A new report with contributions from 100 clean energy experts and business leaders offers 200 “executive-action recommendations” to President Obama regarding the best ways to advance the country’s clean energy agenda. Former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter led the report that included insight from Obama’s former lead energy and climate advisor Heather Zichal. [National Journal] Germany’s… Keep reading →
Alaska Governor’s latest plans to advance Alaska’s long-sought natural gas pipeline calls for state ownership share in the state’s LNG export project. On January 10, 2014, Alaska Governor Sean Parnell announced a proposal to establish state equity partnership in the Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project. To this end, the state will terminate its 2008… Keep reading →
Oil and gas companies have discovered most of the world’s “easy oil,” but face extreme pressure from shareholders and Wall Street to consistently increase production and replace reserves, which takes them further offshore and closer to the poles. And as petroleum resources are increasingly developed in outpost locations with unconventional methods, the key to making… Keep reading →
There are some words in the business world that become swiftly debased: innovation and cleantech are, along with “crowd” anything, are among the worst of recent offenders. But that doesn’t mean that any of these terms fail to represent meaningful concepts for energy sector decision-makers, and if anything participants in energy business decision… Keep reading →
The EIA’s Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report showed the largest inventory draw since the EIA started tracking the data in 1994. However, the withdrawal was slightly underwhelming, as analysts anticipated an even larger natural gas storage draw down resulting from increased heating needs during the recent extreme cold that blanketed much of the country. As… Keep reading →
Because they just hit a venture capital home run with Google’s acquisition of Nest. Despite recent mainstream media reports, cleantech venture capital is alive and kicking at the start of 2014. Just ask Peter Nieh and the cleantech team at Lightspeed, KPCB’s Randy Komisar, Venrock’s David Pakman or Shasta Ventures’ Rob Coneybeer. That group, along… Keep reading →
A few years ago international oil companies were sharpening their drill bits in anticipation of re-entering Iraq’s post-Saddam Hussein oil industry, and now a similar situation is developing in Iran as plans to ease western-led economic sanctions progress. Potential investment opportunities in Iran – from upstream oil and gas to petrochemicals – have IOCs paying… Keep reading →
Google acquired smart thermostat startup company Nest for $3.2 billion in cash. Nest had been working on a reported $150 million financing round that would have valued the firm at $2 billion. CEO Tony Fadell – a former Apple SVP – said on the company’s blog “We’ve had great momentum, but this is a rocket… Keep reading →
Hedge funds are pulling out of bets that crude oil prices will rise in the short to medium term. With the market currently well supplied, investors are increasingly taking futures and options positions that could be profitable if oil prices decline further. “Money managers cut net-long positions, or wagers on rising prices, for benchmark West… Keep reading →
Renewable energy businesses – primarily wind and solar power – in the US are moving from adolescence to maturity. The US solar industry experienced a transformative 2013, with the proliferation of physical assets, installed capacity and new finance mechanisms, while the wind industry raced to begin projects by end-2013 in order to receive production tax… Keep reading →
