The energy industry – oil & gas sector in particular – is bracing itself for a massive wave of retirements over the short to medium term, which has been dubbed “The Great Shift Change.” As the industry prepares for this turnover, companies are looking to the next generation of candidates with skills ranging from finance, geology,… Keep reading →
Will Alderman Revive This Ethanol Ruse? Chicago Tribune Editorial: Last summer the Chicago City Council briefly considered an ordinance that would require gas stations in the city to sell a blend of fuel called E15, which has the potential to damage your car engine. An E15 mandate is a patently bad idea. Changing pumps to… Keep reading →
The EPA has long promoted cellulosic ethanol as the future of biofuels, but technical challenges have kept production far below targets. A recent rule change allows RNG, renewable natural gas, to qualify as cellulosic biofuel even though RNG is not cellulosic, but this helps EPA appear to be meeting their goals. RNG growth has been… Keep reading →
This is the first installment in our Energy Executive Insight Series that gives executives at major energy companies an opportunity to share knowledge and experiences about the energy industry, their careers and their organizations. What has been the biggest positive energy industry change since the start of your career? Historically the oil and gas industry has… Keep reading →
When the New York Public Service Commission (Commission) opened its historic “Reforming the Energy Vision” (REV) proceeding earlier this year, it recognized that the way utility companies have been regulated is out of sync with innovations in technology, business realities, and evolving customer needs, including the need to reduce harmful pollution. In order for utility… Keep reading →
This article is part of the Energy.gov series highlighting the “Top Things You Didn’t Know About…” Be sure to check back for more entries soon. 5. Holiday lights have a long, fiery history. Candles were the original holiday lights, posing fire hazards for generations until Thomas Edison created the first electric lighting display for the… Keep reading →
The United States and China made a big splash this past month with the announcement of an important climate agreement between the two superpowers. President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping jointly pledged November 11 in Beijing to make significant CO2 reductions in the next two decades. The United States will reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28% below 2005 levels by 2025, accelerating the pace of reductions already planned by 2020. China will peak its CO2 emissions no later than 2030, by which point the country will obtain 20% of its energy supply from non-fossil fuel sources. China’s commitment marks the first time the country has pledged to stop its rapidly increasing emissions; the nation has previously resisted calls for reductions, saying that as a developing country, the pollution increases are necessary for its growth. This agreement preceded a November 16 communiqué by G20 leaders to focus their policies and investments on cleaner and renewable energy sources with the goal of mitigating climate change. The next step began December 1 at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conference in Lima, Peru.
Successful integration of ever-growing amounts of renewable energy into electric grids has been a constant quest for utilities over at least the past few years. Dr. McGrath outlines today’s challenges in renewables integration, the contributing factors utilities are or should consider in their planning, and a selection of available solutions. While her article is far… Keep reading →
Many of China’s coal-fired power plants are equipped with air pollution scrubbers, but in some parts of the country they are seldom used. Scrubbers take energy to run which reduces total output and makes operating the equipment more expensive. The government often sends plant operators mixed messages that prioritize economic growth (which requires maximum power… Keep reading →
The following article was originally published in the San Francisco Daily Journal on December 3, 2014. Copyright 2014 Daily Journal Corporation, reprinted with permission.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is poised to readopt the Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) regulation in early 2015. With its readoption, CARB hopes to put to rest challenges that required a redo of the environmental analysis supporting the LCFS regulation. If all goes as planned, transportation fuel suppliers operating in California will face a regulatory environment in 2015 that is at once both more certain — with legal challenges to the LCFS largely resolved — and more daunting, as transportation fuels come under the “cap” on greenhouse gas emissions imposed by California’s cap-and-trade program.
