(美國當地7月27日）雖然美國煤,石油和天然氣等化石燃料工業繼續在美國發展，但目前美國公用事業開始有了利用更安全和更清潔能源的傾向。去年春天，一個公用事業行業研究小組與太陽能技術促進中心合作推動發展太陽能事業向前邁進。本周，太陽能電力協會（SEPA）的派出小組的高級管理人員去日本進行日本太陽能公用事業之旅,以了解更多太陽能并網和普及到社區的安排。

While the fossil fuel industry continues to wreak havoc over the American landscape in pursuit of coal, oil, and natural gas, U.S. utilities have started to make a collective shift toward safer and more secure sources of energy.  Last spring, a utilities industry research group partnered up with the new Solar Technology Acceleration Center to push solar energy development forward. This week, the Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) sent a group of top utility executives on a solar tour of  Japan in order to learn more about integrating solar energy into grids and communities.