By: Holly Ellyatt The U.K’s “big six” energy companies will be grilled by U.K. lawmakers on Tuesday about the reasons behind hiking their consumer energy bills by an average of 9.1 percent just ahead of the onset of winter. The companies — EDF Energy, SSE, Scottish Power, Npower, E.ON UK and British Gas – have… Keep reading →
As the United States moves closer to imposing an economic cost on carbon dioxide emissions in the form of emissions limits on power plants, there will be a shift in the ranking of fuels that are most economic for power generation. And while nuclear’s future is looking more promising, it is not certain that it… Keep reading →
Today, the future of America’s energy policy seems to have been put on the back burner. Yet energy issues are directly tied to the economic future and security of the U.S., and it is important that the American people fully understand the impacts and costs associated with implementing sound energy policy. Among the challenges in… Keep reading →
There may be a shale oil deposit in Russia’s Siberian region larger than the Bakken. Exxon Mobil is investigating and oil service firms are “shipping equipment, technology and drilling crews from the Bakken and the Eagle Ford in Texas to Siberia, in what is becoming a full-scale west-east technology transfer.” [Financial Times] The Sudanese government… Keep reading →
There is no shortage of small ways in which individuals can take action against climate change. What is lacking, at least thus far, is a solution equal to the scale of the challenge, according to World Bank President Jim Yong Kim. The World Bank is seeking to incorporate efforts to tackle climate change into its… Keep reading →
Supporters of coal have called the planned new rules from the EPA on CO2 emissions from coal-fired power generation a war on coal and have pledged to fight the rule-making process. It is true that there will almost certainly not be a new coal-fired electric generating station built in the U.S. for at least the… Keep reading →
The dramatic shift in the US natural gas sector over the past five years calls for a rethink of at least some aspects of natural gas policy. But heated debates over its economic and environmental impacts, and uncertain progress on regulatory and legislative changes, show how elusive agreement on a new policy trajectory can be.… Keep reading →
India’s fuel subsidies are forcing domestic oil marketing companies to sell fuel below cost, costing three domestic retailers $76.6 million per day. “India imports more than 80% of the crude oil it requires, and with the rupee falling and crude prices rising, the cost of subsidized fuel is now threatening India’s efforts to rein in trade and… Keep reading →
Domestic Saudi Arabian oil consumption increasingly cuts into oil exports, reducing the valuable revenue those exported barrels provide, which funds the country’s current account surplus. Subsidized domestic prices incentivize direct burning crude to generate power needed to cool a growing Saudi population. As the Kingdom shifts more to natural gas for power generation – freeing… Keep reading →
The US federal government has long had a hand in guiding development of the country’s energy sector. In some cases, such as the Department of Energy’s role in the early stages of research and development that helped usher in the shale boom, this has been hailed as a success. In others, such as the highly-publicized… Keep reading →
