Archive for the 'Energy' Category
May 2005 Wasn’t Peak, New Record for Crude + Condensate is January 2008
April 12th, 2008I really thought that the Peak was in already. Nope. Via: The Oil Drum: The EIA’s newest International Petroleum Monthly shows World C+C production for January was 74,466,000 barrels per day, eclipsing the heretofore peak of May 2005 by 168,000 barrels per day.
Record Power Prices in Europe, Consumers May Pay the Price
April 10th, 2008Via: Bloomberg: Power prices rose to records across Europe, potentially increasing costs for consumers and industry on the continent as economic growth slows. Power for 2009 in Germany, Europe’s biggest electricity market, climbed to a record 65.50 euros ($105) a megawatt hour, gaining 1.2 percent, according to broker GFI Group Inc. The contract traded at […]
Wind Power That Floats
April 7th, 2008Look at the effort that’s going into keeping the platforms in place. It seems absolutely stupid. Why not focus on harnessing the awesome power of the waves instead? Investors understand “wind power.” They don’t yet understand “wave power.” So it goes… Via: MIT Technology Review: Offshore wind-farm developers would love to build in deep water […]
Proposal to Use Massive, Undersea Air Bladders to Store Energy from Intermittent Sources
April 4th, 2008This is weirdly simple, in theory. Via: CNN: The prospects for wind power could be greatly enhanced if cost-effective storage could be implemented. Some, like Minnesota based Xcel Energy, are putting their faith in new battery technology. But a UK professor, Seamus Garvey thinks he might have found another solution — storing energy in flexible […]
PG&E Signs Contracts with BrightSource Energy for up to 900 Megawatts of Solar Thermal Power
April 4th, 2008Via: BusinessWire: Pacific Gas and Electric Company announced today that it has entered into a series of contracts with BrightSource Energy, Inc. for renewable solar power. The first three contracts are for a total of 500 megawatts (MW) of power to be supplied from three solar thermal electric generating projects. PG&E also signed two contracts […]
New Zealand Building World’s Largest Geothermal Powerstation
April 3rd, 2008Via: TV3: A new 450 million dollar geothermal powerstation to be built at Rotokawa, near Taupo, will be the biggest in the world – and will help manage New Zealand’s carbon footprint. The Nga Awa Purua station is a joint venture between a local iwi land trust, and the Mighty River Power Company. Building is […]
Solar Thermal Power
April 3rd, 2008Mmm hmm. Via: The Oil Drum: An area of desert around 250 km by 250 km covered with CSP power generation could supply all the world’s current electricity demand. Solar thermal plants can be built in their entirety within a few years – much faster than many conventional power projects. Solar thermal plants are built […]
Analyst Predicts Corn Rationing in 2008
April 1st, 2008In 2008, food could become an out front national security issue in the developed world. My top concerns are wheat and corn. —Some Guesses About 2008 Mmm hmm. Via: Houston Chronicle: A BB&T Capital Markets analyst said Monday corn rationing may be necessary this year, following a U.S. Department of Agriculture report predicting farmers would […]
Air Force Leads Push to Convert Coal Into Aviation Fuel
March 31st, 2008The Standard Oil group of companies, in which the Rockefeller family owned a one-quarter (and controlling) interest, was of critical assistance in helping Nazi Germany prepare for World War II. This assistance in military preparation came about because Germany’s relatively insignificant supplies of crude petroleum were quite insufficient for modern mechanized warfare; in 1934 for […]
Navajo Nation to Develop 500 MW of Wind Power
March 29th, 2008Via: Reuters: The Navajo Nation, which has struggled for years to build a coal-fired power plant, said on Thursday it has formed a joint venture with a Boston company to develop 500 megawatts of wind energy on its lands in the U.S. West. Navajo Nation President Joseph Shirley signed an agreement with Joseph Kennedy III, […]
