In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed into law an amendment to the Clean Air Act that mandated emissions reductions of the harmful pollutant sulfur dioxide, SO2, from coal-fired power plants. The government did not instruct industry how they were to achieve the reductions, but merely that they were required to. A novel system called… 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,… Keep reading →
We’ve written quite a bit about bad things that could occur because of the Renewable Fuel Standard’s (RFS) mandates for ever-increasing ethanol use in the fuel supply – from potential damage to vehicle engines and small power equipment engines to broader impacts in the economy. A study by NERA Economic Consulting warned that RFS mandates could lead to fuel rationing and supply… Keep reading →
This scathing editorial shreds Washington’s energy policy record going back to the Carter administration and calls out President Obama for claiming in the State of the Union address that his administration’s policies were responsible for currently booming oil & gas production. [Forbes] Natural gas is being diverted to domestic grids in Egypt and next year… Keep reading →
Today, President Obama and the US Department of Energy honored two exceptional scientists whose long and productive research careers earned them one of the Nation’s oldest and most prestigious honors for scientific achievement: the Enrico Fermi Award. Bestowed annually upon a select few of the Nation’s most outstanding scientists, the Fermi Award recognizes individuals for… Keep reading →
The U.S. and 13 World Trade Organization members have committed to advance free trade of environmental goods to make green technologies more affordable. On January 24, 2014, the U.S. and 13 World Trade Organization (WTO) members – Australia, Canada, China, Costa Rica, the European Union, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, and… Keep reading →
On December 12, 2013, the US Department of Energy awarded $226 million to an Oregon company, NuScale, to design, develop, and prepare for licensing review its first small-scale nuclear reactor. A grant for a similar invention was made in 2012 to Babcock & Wilcox, a company with long experience building reactors for nuclear submarines. A… Keep reading →
In the past three years, Beijing’s projections for 2030 oil and gas output increased by a third to almost 700 million tons of oil equivalent, based on hopes of developing unconventional oil and gas. Production last year of oil and natural gas was 318.9 million tons of oil equivalent. With traditional oil production practically stagnant… Keep reading →
Last Friday the U.S. Department of State released its Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Keystone XL pipeline project. Instantly, many media outlets were only too eager to suggest that with this report the Keystone decision to be made by President Obama is a foregone conclusion; namely, in favor of the controversial project.… Keep reading →
Energy Quote of the Day: On Comparing US Fossil Fuel Exports with Tobacco
By Jared AndersonA Rolling Stone article has been getting much attention for suggesting that as domestic fossil fuels markets for products like coal and petroleum coke diminish, companies increasingly seek overseas markets – often aided by US government offices – much like tobacco companies pushed their product overseas a couple decades ago. “Even as our nation is… Keep reading →