Energy Roundup: Green Mobile Technology, Antarctica's Carbon-Free Base, and More

Green technology star of cell phone industry show– Solar panel cell phones, eco-friendly packaging and energy efficient chargers will be among the latest green technology applications featured this week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. A number of products have been unveiled at the industry show, which kicked off Monday, including Samsung’s Blue Earth phone — the first solar full-touch screen phone made from recycled plastic water bottles — and LG’s solar panel technology that can fit into the back cover of a cell phone. Look for more of these innovations throughout the week, including the winner of Nokia’s environmentally friendly technology competition. [Source: Mobile Burn, New York Times, PC Magazine]

First carbon-free polar station opens in Antarctica — Belgium’s Princess Elisabeth station in Antarctica became the first zero-emission polar research station in the world this week, adding fuel to the argument that alternative energy is viable even in the coldest regions. The station will house 20 scientists researching climate change and will be powered by solar panels and wind turbines, which are expected to provide 230 volts of electricity for the station’s heating, computers, lights and scientific instruments. [Source: Cleantech]

Obama to sign stimulus bill in “new energy economy” state – President Obama will sign the $787 billion economic stimulus bill Tuesday in the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, a partially solar-powered venue picked for its focus on renewable energy. Gov. Bill Ritter called it the perfect spot to sign the bill, which gives Colorado $130 million for clean energy and weatherization projects, and touted the state’s aggressive investment in “new energy economy” initiatives such as wind and solar as an effective way to create jobs. [Source: Rocky Mountain News]

Exxon adds more than it produced in 2008 — Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest oil company based on market value, added more proven oil reserves than it produced last year, a figure used by industry analysts to determine if a company is growing. This is the 15th-straight year Exxon’s reserve additions outpaced its production. The oil and gas company added 1.5 billion oil-equivalent barrels of reserves in 2008, enough to sustain productions levels for 15.3 years. [Source: Boston Globe, Reuters]

Clean energy focus of China, U.S. talks — U.S. and Chinese government and business leaders converged this week in Seattle to talk about ways to cooperate on clean energy. The 30-member Chinese delegation met with semiconductor-equipment maker Applied Materials, Tesla Motors and other companies in Silicon Valley before arriving in Seattle. Talks between the world’s two biggest energy consumers and greenhouse-gas producers are taking place the same week U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton travels to China and other Asian countries to discuss — among other topics — climate change. [Source: Seattle Times]

Abraxas to announce earnings at oil and gas symposium — Abraxas Petroleum is expected to announce its 4Q earnings at a symposium for independent oil and gas producers held this week in Florida. More than 25 companies will discuss the latest trends in the industry at the Independent Petroleum Association of America symposium. A number of other oil companies will report 4Q earnings this week including Chesapeake Energy, Noble Energy and Evolution Petroleum. [Source: IPAA]

Massive carbon burial experiment launches — Workers sank a drill bit into Illinois soil effectively launching a Department of Energy project that, if successful, will deposit a million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the ground by 2012. The controversial $84 million project would pipe the carbon dioxide into a geological formation, called Mt. Simon sandstone, which lies beneath parts of Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. [Source: Wired]