Foreign firms, hungry to cash in on the American energy boom, have invested nearly $6 billion in U.S. gas and oil drilling in the last few weeks. Energy giants from China, France and Spain have snapped up stakes in fields in Ohio, Mississippi, Colorado and Michigan. These investments will likely add to the recent boom in U.S. natural gas production, pushing already low natural gas prices even lower. Low domestic prices could drive natural gas producers to seek out European and Asian markets, according to analysts, where the fuel commands three or four times the price. “Of course that will” lead to more exports, said Nansen Saleri, president of the oil field consulting firm Quantum Reservoir Impact. “And it will be a tremendous opportunity.”
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As the solar market continues its dramatic growth, the future outlook for manufacturers is changing. While US photovoltaic module manufacturers were working on technology development and manufacturing strategies, their competition, mainly in Asia, was able to line up financing and build new factories more rapidly. The Chinese government also has been developing a set of subsidies to boost solar energy production in-country.
As a result, a great deal of industry buzz has been generated by the precipitous slide in solar module prices, which dropped approximately 40 percent from 2007 to 2010 and by another 40 percent in 2011. Most industry experts predict that solar module price will eventually bounce back from its lowest level of 2011 once demand catches up with supply as evidenced by steadily growing solar energy demand in the future. Keep reading →
Those high-efficiency compact fluorescent lights that are supposed to replace energy-wasting incandescent bulbs have a looming problem: the materials to make them are in short supply.
So are materials vital for things like high-efficiency wind turbines and electric vehicle motors.
Assistant Energy Secretary David Sandalow said those shortages could delay adoption of clean technologies, or make them more costly, so the Department of Energy has developed a strategy to try to avert shortages that is supported by $20 million in Congressional funding. Keep reading →
This fall Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) drew indignant headlines when he said “we can’t compete with China to make solar panels and wind turbines.” Turns out he’s right, in a way. Days after Stearns made the remark, American solar panel manufacturers filed a complaint with the United States International Trade Commission and Department of Commerce, alleging Chinese manufacturers are illegally “dumping” their solar panels into U.S. markets, or selling their products below cost so as to drive international manufacturers out of business and eliminate competition. If this continues, manufacturers say, China will have a veritable monopoly on the process. This story is a linkout.
China is cutting the amount of money banks need to hold in reserve, freeing those funds to stimulate the Chinese economy. The People’s Bank of China said Wednesday it will lower its reserve requirement ratio for financial institutions by half a percentage point. It was the first such cut in the ratio since 2008, and a change in course after the ratio was raised five times this year. The cut is effective Dec. 5. The move is intended to increase liquidity, ramping up the flow of money into the economy to make up for concerns about slackening demand for Chinese products both domestically and abroad, particularly from Europe. This article is a linkout.
Chinese manufacturing has hit the brakes, slowing to a 32-month low in November and raising concerns about a global economic slowdown, according to a preliminary report issued Wednesday. China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index for manufacturing slipped to 48, according to the report issued by the banking company HSBC. It was down 3 points from the October reading of 51. Any reading above 50 indicates growth in the sector, while any reading below 50 indicates a contraction in activity. This article is a linkout the full article should be seen at: http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/23/news/international/china_pmi_hsbc/index.htm?iid=HP_MPM
Caterpillar plans to open a new manufacturing facility in North America and hire more than 1,000 workers as it shifts production from Japan and moves closer to core tractor and excavator customers. The company also said on Friday that it will bid for China’s ERA Mining Machinery to strengthen its mining business and boost production in the region. The dual-option deal could be worth up to $885 million. Caterpillar says the purchase fits in with its 2015 strategy, where it has identified the mining industry and improved support of its customers as one of the company’s key imperatives. The Chinese company, which has a 600,000 square meter facility in Zhengzhou, Henan province, manufactures and sells underground mining equipment in mainland China. This article is a linkour to read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/industries/2011/11/11/caterpillar-to-bid-for-chinas-era-mining/?cmpid=partner_aol#ixzz1dQyOkNzO
A recent Energy Information Administration (EIA) report noted that India and China were going to lead the world in the global increase in energy consumption over the coming decades. Its unclear if that also means those developing countries will lead in carbon emissions.
In its second “Annual Review of Low-Carbon Development in China,” the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) found that under its 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010), China achieved a 19.1% reduction in the energy intensity of its economy. But at the same time, overall emissions were up 33.6%, with emissions from building operation and transportation growing 41%. Keep reading →
China and the United States are the world’s two largest economies and arguably each other’s most important trading partners. And now, it seems the two countries find themselves on the brink of a trade war. The U.S. Senate, in a rare show of bipartisan agreement, passed a bill Tuesday that would slap steep taxes known as tariffs on imports from nations with undervalued currencies. It is a provision aimed squarely at China’s yuan, and it prompted harsh attacks from Chinese officials.
This article is a Linkout, for the full article see: http://money.cnn.com/2011/10/13/news/international/china_us_trade/index.htm?iid=HP_River
European Downgrade Contagion: AOL Energy Comment
By Peter GardettFrom the perspective of the US energy business, the European debt crisis can feel very far away.
The impacts of ongoing sovereign debt debates are felt first in markets for government bonds and currencies; one can only guess what the extent will be of ramifications on government commitments to clean energy or business activity levels in developed and emerging economies. Keep reading →