Experts Endorse US LNG Exports In response to a recent House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee hearing on the economic and geopolitical opportunities of natural gas exports, Bill Cooper, president of the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas issued the following statement: “Thursday’s hearing adds to the growing understanding that LNG exports are a huge opportunity for the… Keep reading →
The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers filed comments opposing the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: 2013 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).
“I have long asserted that the RFS is broken and is harmful to countless parties, but nothing has been done to address the problems it has created,” said AFPM President Charles T. Drevna in a statement. Keep reading →
If any sector would seem unlikely to be singled out for its robust dealmaking outlook, renewable energy might seem to be it. After a surge in investment and in installations over the past decade, renewable energy seemed to run out of road in 2012, undermined by extreme competition, low natural gas prices and limits on government assistance in a budget-constrained environment.
But 2012 proved to be a surprise for analysts of the renewable energy sector, analyst from consulting and accountancy firm Deloitte said in their most recent overview of the sector’s merger and acquisition activity. Keep reading →
Here are some interesting energy-related tid bits making the rounds this week.
Iran Moving Beyond Oil Keep reading →
A group of Senate Democrats requested the Administration to reconsider EPA’s proposed emissions regulations that would essentially ban construction of new coal-fueled power plants in the U.S.
Four Senate Democrats, led by Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), wrote to President Obama seeking amendments of EPA’s proposed New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for new power plants. The letter – released on March 18, 2013 – explains that implementation of the current draft would effectively ban construction of new coal-based power plants. Drawing attention to provisions that place new coal-fueled plants and natural gas-fueled plants in the same standard, the Senators called for different emissions standards based on fossil fuel type. Keep reading →
House Democrats have released draft carbon-pricing legislation, soliciting feedback on a potential per-ton fee for emissions, annual rate of fee increase, and revenue spending.
On March 12, 2013, House Democrats released a draft plan for carbon-pricing legislation that would impose a fee on greenhouse gas emissions from the nation’s largest polluters, such as power plants, oil refineries, and factories. The measure, which has the potential to address both climate change and budget deficit, aims to establish a system that would minimize compliance burden for polluting entities and reduce administrative costs. It would build on EPA’s existing program that requires major sources to report emissions. The Treasury Department would have the responsibility to collect carbon fees based on EPA emissions data. Keep reading →
On Friday, March 1st, 2013, NRG Energy President & CEO David Crane took the stage at the MIT Energy Conference to offer the Friday Keynote Address to a packed theater.
MIT Energy Initiative Executive Director Melanie Kenderdine moderated the Friday Keynote in a one-on-one Davos-style conversational interview. In it, she asked Crane to offer his advice to the yet-to-be-named incoming Department of Energy nominee. The question timed nicely with the White House announcement on the following Monday, which put forward MIT Professor and MIT Energy Initiative Director Dr. Ernest J. Moniz as the nominee for Secretary of the DOE. Keep reading →
At a well-attended 2013 MIT Energy Conference, an expert panel explored the “big picture” questions surrounding climate change providing updated insights on pros and cons of available actions.
While Sandy has made clear the critical state of the environment – more so than 4 years worth of IPCC reports, notes Dr. Kerry Emanuel (Professor of Atmospheric Science, MIT) – international and domestic efforts to enact policies against climate change continue to stall. Keep reading →
The development cycles for projects using established technology are famously lengthy in the energy sector, while the length of time it takes for new technology to be developed and brought to commercial scale runs to decades, if not longer.
The advanced biofuels business, lent a generous mandate by US politicians against the background of fears over energy security and rising oil prices in the middle of the last decade, has managed to accelerate the development cycle to a degree that would have been unimaginable a decade ago, representatives for the industry said on a call with reporters recently. Keep reading →
The link between fracking and water quality has been a source of deep controversy in and outside the energy business, despite a lack of firm data or consensus to date on which practices might impact water and when.
Today the EPA issued an update on its studies, ducking the inevitable round of controversy by releasing its report in the final hours before a long holiday weekend: Keep reading →
Jared Anderson
Conway Irwin
Peter Gardett