Like something out of a Bacigalupi novel, a crop disease that attacks corn – known as Goss’s wilt – is blighting crops across the US. While bioengineered seeds are believed to be the main culprit, crop rotation helps limit the disease’s ability to spread, but demand for corn used in ethanol production disincentivizes such rotation.… Keep reading →
There will be enough workers to “keep the lights on” at key agencies if the shutdown persists. At 12:03 a.m. this morning, after lawmakers in Congress failed to reach agreement on funding the government, thousands of federal employees lumbered out into the streets of Washington, D.C. looking for taxpayer money to spend. They knocked over… Keep reading →
Energy issues featured prominently in the 2012 presidential election and now the Obama Administration is highlighting the important role energy plays in the economy, national security and the environment by again proclaiming October “National Energy Action Month.” Despite some lofty language, it’s not entirely clear how US citizens are supposed to help achieve high-level goals… Keep reading →
For a long time, the wind industry operated pretty much with impunity when it came to its impact on golden eagles and other birds. Those days could be coming to an end. In California, the Obama administration is pushing an operating 102-megawatt wind power plant to accept a first-ever permit under the Bald and Golden… Keep reading →
European Union countries’ ongoing drive to increase natural gas supply diversity – and lessen reliance on Russia – hinges on new pipeline projects, particularly the Southern Gas Corridor that would transport gas from the Azerbaijan to the European continent. During the recent Caspian Forum held in New York City, EU Special Representative for Central Asia,… Keep reading →
On the heels of Europe’s economic crisis the continent finds itself paying more for dirtier, less reliable electric power, Eon’s chief executive Johannes Teyssen recently told the Financial Times. The chief of Germany’s largest utility described an American competitive advantage in energy that Europe is unlikely to replicate for several years, if at all. “There… Keep reading →
A debate over the greenhouse gas emissions reduction benefits associated with burning natural gas versus coal to generate power began in 2010 when a Cornell University professor published a paper addressing methane leakage – methane being a potent greenhouse gas – from natural gas development. The paper found methane emissions at levels that would make… Keep reading →
As global natural gas fundamentals shift – with Asian demand expected to significantly increase, the US importing less and exporting more – European countries seek secure and reliable long-term supply from a diverse group of producers. An ambitious pipeline project dubbed the Southern Gas Corridor is part of that vision. European utilities have successfully renegotiated… Keep reading →
The death of the traditional utility business model has been highly exaggerated, to butcher the Mark Twain quote. But that doesn’t mean change won’t happen, and when it does, those companies with a strong ‘ecosystem of innovation’ will be faster to pivot and more likely to survive. The drumbeat of warnings has grown louder that… Keep reading →
There may be a shale oil deposit in Russia’s Siberian region larger than the Bakken. Exxon Mobil is investigating and oil service firms are “shipping equipment, technology and drilling crews from the Bakken and the Eagle Ford in Texas to Siberia, in what is becoming a full-scale west-east technology transfer.” [Financial Times] The Sudanese government… Keep reading →
