Coal

Survey Surprises: Smart Grid Impediments, Electric Vehicle Roadblocks and More

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The greatest roadblock to developing smart grids in the US is not high up-front investment, good news when 65 million electric vehicles could be on the road by 2025, according to the results of a recent annual electric utility industry survey. Infrastructure firm Black & Veatch queried over 500 qualified industry participants about some of the most prescient issues of the day and the results may surprise you.

The top issues the industry is concerned about in 2012 are aging infrastructure, reliability and the environment. Aging infrastructure steadily crept to the top of the list over the past three years – in the 2009/2010 survey the issue ranked sixth in a list of the top ten. The importance of security has also gained importance according to the survey participants. Keep reading →

 /  Published June 4, 2012 at 10:00 AM

The $100 Billion Question for the EPA

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Memo to EPA: Two more years and some flexibility on technology will make a $100 billion difference.

That’s the finding of multi-year Electric Power Research Institute study on the cumulative costs faced by coal generators to meet new Environmental Protection Agency requirements. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 31, 2012 at 11:30 AM

An Unlikely Energy Development Opportunity Emerges in Haiti

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Essentially starting from scratch, Haiti has a unique opportunity to build the kind of sustainable power generation, transmission and distribution system that could be replicated in other developing nations.

Although deep poverty remains a challenge, the country’s leaders say they are eager to move forward into the twenty first century with governmental and economic stability supported by reliable energy infrastructure. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 30, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Could More Midwest Wind Really Save Ratepayers Billions?

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Additional wind power in the US Midwest could cut wholesale electricity prices by more than 25%, saving a typical household as much as $200 a year, proponents of new renewable energy capacity in the region said.

The analysis for the advocacy group Americans for a Clean Energy Grid found that if 20 GW was added to the existing 10 GW of wind capacity in the MISO region, consumers’ power costs would decline by $3 billion to $6.9 billion a year after the costs of new transmission is factored in. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 24, 2012 at 8:00 AM

Asian Power Sector Review: Growth Potential Matched by Challenges

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Asia is the world’s largest infrastructure market, with $4.1 trillion in power market spending expected over the coming decade, experts told industry participants and journalists at a recent quarterly power sector briefing held by infrastructure firm Black & Veatch. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 21, 2012 at 8:00 AM

Electric Sector Sparking Natural Gas Optimism

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Long-term shifts in electric sector demand from coal to natural gas are under way and will drive gas prices higher than expected this year and to $4 per million Btu in 2013, says a veteran analyst.

Record gas use by electric utilities, combined with production cuts from drillers stung by recent low prices, have combined to start an upward pricing trend, says Teri Viswanath of BNP Paribas Commodity Markets Strategy Group, in a May 11 market commentary. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 14, 2012 at 3:30 PM

Gas Fired Power Plants Grow in Both Size and Mobility

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The recent growth in US natural gas production, growing power needs in emerging markets and strong momentum behind sustainability measures represent strong tailwinds for Pratt & Whitney’s Power Systems Division, but challenges remain.

The power systems division accounted for a relatively small share – roughly 5% – of Pratt & Whitney’s total $12.7 billion in 2011 sales. But at a recent press briefing in the company’s headquarters of Hartford, Connecticut, President Dave Hess told reporters the power system division has experienced five years of steady growth. The company expects revenue generated by the Power systems division to increase by about 23% year-on-year in 2012. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 8, 2012 at 11:30 AM

EIA: Electricity Prices Rise Under Bingaman’s Clean Standard

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Coal would lose out big to nuclear and renewables, while average electricity prices would rise, under the clean energy standard proposed by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman, the Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday.

The Clean Energy Standard Act by Bingaman, D-N.M., would prompt average electricity prices to rise 4 percent by 2025 and 18 percent by 2035, as generators are forced to add more renewable and nuclear generation, EIA said. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 4, 2012 at 8:00 AM

Markets Outpace Regulators in Evaluating LNG Export Projects

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Natural gas exports are clearly in the US national interest, concludes a year-long Brookings Institution study, and the Department of Energy should approve the nine export applications now pending.

All the projects won’t get built because there’s not a big enough global market for all the liquefied natural gas they could produce, said Charles Ebinger, Director of the Brookings’ Energy Security Initiative, who led the study team. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 3, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Solutions Are the Focus as Energy Moves Center Stage in Istanbul

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Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar

Flying into a fast-growing economy from one struggling out of recession is a bracing experience; discussions of resource scarcity are turned upside down and the focus is on how to move fast enough, not how to navigate uncertainty. But for energy leaders gathered in Istanbul, Turkey ahead of the World Energy Council’s Summit tomorrow, the challenges of growth and the challenges of transition are remarkably similar. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 19, 2012 at 2:20 PM
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