energy
Jan 25th, 2011
India’s Solar Power Producers Face Big Challenge
The relatively small scale of India’s largest solar power plant, the 5-megawatt Sivaganga project that constructor Moser Baer brought on stream in the southern state of Tamil Nadu last month, illustrates the enormity of the renewable energy challenge ahead for the world’s third largest energy consumer behind China and the United States.
India has set a...
Jan 25th, 2011
Biofuels
Overview
From the earliest days of internal-combustion engines, technological visionaries dreamed that engines would run on fuel made from plants. Experiments conducted in the 19th century showed that it was possible, and both Henry Ford and Rudolf Diesel supported the notion. Interest has waxed and waned for decades. These days, it is running high once again,...
Jan 24th, 2011
Solid Energy Plans Briquette Plant
Coalminer Solid Energy has confirmed a site to start a lignite briquetting operation to test the New Zealand industrial market.
The state-owned miner said the former Mataura mine site is the preferred location to build and operate a demonstration briquetting plant to supply the industrial market with briquettes and trial their value for export.
Solid...
Nov 9th, 2010
The Future of Nuclear Power in the United States
Nuclear power isn’t just another form of electrical generation in the United State, despite the fact that it provides nearly 20 percent of our electricity. Since the partial core meltdown at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island power plant in 1979, nuclear has become something of a litmus test for many, but not all, environmentalists.
Proponents point to...
Nov 8th, 2010
OIL FUTURES: Crude Hits 25-Month High Despite Dollar Strength
SYDNEY (MarketWatch) — Crude-oil futures hit a 25-month high in Asian trading Monday despite the U.S. dollar strengthening against the euro, though it pared those gains after the greenback’s rise became significant.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in December traded at $86.96 a barrel at 0609 GMT, up 11...
Nov 5th, 2010
OIL FUTURES: Oil Flat After Data Shows US Added Jobs
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–Oil futures were nearly unchanged Friday after hitting a two-year high overnight, after the Labor Department said the U.S. economy added jobs in October.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by a larger-than-expected 151,000 in October, the first gain since May, the Labor Department said Friday. However, the unemployment rate remained at 9.6%.
Light, sweet crude for...
Nov 5th, 2010
Obama to Launch Clean Energy Initiative in India
WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama and India are expected to launch a joint initiative on clean energy, eyeing economic opportunities in an area that has long divided the two countries.
Obama arrives Saturday on his first presidential visit to India, where many analysts say that relations with the United States have lost momentum after warming rapidly...
Aug 24th, 2010
Solar energy is a major economic driver for the United States
The renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) industries generated more than 9 million jobs, more than $1 trillion in revenue, and nearly $160 billion in federal, state, and local tax revenue in 2007.
Solar energy is a major economic driver for the United States, creating green jobs and vigorous revenue growth for participating companies. Despite...
Jun 16th, 2010
US Projects Receive Funds to Demonstrate Carbon Capture
Three projects in the US have been selected to receive up to $612m (£414m) from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act - matched by $368m in private funding - to demonstrate large-scale carbon capture and storage from industrial sources.
Two of the three projects will use the stored CO2 for enhancing the recovery of oil, while...
Jun 16th, 2010
Pakistan, U.S. Hold Strategic Dialogue on Energy
The delegations from Pakistan and the United States met on Wednesday in Islamabad to continue a partnership on energy issues focused on improving the lives of the Pakistani people, a joint statement said.
This meeting of the energy working group under the U.S.- Pakistan Strategic Dialogue follows the October 2009 and March 2010 bilateral energy dialogues.
Discussions...
May 25th, 2010
US Chamber Tries to Put Number on Energy Security
The U.S. economy will face increasing risks in coming years from higher overall energy prices, bottlenecks in electricity transmission and higher oil costs, according to a new study.
The study, by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s energy-policy group, is slated to roll out this week with the aim of producing a data-driven definition for the politically...
May 25th, 2010
Biotechnology Industry Organization Spent $2.2M on Lobbying U.S. Government in 1Q
The Biotechnology Industry Organization spent $2.2 million lobbying the federal government in the first quarter on health care, agricultural, and economic issues affecting the biotech industry.
The spending marks a 15 percent boost from just over $1.9 million spent during the same period in 2009, according to a recent disclosure form.
The industry group, whose members include...
May 11th, 2010
U.S. Agency Lets Oil Industry Write Offshore Drilling Rules
WASHINGTON — The oil industry, not the federal agency that regulates it, plays a crucial role in writing the safety and environmental rules for offshore drilling, a role critics say reflects cozy ties between an industry and its regulators that need to be snapped.
Nearly 100 industry standards set by the American Petroleum Institute are included...
May 11th, 2010
U.S. Auto Industry Dreads Safety Bill
WASHINGTON–The U.S. automobile industry is concerned about an auto safety bill being discussed in Congress in the wake of recent massive recalls by Toyota Motor Corp.
Congress began deliberations earlier this month on the bill, which has two main pillars: obligating automakers to install new safety devices on vehicles and removing the cap on the civil...
May 10th, 2010
Ethanol Industry: Too Big to De-Subsidize?
The ethanol lobby has been extremely successful over the course of the last decade in growing the industry into one of Washington’s favorite pet projects. A reported 76 percent of each dollar in subsidies to renewable energies is allocated to ethanol, including $5 billion in annual tax credits. Auto companies historically have been supportive of...
May 6th, 2010
USA - Biofuel and Beef Industry
Amtrak and the Oklahoma and Texas state transportation departments recently announced the nation’s first-ever test of a cleaner, renewable biodiesel fuel blend containing beef byproduct to power a daily interstate passenger train between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth. The goal of this 12-month test is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and use of foreign oil.
The...
Apr 21st, 2010
Green Plains to Acquire Agribusinesses
US-based ethanol producer Green Plains Renewable Energy is set to purchase numerous agribusiness companies located in west Tennessee, US.
These include five grain elevators situated in Como, Dyer, Kenton, Trenton, and Union City, Tennessee, and have the capacity to store 11.7 million bushels. A wholly-owned subsidiary of Green Plains Renewable Energy, Green Plains Grain Company TN,...
Apr 15th, 2010
US Retail Sales Surge, Inflation Pressures Muted
Sales at U.S. retailers rose more strongly than expected in March, pointing to a broadening of the manufacturing-led economic recovery as inflation pressures remained muted.
The Commerce Department said on Wednesday total retail sales jumped 1.6 percent, the largest increase since November as consumers stepped up purchases of vehicles and wide range of goods. January sales...
Apr 15th, 2010
US Navy Base to Produce Own Biofuel
A biodiesel production system that will enable the US Navy to produce its own sustainable fuel has been delivered to a base in South California, US.
The system, which can produce around 3-10 million gallons of biofuel annually, is a result of a close partnership between Biodiesel Industries and Navy and aerospace technology company Aerojet. Together...
Mar 25th, 2010
China Tops USA in Spending on Clean Energy
China is emerging as the world’s clean-energy powerhouse, according to a new study by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Last year, China spent more than any other major country on clean energy, including wind and solar, toppling the U.S. from the top spot for the first time in five years, the Pew report says. The U.S. is...