Popular electric car manufacturer Tesla is augmenting its electric vehicle charging station services with an experimental foray into battery swapping. The idea behind the battery swapping trial is much faster than fully charging an electric car. Tesla Gigafactory, Carson City, NV. Credit: Tesla Motors Tesla already has its supercharger stations at several locations and owners… Keep reading →
Here are our top stories of the past year – enjoy the holidays! At Ivanpah Solar Power Plant, Energy Production Falling Well Short of Expectations Whether scorched birds are a major issue at the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System in California is a matter of dispute. But the “power tower” solar plant and its owners… Keep reading →
Gold prices will continue to retreat, as of today, December 6, 2014 it is $1,192 an ounce. I believe it will be below $1,000 an ounce before year end 2015. Oil prices will be below $60 a barrel by year end 2015. The S&P 500 will exceed $2,200 a share sometime in 2015. The Supreme… Keep reading →
Building on President Obama’s commitment to strengthen the government-to-government relationship with tribal nations, Secretary Moniz traveled to Arizona for a summit and roundtable dialogue with tribal leaders. This marks the first official visit of a Cabinet Secretary with tribal leaders in Indian Country after the White House Tribal Nations Conference earlier this month. As a… Keep reading →
The guidance will significantly affect infrastructure projects located on federal land and federal permitting of major energy projects.
On December 18, the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued draft guidance regarding how federal agencies should evaluate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change impacts when conducting environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The guidance updates an earlier draft issued in 2010 and responds to recommendations submitted to the White House in November by the State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience.
New York’s statewide ban on fracking is a vindication for communities around the country that have been hit hard by unconventional natural gas production, writes Fred Krupp, Environmental Defense Fund’s president, in a Dec. 22 op-ed piece in The Washington Post. It demonstrates what can happen when oil and gas producers erode public trust by brushing… Keep reading →
Randy Knowles figures he’s moving in the right direction. “They used to call me crazy,” he said with a self-effacing chuckle. “Now they’re calling me audacious.” For well over a decade, the Klickitat (Washington) Public Utility District commissioner has promoted building a big pumped storage project off-stream from the Columbia River at the John… Keep reading →
Secretary Ernest Moniz has made improving project management a priority at the Energy Department. In August 2013, the Secretary established a special working group that includes project management experts from across the Department. Over the past year, this group’s in-depth analysis culminated in a new report, being released today. Titled Improving Project Management, the… Keep reading →
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has ordered the New York Independent System Operator, Inc. to reopen and resettle billings for electricity it supplied during the November/December 2012 billing periods, and to refund to DWT client GDF Suez Energy Resources, NA over-charges erroneously billed to Suez as a result of Hurricane Sandy. GDF Suez Energy Resources, NA v. New York Independent System Operator, Inc. and Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc., 149 FERC ¶ 61,257 (2014). Suez was represented in this proceeding by Jim Mitchell, a partner in the Washington, DC office of DWT.
Infused with Energy, But Empty on Creative Fuel: The Necessity of Creative Development
By Lewis FeinThe energy industry is a source of technological innovation and remarkable engineering. From the use of advanced machinery to extract previously inaccessible volumes of natural gas and shale oil to the management of global projects and the benefits of real-time intelligence, pioneers abound in one of the world’s most important areas of commerce and economic… Keep reading →