A startup named Aquion recently began commercial-scale production of sodium-ion batteries that solve some lithium-ion toxicity and flammability issues. The company says when scaled up, the batteries could supplant natural gas peaker plants, allowing stored renewable energy to be used during power demand spikes instead of gas. “The batteries could allow the grid to accommodate… Keep reading →
Domestic military installations require reliable energy sources that can power their operations 24-hours per day under all circumstances. Mission assurance, cost savings and mandated energy saving initiatives are driving the Department of Defense to deploy new energy technology with the help of innovative financing mechanisms. The three main military branches each have a goal of… Keep reading →
Not so long ago, DistribuTECH was a trade show focused on core Transmission & Distribution (T&D) engineering equipment. The shift in the last few years has been dramatic and the event now resembles a high tech, Silicon Valley conference. Our industry, like many others, has become a digital one. While it is one of the… Keep reading →
A group of fracking protesters in England were arrested Monday when they reportedly glued and chained themselves to gasoline pumps at a retail station they thought was owned by French oil major Total. The group was protesting against the oil company’s regional gas develop operations, but embarrassingly Total no longer owns the station. The service… Keep reading →
Founded in 1931 by Nobel Prize winning physicist Ernest O. Lawrence, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is one of 17 Energy Department National Labs. Located in the hills above the University of California-Berkeley campus, Berkeley Lab plays host to 4,200 scientists, engineers, support staff and students conducting research in areas ranging from supercomputing to physics and beyond. 10. Berkeley Lab is… Keep reading →
Joule is a biotech firm developing a breakthrough photosynthesis based system for the production of liquid fuels using biocatalysts fueled by sunlight and carbon dioxide. The Joule process looks like many of the algal biofuel processes from the outside, but under the hood it is completely different. If proven successful the Joule process could be… Keep reading →
Many of the largest US pension fund managers gathered at the United Nations last week to discuss the risks and opportunities climate change poses to their investment portfolios. Institutional investment fund managers, like those in charge of pension resources, are in the difficult position of finding opportunities that provide returns needed to support beneficiaries for… Keep reading →
A new report with contributions from 100 clean energy experts and business leaders offers 200 “executive-action recommendations” to President Obama regarding the best ways to advance the country’s clean energy agenda. Former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter led the report that included insight from Obama’s former lead energy and climate advisor Heather Zichal. [National Journal] Germany’s… Keep reading →
The EIA recently said that U.S. oil production will peak at 9.61 million barrels per day by 2019 and thereby nearly match the 9.64 mmb/d record set back in 1970. This is great news for U.S. energy self-sufficiency aspirations. Moreover, as Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon Mobil, pointed out in a recent interview:”We’re already the… Keep reading →
The fortunes of natural gas will increasingly drive electricity pricing as it continues to displace coal, Black & Veatch forecasts in the latest Energy Market Perspective. Black & Veatch’s long-term forecast on electric power assumes a moderate economic rebound driving demand at a projected growth rate of 1.1% from 2013 through 2038. Growth in peak… Keep reading →
