Hundreds of millions of dollars in a new venture fund, with one-quarter aimed at “future energy” technologies.
Royal Dutch Shell has won both criticism and praise for its green investment habits — but when it comes to venture capital, it’s pretty tightly focused on serving its own oil and gas business needs first. Keep reading →
Here are some interesting energy-related tid bits making the rounds this week.
Iran Moving Beyond Oil Keep reading →
After a tough period when Chinese and Vietnamese companies dumped cheap products into the country and the production tax credit looked like it might be toast, things are looking up for the U.S. wind tower sector.
One indication: Broadwind Energy said on Tuesday that a new $14 million order means that its Abeline, Texas, plant is pretty much full up for the year. Keep reading →
The markets fell on Wednesday, led by tumbling energy and financial shares, as traders responded to signs that the economic recovery might not be as strong as anticipated.
Today’s Markets Keep reading →
It’s a commonly used analogy for the global oil market: Crude oil is fungible and supplies from
producing countries and companies enter a giant pool that is drained by a wide variety of consumers. Analysts, academics and politicians often talk of the global oil trade in this manner, saying that additional supplies of oil – regardless of where they originate – are good for US energy security because increased volumes available on the global market should exert downward price pressure. Well, perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s not that simple.
The situation is clarified in a recent journal article titled “Crude Oil Is Not Fungible, Where It Comes from Does Matter, and Global Markets Are More Fragmented Than Many Think.” The piece, written by Jonathan Chanis, a long-time commodity trader, finance expert and current Columbia University professor, appeared in American Foreign Policy Interests: The Journal of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. Keep reading →
In this video, the US Department of Interior highlights outgoing Secretary Salazar touring five new national monuments designated by President Obama; the Secretary bids an emotional farewell at a ceremony at the Department of the Interior; and the Obama Administration releases a new national strategy to fight climate change by preserving our natural resources.
Salazar is stepping down and President Obama has nominated Sally Jewell to take his place. Jewell is president and chief executive of outdoor recreation company REI and worked as an oil field engineer earlier in her career. The Department manages the country’s energy resources located on federal lands both onshore and offshore. Keep reading →
Last week the US EPA proposed regulations known as Tier 3 rulemaking that would increase fuel efficiency and tighten controls on sulfur in gasoline. The EPA described the new rules as “sensible standards for cars and gasoline that will significantly reduce harmful pollution, prevent thousands of premature deaths and illnesses, while also enabling efficiency improvements in the cars and trucks we drive.”
The environmental community, many politicians and some business associations are strongly in favor of the regulations, while the refining industry is bitterly opposed. Both sides claim the regulations will save money and have very different views on how the rules will affect gasoline prices. The following is a collection of statements EPA sent in an email from prominent environmental, political and trade group voices speaking in favor of the regulations: Keep reading →
Tesla Motors is expecting to report its first-ever quarterly profit after sales of its all-electric Model S exceeded expectations.
The announcement about the just-ended first quarter pushed Tesla (TSLA) shares up more than 5% in premarket trading. Keep reading →
Exxon Mobil was working to clean up thousands of barrels of oil in Mayflower, Arkansas, after a pipeline carrying heavy Canadian crude ruptured, a major spill likely to stoke debate over transporting Canada’s oil to the United States.
Exxon shut the Pegasus pipeline, which can carry more than 90,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil from Pakota, Illinois, to Nederland, Texas, after the leak was discovered on Friday afternoon, the company said in a statement. Keep reading →
Breaking Energy recently spoke with Solar Impulse co-founders Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg about their ambitious goal to fly around the world in a solar-powered airplane that uses zero liquid fuel and can fly through the night.
A major milestone along the path to that goal will be reached in the coming weeks when Solar Impulse flies from San Francisco (Moffett Airfield) and stop in four US cities including Phoenix, Dallas Fort Worth and Washington D.C. before reaching New York’s JFK airport, its final destination in early July. Keep reading →
