The Venezuelan government is planning to cut the working day for public sector workers down to five-and-a-half hours in a drastic attempt to conserve energy. “The initiative is part of a nationwide electricity rationing plan. Vice-President Jorge Arreaza said there had been a surge in energy demand due to extremely hot weather. He said state… Keep reading →
A new University of Michigan study has revealed that the average American consumer factors personal concern, primarily income, into their attitudes about energy. “Americans are just as concerned about energy’s impact on the environment as they are about its affordability, according to first-year results of the University of Michigan Energy Survey. Consumers also express much… Keep reading →
The definition has changed considerably over the years. The phrase “utility-scale solar” is heard so frequently in discussions about renewable energy that it comes as a bit of a shock when one realizes that there is no commonly accepted definition as to what size constitutes “utility-scale.” If you don’t believe it, a quick Google search… Keep reading →
From a greenhouse gas emissions standpoint, it’s not the fuel that we put in our car that matters – it’s the system that produced the fuel. Based on this simple formulation, University of Michigan energy researcher John DeCicco argues forcefully in a new paper that policies that emphasize rapid deployment of electric vehicles are misguided. “While the rush to get alternative… Keep reading →
China recently surpassed the US as the world’s largest net oil importer, as the US produces more and consumes less while Chinese demand steadily increases. US net oil imports have fallen from a peak of 13 million barrels per day in October 2006 to under 6 mmb/d in December 2012, according to a Citi research note issued February 28, titled “Milestones Toward US Energy Independence – Alert: US net Oil Imports Plummet to Second Place Behind China.”
“Meanwhile, since China flipped from a net exporter to a net importer of oil in 1993, its net oil imports have risen steadily to 6.3 mmb/d in January 2013, just under last May’s peak,” the Citi analysts said in the note. Keep reading →
