoln, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk and Rutherford) in the Southwestern Piedmont region of North Carolina. The cooperative (which had a membership of only 394 in 1938, but grew rapidly after WWII) owns and maintains about 7,000 miles of power line. Rutherford Electric has total assets of more than $300 million. The cooperative is a member of the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives network.

Pensacola power users patronize Gulf Power. The regulated utility, a subsidiary of Southern Company, transmits and distributes electricity to more than 428,150 customers in northwestern Florida. Gulf Power generates about 2,660 MW of capacity from its fossil-fueled power plants, and it operates 1,600 miles of transmission lines and about 7,650 miles of distribution lines in its service territory. The utility, which serves 10 counties and more than 70 towns and cities, also provides wholesale electricity to two distributors in Florida, and it offers conservation, outdoor lighting, surge protection, and other energy-related products and services.

Plambeck Neue Energien develops and operates renewable power wind farms in Germany and other European countries. The company has developed 74 wind farms in Germany. Plambeck developed its first wind farm -- Windpark Marschland -- in 1995. The company bought SSP Technology A/S, a maker of light and efficient rotor blades based in Denmark. Plambeck has sold its solar business in order to focus on its wind farm operations. In 2006 the company announced plans to join with Evelop to develop an 80-wind turbine offshore wind farm project, Gode Wind I, in Germany. In 2008 Plambeck established a subsidiary in the US.

Global Environmental Energy Corporation wants to improve China and other countries by turning their unwanted waste into energy. It also searches for oil and gas and has interests in clean coal technology. The company's alternative power generation technology uses waste from industrial, municipal, and agricultural facilities to produce electricity for its clients. Subsidiary Biosphere Development Corp has sold nine Biosphere Process Systems in China and one in Lebanon. Subsidiary Sahara Petroleum Exploration explores for oil in North Africa but has been inactive since 2007.

Terranext focuses its earthbound geotechnical engineering expertise on the next project, as well as the one it is currently working on. An affiliate of engineering group BE&K, Terranext provides environmental engineering and consulting services to industrial, commercial, and government customers through half a dozen offices (in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, and New Jersey). The company's services include air quality management, cultural, and natural resource conservation, energy reduction engineering, pollution prevention, water management, and site investigation and remediation. Since 1985 the woman-owned business has conducted more than 3,000 environmental projects.

Sunflower Electric Power is an electricity generation and transmission cooperative. The utility has interests in six fossil-fueled generation facilities (600 MW of capacity) and operates a more-than-1,150-mile transmission system with 76 substations. Sunflower Electric Power provides electricity to its owners, six member distribution cooperatives which collectively have more than 51,000 customers in western Kansas; it also indirectly serves a further 10,000 meters as wholesale power suppliers to regional cities and towns.

Omaha Public Power District (OPPD), a subdivision of the Nebraska state government, OPPD generates and distributes electricity to residents and businesses in 13 counties in southeastern Nebraska. It operates and maintains its facilities without tax revenues and raises money for major construction through bonds. OPPD serves more than 340,000 customers in an area covering 5,000 sq. mi. The utility has a generating capacity of more than 3,220 MW, which is powered by nuclear, coal, oil, and natural gas sources. It sells wholesale power to other utilities and offers energy consulting and management services.

Duke Energy Indiana (formerly PSI Energy) brings a spark to the Hoosier state. One of Indiana's largest utilities, Duke Energy subsidiary Duke Energy Indiana transmits and distributes electricity to 69 of the state's 92 counties (approximately 780,000 customers). The utility also owns power plants (more than 6,730 MW of primarily fossil-fueled capacity), which are operated by its parent's merchant energy division. Duke Energy Indiana's service area covers about 22,000 sq. miles with an estimated population of 2.4 million. The company operates about 31,000 miles of distribution lines and a 5,400-mile transmission system. In 2010 Duke Energy Indiana appointed company veteran Doug Esamann as president.

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