You can now add WindFloat Pacific, in Oregon, to the list of innovative, U.S. Department of Energy-backed offshore wind projects struggling to get built. A year ago, the feds whittled their way from seven proposed projects, each of which had received $4 million in design and planning support, to a trio that would get as… Keep reading →
If $100 a barrel wasn’t enough to make a shale driller money, imagine what a price 40 percent lower is doing. Not good. According to a Bloomberg Business report, debt is becoming a dangerous burden for an increasing number of players in the U.S. shale boom. “The question is, how long do they have that… Keep reading →
At long last he did it – he came out with a strong, unequivocal statement on the need to fight climate change. Yep, actor Mark Ruffalo is urging action. I’m angry that we are still debating climate change, and that despite the reams of science-based evidence for it, there are still those who ignore the… Keep reading →
We’ve heard a lot about wind power in Brazil, but there’s another South American country swooping in to take the leadership role with this renewable energy resource: Uruguay. According to Bloomberg, a $2.6 billion wind power spending spree is set to transform Brazil’s neighbor to the south into a veritable Denmark of wind, tripling the country’s use… Keep reading →
The Wall Street Journal has returned attention to the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, the $2.2 billion Department of Energy-backed concentrating solar power plant whose slow start became the subject of some controversy after a Breaking Energy story last fall. The Journal reported that “15 months after starting up, the California plant is producing just 40… Keep reading →
It looks like those who dispute the necessity for action on climate change will now have to take on one of the world’s most popular figures: Pope Francis. “Humanity is called to take note of the need for changes in lifestyle and changes in methods of production and consumption to combat this warming, or at… Keep reading →
Over budget, behind schedule, beset with “anomalies” to its reactor vessel and faulty cooling-system valves … EDF’s Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor is more than just a French headache; it’s causing serious stress in London as well. That’s because the planned Hinkley Point C reactor in the UK is supposed to use the same new-generation Areva European Pressurized Reactor… Keep reading →
Cuadrilla is looking for approval to frack the first horizontal well into shale rock in Britain – in Lancashire, to be precise – and it’s holding up Pennsylvania as an example of how it can be done without damaging a bucolic countryside. “Pennsylvania has the Marcellus Shale, which is one of the largest shale plays in the… Keep reading →
Bob Lutz, the former GM executive dubbed Mr. Chevy Volt by one website for his efforts at developing the electric vehicle, isn’t buying what Elon Musk is selling when it comes to energy storage. In a CNBC appearance this week, he said the Powerwall is nothing new and “greatly overvalued,” the Gigafactory will give Tesla no real… Keep reading →
There’s no question that variable resources like solar PV and wind present unique grid challenges, but with the Clean Power Plan pointing to higher penetration levels, there’s a lot of debate about how big an issue integration really is. The North American Electrical Reliability Corporation set off alarms bells in late April with a report that said… Keep reading →
