Energy Roundup: Alt Energy Pipedream, TransCanada Line a Go, BP: $1.9B in Alaska, and More

Clean energy by 2025? Good luck — Andrew Ross, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle’s The Bottom Line blog, cites a new report from the National Intelligence Council, “Global Trends, 2025,” which Ross says, “throws cold water on the expectations of the more idealistic clean-tech advocates. Yes, the world will be moving away from oil by 2025… but in its place expect more natural gas, coal and nuclear energy. And any technology-driven improvements will take longer than you think.” Ross quotes the report as saying, “In the energy sector, a recent study found that it takes an average of 25 years for a new production technology to become widely adopted… Even with a favorable policy and funding environment for biofuels, clean coal, or hydrogen, the transition to new fuels will be slow.” Well, better late than never. [Source: San Francisco Chronicle]

Palin winks TransCanada pipeline into being — She may not really be able to see Russia from her house, but it looks like the former vice presidential candidate and Alaska Governor, Sarah Palin, will soon be able to cast her gaze on a new Alaskan natural gas pipeline that will deliver gas from the state’s North Slope to North American markets. Palin officially handed over a license for the $26 billion project to Calgary-based TransCanada at a ceremony in Anchorage, citing the company’s on-time and on-budget record. TransCanada’s pipeline is set to cross some 1,700 of tundra and taiga from the North Slope to a pipeline hub in Alberta. [Source: Upstream Online]

BP to spend $1.9 billion in Alaska next year – Well, it looks like Sarah Palin’s Alaska will be winking all the way to the bank, because BP is set to spend about $1.9 billion on capital projects in the northernmost state in 2009, a 30 percent increase over 2008. BP says it plans to spend the cash on three new projects, plus a 50 percent share in the Denali pipeline group. [Source: Rigzone]

Santos and Apache shelve Aussie gas project — In yet another downturn-related energy tragedy, natural gas partners Santos and Apache have agreed to put off a $586 million project in northern Australia. The companies cited the economic downturn as the primary cause for not being able to come up with a compact suitable to each company. [Source: Bloomberg]