Utilities Independent Power Producers and Energy Traders

While millions of Americans are watching the total solar eclipse, utilities will be managing a sharp drop in solar power.

The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant will shut down in 2019 unless Pennsylvania or a regional grid operator intervenes.

If you've noticed your utility bills falling, there's a good reason. Surging natural gas production in the U.S. has had one benefit already: curbing or even cutting power costs.

With uncertainty and volatility big issues much like last year, money managers say go for high dividend-paying stocks and sectors such as healthcare, consumer staples and utilities.

Energy used to be something we took for granted; it is was cheap, accessible and plentiful. Now, energy seems precious, complicated and fractious, a chip in the high-stakes game of geopolitics.

Even when renewable energy is relatively cheap to produce, current costs to store huge amounts of solar and wind power can be two or three times the value for utilities supplying electricity.

With all its attributes, solar energy still hasn't taken off with consumers. What's not to like. Apparently, a lot.  For one, switching over is a" a hassle," says a solar firm CEO.

The resulting yo-yo effect on fuel prices for the last three years has made it hard for consumers and businesses to loosen their purse strings enough to jump start the lackluster economy.

Automakers are gearing up for mass-market production of hydrogen-powered cars starting in 2015, but the fuel-cell technology has plenty of skeptics, including President Barack Obama.

Choosing energy-efficient appliances, such as Energy Star, making a few small repairs and adjusting some behavior can help consumers save hundreds of dollars a year in energy costs.

With gasoline prices still stubbornly high, a new fuel from an old source could keep America moving more cheaply in the near future.  It's coal-based  ethanol and Celanese is making a big bet on it.