Photovoltaic (PV) energy, the conversion of sunlight to electricity, was discovered in the late 1830s, followed by usable PV cells developed in the early 1950s. Despite its history, only recently has the U.S. solar market really started to take off. Driven by the volatility of energy prices from traditional sources such as coal, gas and… Keep reading →
Respected oil and gas industry analysts Ed Morse and Amy Meyers Jaffe teamed up to write a Foreign Affairs piece that argues in favor of US LNG (and even crude oil) exports. They address some of the most common claims leveled by opponents and make a strong case for why US energy exports are in… Keep reading →
Tax reform may not be the sexiest topic, but it’s an extremely important issue for oil and gas companies with strict investment criteria and some of the highest up-front costs of any industry. The words “subsidies” and “incentives” are often mixed up and thrown around in the energy business to either promote or denounce policies… Keep reading →
Oilfield workers near Tomsk, in Western Siberia, have taken in a 6 month-old bear cub that they found digging around near their trash heap. “By now the cub is on a comfortable diet of rolls and pieces of salo, which is cured pork fat.” [Interfax] A new study from The University of Texas at Austin indicates that… Keep reading →
The pace of change in the North American natural gas business has accelerated in recent months, with the US Department of Energy approval process for exports to non-free trade agreement countries failing to stop the achievement of major project milestones and new technology innovations driving market expansion. Four projects have been approved by DOE for… Keep reading →
It was no April Fool’s Day prank when the rate of a power demand increase spiked to its highest level of the year – 12.4% – on the morning of April 1st, 2013 in the Southwest Power Pool territory. Low seasonal and weekend demand overnight quickly reversed course as the business week began and utility… Keep reading →
Microbes in panda feces have shown some promise in making cellulosic biofuel production cheaper and more efficient. “Current methods for breaking down non-food plant material (stalks, stems and cobs) are expensive and require pretreatments that use heat and high pressure or acids…But the bacteria [Mississippi Stat Assistant professor Ashli] Brown and her team discovered do… Keep reading →
In this report published by the German Marshall Fund, Washington Institute fellow Simon Henderson discusses ways of surmounting the challenges Israel and Cyprus face as they seek to develop newfound oil and gas deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. [The Washington Institute for Near East Policy] A bit further to the northeast, the Caspian Sea… Keep reading →
Analysts at brokerage Sterne Agee find coal stocks moving upward based on several supporting factors including US natural gas/coal pricing dynamics, Chinese industrial data, European economic improvement and a bounce in emerging market currencies relative to the dollar. While overall US power generation is down year-on-year, more coal than natural gas was burned to generate… Keep reading →
The American Petroleum Institute today unveiled a new study that details recent US oil and gas industry greenhouse gas emissions reduction success. The trade group also announced a new national print ad campaign that illustrates the industry’s petroleum development commitment and ways tax policy can impact oil and gas development. API President and CEO Jack… Keep reading →
