@MainPageFeature

NGV Market Set For Organic (Not Government Led) Growth: Westport CEO

By


Government can help the natural gas vehicle industry to gain a foothold in the market, but isn’t likely to work as a stimulus in the long run because many executives distrust its abilities to sustain support, according to the head of a leading maker of natural gas engine technology.

David Demers, chief executive of Westport Innovations said incentive programs are always fragile because they are subject to shifting political winds, and can cause serious disruption if they are withdrawn, so business leaders are more inclined to build their models on the basis of market forces. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 28, 2012 at 10:30 AM

Carbon Auction Results Cheer California Regulators, Investors and Markets

By


California regulators last week claimed a landmark achievement in the implementation of the state’s ambitious but controversial AB32 climate legislation with the release of the results from its first carbon auction.

The California Air Resources Board has been developing regulations for the world’s second largest cap and trade program to help the state reduce CO2 emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. In the first phase, electric utilities, refiners and heavy industries emitting more than 25,000 tonnes of CO2 per year will be capped. From 2015, suppliers of liquid fuels and natural gas will be included in the cap of 394.5 million tons of CO2. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 27, 2012 at 1:30 PM

Not So Fast on Energy Independence

By


The International Energy Agency (IEA) claims in their World Energy Outlook that it is now technically possible for the United States to become energy independent by 2020. But that’s not their primary message. IEA is also warning that any independence will be short lived, and that message has been lost on most analysts.

IEA is an international organization based in France, which works to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for its 28 member countries, including the United States. It is not to be confused with the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which is a different organization that is nestled within the US Department of Energy (DOE). The IEA is not the EIA. But both organizations have credibility. Both organizations provide analysts with primary sources of information about energy, particularly about consumption data. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 27, 2012 at 11:00 AM

Decentralized Renewable Energy Systems Will Make Us Less Vulnerable to Hurricanes

By


It was stunning to see just how fast Sandy shut down the northeast’s electrical systems, leaving people powerless in more ways than one. The storm’s flip of a switch effect was because our electrical generating systems are so centralized.

Not one to mince words, Governor Cuomo called New York’s electrical system “archaic and obsolete.” “The utility system we have was designed for a different time and for a different place,” he said, it “is a 1950s system. We’re going to have to look at a ground up redesign.” Keep reading →

 /  Published November 27, 2012 at 9:00 AM

Energy: The Purple State Issue

By


The 2012 presidential election was truly part of its time not only in the issues it addressed but in the way it was run and analyzed. Large data sets were gathered and poured over and drove not only the campaigns but the streams of analysis that surrounded their outcomes.

Voting data still emerging from the election shows a number of interesting trends, some expected and others surprising. For energy sector observers tracking the public reaction to one of the election’s most pivotal issues, surprises have continued to roll in, reflecting the evolving fortunes and the shifting geographical focus of the energy sector in the US since 2008. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 26, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Ask the Expert: Paper or Plastic? The Answer Might Surprise You

By


Chemistry professor David Tyler has taken an interest in the environmentally sensitive decisions that confront consumers every day: Plastic grocery bags . . . or paper? Take the car to work . . . or public transit? Disposable cups . . . or a ceramic mug that can be used over and over again?

Tyler has surveyed some of the research on these alternatives and has concluded that the environmental impact of some of our “green” choices can be surprising when you consider their effects from cradle to grave-that is, the total impact from the point a product is created from raw materials, through its manufacturing, distribution and consumer use, ending with its disposal or recycling. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 26, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Distributed Generation Alternatives Take Spotlight at NARUC

By


The daunting cost of getting new transmission lines built is spurring the search for alternatives that not only cost less but can make the electricity system more resilient in the face of natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy.

Proponents of distributed generation, like rooftop solar panels, have been promoting many of these options as clean energy. But Doug Hurley, senior associate with Synapse Energy Economics, told the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) in Baltimore this week that cost alone will drive the power industry toward “non-transmission alternatives” (NTAs). Keep reading →

 /  Published November 21, 2012 at 10:30 AM

Does Renewable Energy Raise the Cost of Your Thanksgiving Dinner?

By


Hosting Thanksgiving Dinner is an expensive operation that is almost universally observed across the United States, and a consortium of companies and groups concerned about the impact of the Renewable Fuel Standard on the US economy sees this year’s Thanksgiving as an ideal opportunity to note what it says will be an increase in the cost of a high-profile family event.

The group has issued an infographic detailing the increased costs it says could result from the RFS policies. The full infographic can be downloaded on the Smarter Fuel Future website here. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 21, 2012 at 9:00 AM

API Attacks Rewnewable Fuel Standard after EPA Denies Waiver

By


The American Petroleum Institute recently renewed its attack on the US government’s Renewable Fuels Standard after the Environmental Protection Agency said it would not waive the requirement that uses some 40 percent of the US corn crop to make ethanol.

The main oil and gas trade association said the RFS, which is designed to blend increasing amounts of ethanol with gasoline, is “increasingly unrealistic and unworkable” because it has been adopted without regard for its compatibility with some vehicles, and if fully implemented would exceed what API says is the maximum safe limit of 10 percent in gasoline. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 20, 2012 at 2:30 PM

Natural Gas Research ‘Space Race’ Is On

By


It has taken a couple of years for the energy industry to acknowledge a new reality: Natural gas availability is soaring in contravention of forecasting models that have been in use for decades, and the fuel is set to transform everything from power generation and transport to chemicals and even the trade deficit.

As old operating realities have been thrown out the window, as major oil players increasingly become natural gas companies, as billions of dollars of investment in proposed export terminals is argued over inside the sector and out, the strategic arm of this most strategic of industries is racing to catch up. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 20, 2012 at 11:45 AM
Page 28 of 1081...242526272829303132...108