U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at the southern site of the Keystone XL pipeline on March 22, 2012 in Cushing, Oklahoma
President Obama stopped in Cushing, Okla., on Thursday to announce a fast-track approval process for a portion of the Keystone XL oil pipeline — although it’s not the part for which he’s taken political heat for blocking. Keep reading →
Even the Saudis think the current price of #oil is too high says Atlas Energy CEO Cohen at #ECOnomics #energy petergardett
A rare earth mining operation in China’s Jiangsu province
A rare earth metal called vanadium could provide an energy storage solution for some of the challenges renewable energy sources face. The intermittent nature of wind and solar power can make these distributed sources difficult for utilities to manage within the electrical grid. Vanadium flow batteries can accommodate renewable energy by storing massive amounts of electricity and releasing it into the grid as needed when demand increases. Keep reading →
A man looks at the “world’s smallest washing machine” at the International Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas, Nevada
Thousands of Californians now have at least one new, energy-saving appliance in their home, thanks to the state’s Cash for Appliances rebate program that recently drew to a close. The program, which started two years ago and ended last month, resulted in 178,000 household appliances, water heaters and cooling systems being recycled and replaced with high-efficiency models, the state said. Keep reading →
Big deals with big investor-owned utilities (IOUs) get most of the attention from press and analysts. But in the last 18 months, most of the major vendors have created special packages aimed at the “small power market” – small to mid-size IOUs, municipals and coops. SAIC has its smart grid as a service. General Electric offers hosted GridIQ applications. Silver Spring Networks has a robust platform with several dozen partners. Meanwhile, companies such as Aclara and Tantalus have been targeting “small power” for years.
Many recent offerings are cloud-based services, where the vendor owns and operates all of the software. But Sensus has taken a slightly different tack in its just-released bundle aimed at the small power market. Sensus has pre-integrated its metering and distribution automation solutions with software from Harris Utilities. Company spokespeople claim the result is a “completely integrated suite… for meter data management, asset management and consumer engagement” that substantially reduces integration and deployment time. Keep reading →
Gas prices are once again dominating the national debate.
But despite rhetoric, high gas prices aren’t hurting as much as they used to. Keep reading →
A new midstream service complex in Ohio is the subject of a recent deal that underpins a wider resurgence activity in the industrial sector driven by shale gas discoveries across the country, but particularly in the states underlying the Utica and Marcellus Shales.
An unexpected but common theme at the Wall Street Green Summit going on this week in New York is how unconventional natural gas development is strengthening the US manufacturing sector. Keep reading →
From Kickstarter, the online platform that transforms design concepts into consumer products, comes an idea for transforming an abandoned underground trolley terminal in Manhattan into the nation’s first underground green space. And while it won’t be the first underground park in the world-that honor may lie with Shanghai-it will be the first underground recreational space in the U.S. (commercial space first prize goes to Kansas City, Mo).
Given the population density of Manhattan, and the difficulty finding existing housing, it’s not surprising that someone would want to take the fun underground. After all, there is a New York High Line-a complete park built on a repurposed elevated rail line. Why not a Low Line? Keep reading →
Smart grid technology benefits everyone from utilities to consumers and a business case can be made for the large capital investment required to get us there.
That’s the message eMeter Co-Founder and CTO, Larsh Johnson gave Breaking Energy during a recent interview. Energy and infrastructure giant Siemens acquired eMeter in January 2012. Keep reading →
