bizjournals: Energy costs aren't bad news for everyone

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From contractors in Columbus to coal mining companies plenty of firms are cashin g in on the costof energy, as individuals and businessese scramble for alternate fuels and more "We're just swamped," Mike Rosati, president of Rosatii Window Co. in Columbus, Ohio, told . "oI haven't seen anything like it in 27 In Columbus, Business First homeowners are making last-minute improvementsx to stave off heating cost hikes.
It's a naturapl reaction to government predictions of natural gas hikes in the 46 perceny range and fuel oil increases of about 32 Rosati told BusinessFirst he'c hired nine extra workers to help keep up with and expected to hire 10 more in the next few Steve Cikach of USA Insulation told Business Firstg he's been planning for the increase since Aprill -- tripling his advertisingy budget and hiring extra workers -- and expectse business to triple this year. "Without a douby it's pandemonium," Rosati said. "We'rse not even in the same leaguew aslast year.
" While old-fashioned solutions like bettedr insulation and windows and turning down the thermostagt are back in vogue, so are alternative energy companies, as individualsa and companies look for new ways to fuel theire lives. "The high cost of natural gas and electricityh is making our alternative energuy optioneconomically feasible," Dan Eastman, vice president for Microgen Cogenerationj Systems, Inc., told the . Eastman'ss Golden, Colo., firm sells equipment to turn animalp wasteinto energy. It's seeing more business from ruralp electric cooperatives and farms and working to strikd additional deals aroundthe country.
Meanwhile, companies that make solar panels, or photovoltaic systems, are also seeing big increasedin business, thanks to higher pricee for other energy sources. As prices for oil and natural gas climbedf through thepast year, so have installationz of photovoltaic systems. "Business is going greag and we've been growing right alongside UniRac Inc. Vice President Hal Newman toldthe . His firm recentlyy announced plans to doublee itsmanufacturing space, with business growing at a 50 percen clip.
It's not just small businessex like those in Columbus ormore cutting-edge energg technology companies experiencing a surgde thanks to higher natural gas and oil Good old coal companies are burning hot. reportsx that the price of coal from the centrao and northern Appalachians has doubled inthree years. The Baltimorwe Business Journal reports thatFoundatiohn Coal, the nation's fourtnh largest producer, has seen revenues jump 33 percentt since 2004. Arch Coal Inc.'a 3rd quarter profit was up 76 the St. Louis Business Journa l reported earlierthis week.
"We believe that the foundation is in placd for an extended period of attractive coal market dynamics andstronb pricing," president and CEO Steven Leer in a statement announcing earnings. His compan y expects coal consumption to grow for the thirdx yearin 2005, and to grow agaij in 2006. Patrick Fearon, senior economisr at St. Louis-based A.G. Edwards & Sons told Columbus Business First businesseds inthe energy-saving and alternativew energy businesses can expect good times in the immediate not just this year. "Over the next two to threew years," he said, "we're all in for higher energy coststhan we're used to.
" That kind of sentiment has been reflected on Wall Street, which has rewarde Arch Coal, and Peabodyt Coal with generally strong stock gains in the past the reported.