Energy conservation firm goes on buying spree

EnerNOC, a start-up that helps large commercial buildings automatically cut down their energy use, bought Celerity Energy Partners out of Seattle on Thursday. With the acquisition, EnerNOC now manages more than 1,000 hours of electrical capacity.

The acquisition is the third major acquisition for the company, which is still private, in a year.

Academics and analysts generally point to three types of energy technology that will become more important in the future: alternative energy such as solar and biofuels; technology for burning coal and then storing the CO2 underground and technology for conservation. Simple as it sounds, conservation works. Since the 70s, electricity use in California has remained almost constant because of conservation programs, while it has grown by 50 percent in the rest of the country.

Other companies in the energy conservation field include Comverge, which cuts down home electricity use and balances home electricity use across neighborhoods.