This is refreshing: the Ivanpah solar facility in California has been given a delightful media makeover at Gizmodo, where it was dubbed “insane”. The article’s author describes it, as seen from the 15 freeway, as “a rippling, mirage-like, silvery blur that feels like it might sear your retinas if you look at it too long”…a bit more… Keep reading →
By Paul Toscano After a newly published study found a potential link between natural gas fracking and earthquakes in Texas, the “Squawk on the Street” anchors discussed the costs and benefits of the controversial process. “May I be so bold as to say that anytime you extract anything from the ground for energy, it’s a problem,” said Jim Cramer… Keep reading →
Smart glass – glass that allows users to control for glare, light, and even heat – has the potential to help buildings use energy far more efficiently. According to a recent report by Navigant Research, the smart glass market is set to grow more than 10-fold in the next decade, to $899 million in 2022… Keep reading →
Coal-to-gas switching in the power sector has been a “brutally efficient” driver of US natural gas demand, and until new demand sources materialize, it will keep gas trading in the $3.20-$4.20 per million Btu range, according to Macquarie Global Oil & Natural Gas Economist Vikas Dwivedi. “Gas demand so far has been led by power,” Dwivedi said during… Keep reading →
At a at Columbia University event on July 26, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz pointed out hydraulic fracturing’s central role in driving coal-to-gas switching in the power generation sector, the driving force behind faster-than-expect reductions in US carbon dioxide emissions. But he stressed that its climate benefits will not last indefinitely. “Is natural gas part of the… Keep reading →
Efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants outlined in President Obama’s Climate Action Plan have been widely denounced by opponents as tantamount to a War on Coal. Curbing power plant emissions will have an outsized impact on coal-fired plants for the simple reason that coal emits more carbon dioxide when burned than other… Keep reading →
A big story in a light news week…a study in the online edition of Earth and Planetary Science Letters suggests that removal of substantial volumes of oil from the Eagle Ford shale is driving increased seismic activity in the area. Other studies examining links between oil and gas production – specifically hydraulic fracturing – and… Keep reading →
Industry groups have petitioned EPA to lower the 2014 RFS ethanol mandate to below 10 percent of projected gasoline demand. On August 13, 2013, the American Petroleum Institute and the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a partial waiver of volume requirements under the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)… Keep reading →
Investments in energy efficiency can involve substantial up-front costs, but they can also pay for themselves several times over. In some cases, they can confer additional benefits that exceed savings from reduced energy use. Honeywell recently completed a $2 million Smart Building retrofit project at the Spring Creek Towers complex in Brooklyn, New York. The… Keep reading →
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz gave a speech at Columbia University yesterday, in which he highlighted the multiple facets of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan. And he stressed the progress on one of the plan’s main priorities – lowering the cost of alternative forms of energy – has made tremendous strides in the past few years.… Keep reading →
