With EPA last week proposing ethanol-use requirements for 2014, 2015 and 2016 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the ethanol industry no doubt will keep lobbying to foist increasing amounts of higher-ethanol blend fuels like E15 and E85 on the motoring public. This, despite studies that have shown E15 can harm engines and fuel systems… Keep reading →
Lower oil and natural gas prices have yet to find a floor since plunging last year. Oil prices, both global bench mark ICE-traded Brent and New York Mercantile Exchange traded West Teas Intermediate (WTI) crude prices have plunged by around 40 percent since this time last year amid decreased global oil demand and a supply… Keep reading →
The major industry has been better prepared than expected, but it still suffers from lack of liquidity and sluggish growth due to banking restrictions and other inefficiencies. Although Iran’s economy has been suffering from the adverse effects of intensified international sanctions since 2007, different sectors have shown different levels of fragility. While the monetary sector… Keep reading →
Mercedes-Benz has revealed plans to follow Tesla into the energy-storage business. “A division of parent company Daimler has been testing battery packs that can power houses, and plans to launch commercially in September, according to Australia’s Motoring. Like Tesla, Daimler has tested quietly energy-storage systems for some time. The company created a subsidiary called ACCUmotive in… Keep reading →
Cycle for Science — the brainchild of Rachel Woods-Robinson and Elizabeth Case — is a 4,000-mile bike ride from San Francisco to New York. Along the way, Case and Woods-Robinson will make stops at classrooms and summer programs to teach science, talk with teachers and encourage girls to continue studying science, technology, engineering and math… Keep reading →
Beating its self-imposed June deadline by one business day, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed “renewable volume obligations” (RVOs) for 2014-2016 under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program last Friday.
Methane leakage has been identified as one of the major complicating factors in embracing natural gas as a “bridge fuel.” There’s tremendous uncertainty about exactly how extensive the problem is, but that doesn’t mean the industry can just wish it away. That was a topic of discussion at the World Gas Conference in Paris on… Keep reading →
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 →
As a theoretical construct, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) seemingly has a lot to offer. Foremost, it would allow mankind to continue the uninhibited burning of fossil fuels while at the same time ‘saving’ the climate by ‘removing’ CO2 emissions from the atmosphere – the latter being the main reason why CCS is frequently mentioned… Keep reading →
The state of Hawaii will soon embark on the most ambitious plan in the U.S. to deploy renewable energy. The state legislature in early May passed and sent to Gov. David Ige House Bill 623 that sets a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) of 100 percent of net electricity sales by 2045. The bill will test… Keep reading →
