Engineering giants follow the money to green power

clipped from www.reuters.com SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A green power building spree is on the way, and much of it will be brought to you by the same people who built the nuclear and coal-fired power plants that keep the lights on now. What might strike casual observers or radical greens as odd can be explained by good business sense; with few other power plants in the works, big U.S. engineering and construction companies have heartily embraced renewable energy projects. Next year, in particular, is setting up to be a banner year for clean energy, with the political winds blowing in the right direction and utilities scrambling to meet renewables targets. But moving from solar panel installations on the roofs of the eco-minded to utility-scale projects that will power the homes of thousands requires far more planning expertise and capital, which will play into the hands of the big engineers.