An unusually slow White House review process is holding up stricter energy efficiency requirements for appliances, lighting and buildings proposed by the Department of Energy. The delay – the review process has taken as much as two years for some of the rules in question – seems at odds with the administration’s push for vehicle… Keep reading →
Smart Meters are amassing reams of data that, when effectively analyzed and applied, can help energy consumers at all levels – residential, commercial and industrial – cut down on both their consumption and their bills. And social media, backed by strong analytics, may prove to be an effective tool for delivering efficiency improvements. Using the… Keep reading →
Logging could result in large amounts of carbon being released from deep in forest soils, according to a new study. It’s a timely report given Europe’s growing embrace of wood as a carbon neutral energy source. That Europe is relying on wood to meet its renewable energy goal of 20 percent by 2020 might surprise… Keep reading →
By John W Schoen With more Americans hitting the road as the summer driving season kicks off, they’re paying a lot more attention to the price of gasoline at the pump. And with prices spiking in several parts of the country, a lot of drivers are wondering why they are suddenly shelling out more to… Keep reading →
Pipeline transportation and energy storage giant Kinder Morgan is expanding its terminal business into owning, leasing and acquiring natural resource properties. Despite coal being a dirty word with regard to power generation and climate change, Kinder Morgan will purchase coal reserves and lease them to mining companies for development and royalty compensation. While Kinder Morgan… Keep reading →
Statoil will assume its first shale operatorship outside the United States through a deal to up its stake in PetroFrontier’s Australian permits to as much as 80%. The Norwegian company will have to spend $160 million on exploration through 2016 under the deal. [Reuters] Opec left its 2013 global oil demand forecast unchanged in its… Keep reading →
By Javier E David Despite the slow rate of adoption of natural gas to fuel motor vehicles, a confluence of trends in favor of natgas is shaping up to loosen the stranglehold petroleum has on the transportation fuel market, according to Citigroup. In a lengthy research report this week, the bank cited rising global natgas… Keep reading →
One of the biggest obstacles to connecting solar project developers with the investors that could provide them with financing comes down to communication, according to Haresh Patel, Chief Executive of Mercatus, which provides origination and syndication services for energy investors. The company has scored some big clients offering software that gives banks and other funding sources… Keep reading →
As an Energy Strategist focused on advanced energy solutions, I’m very excited about the historic floating wind turbine, the first in the U.S., which recently entered the waters off the coast of Maine. However, while much of the focus has been on the 65-foot tall Volturn prototype, I thought it would be useful for readers… Keep reading →
Competition between coal and natural gas is intensifying When the price of natural gas dipped below $2/MMBTUs in April 2009, the dash for gas set off in earnest. Any utility who could switch did switch from coal to natural gas. Not everyone could, of course, either because of the logistics, long-term fuel contract obligations or… Keep reading →
