The world uses about 91 million barrels of oil per day. And most forecasts suggest that oil consumption will rise over the next few decades, driven in large part by growing demand for transportation fuels, especially in Asia. Norway’s state-owned oil company, Statoil, predicts that oil demand will peak at around 105 million bbl/d in… Keep reading →
Photovoltaic (PV) energy, the conversion of sunlight to electricity, was discovered in the late 1830s, followed by usable PV cells developed in the early 1950s. Despite its history, only recently has the U.S. solar market really started to take off. Driven by the volatility of energy prices from traditional sources such as coal, gas and… Keep reading →
From time to time I will start highlighting some groups that are finding new ways to solve some of the many energy financing challenges that we face. I will be looking at both groups that are finding ways to fill gaps as well as companies that are rethinking old approaches to energy finance. I thought… Keep reading →
Sometimes technology revolutions require a surprising amount of the human touch. While the industry discussions and recommendations around smart grid interoperability take place at the highest level of expertise on subjects of great complexity, in the end a great deal of information is still exchanged the old fashioned way: in face-to-face meetings and on the… Keep reading →
Various products have hit the market to try to overcome a major hurdle to solar financing and securitization – a lack of standardized metrics to provide a measuring stick against which financial institutions can quickly and easily assess solar projects. These include Mercatus’ solar project scoring system and Sol Systems’ SolMarket. Both of these seek… Keep reading →
Oilfield workers near Tomsk, in Western Siberia, have taken in a 6 month-old bear cub that they found digging around near their trash heap. “By now the cub is on a comfortable diet of rolls and pieces of salo, which is cured pork fat.” [Interfax] A new study from The University of Texas at Austin indicates that… Keep reading →
The pace of change in the North American natural gas business has accelerated in recent months, with the US Department of Energy approval process for exports to non-free trade agreement countries failing to stop the achievement of major project milestones and new technology innovations driving market expansion. Four projects have been approved by DOE for… Keep reading →
Energy forecasts rest on price assumptions, and price assumptions rest on shifting foundations, said Statoil Chief Economist Eirik Wærness at an event hosted by Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy this morning, where he presented the Norwegian company’s global energy outlook to 2040. No matter how good the data on how much the world… Keep reading →
On September 30, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider a major challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency’s implementation of greenhouse gas regulations under Section 202 of the Clean Air Act, a hearing that could affect President Obama’s timetable for existing power plants and state implementation plans. The EPA will likely face ongoing litigation on most… Keep reading →
Tools that offer effective communications between utilities and their customers have opened up a broad range of new business opportunities, especially in the field of data analytics. There has been no shortage of commentary on the importance of understanding the reams of data now available to utilities from “smart” technologies if that data is to… Keep reading →
