Energy Industry Archive

The true economic damages of the coal ash spill in an eastern Tennessee valley are yet to be fully discovered, although some are calling the Christmas event the United States’ worst on-land ecological disaster in history. But there are several good lessons the public could take away from the spill, not all of which revolve around the “coal is bad” theme. First and most obvious...

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Oil and water don’t mix for shale exploration — After the Bush administration finalized leasing rules last month for two million acres of federal land for energy exploration, a rift has formed between two major industries in the American West: oil and water. One of the largest oil reserves in the world lies beneath the Rocky Mountains, but extracting it is costly and requires large...

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There are a lot of ideas in the air to help bring wind power mainstream. The fickleness of the wind is a major inhibitor to its broad adoption; ideas for a solution include building massive transcontinental energy grids (after all, the wind is always blowing somewhere) and various schemes to store up energy, for example by pumping pressurized air into caves. Now Xcel Energy wants to give...

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The Company: Ecopetrol SA, Colombia’s state-run oil company. The Filing: Annual Report for the year-ended December 31, 2007. The Finding: Unlike many of its peers, Ecopetrol SA announced plans to boost spending on oilfields, refineries and other investments by 35 percent to $6.22 billion in 2009 to accelerate its goal of becoming a global energy player by 2015. Current law, however,...

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Before the global recession dug its teeth into our collective back pockets, it was common to hear analysts wondering if the solar industry wouldn’t take off, exceeding expectations within the energy markets. No more — with the money gone, solar stocks are down, investors appear leery and general expectations for growth have fallen. Some of the actual companies involved appear to...

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Los Angeles embarks on the world’s largest solar power project — Solar L.A., a program that lays out a broad and long-term plan to develop a network of residential, commercial and city-owned solar systems, will be the largest plan attemped by any city in the world, city officials said. The project will start by utilizing $313 million in state rebate funding and is scheduled for...

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Oil producers, consumers call for price stability — Many of the largest oil producers and consumers in the world came together today to call for increased stability in oil prices. Huge swings in oil prices have damaged the world economy, said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown before a meeting between OPEC, energy companies and big-consuming nations. [Source: Reuters] India to score 300...

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A new highway to nowhere has just been approved at the cost of California taxpayers, but it’s not the sort of highway America is best known for. Instead, electrical utility owner Sempra Energy has been granted permission to build a $2 billion power line into the Sonoran Desert over 100 miles from San Diego, where the company owns and operates San Diego Gas & Electric Co. The pipeline...

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Industry leaders, government lab call for lithium battery funding — Hoping to domestically mass-produce a lithium-ion battery for vehicles, 14 U.S. companies and a government laboratory announced an alliance today. The partnership, headlined by industry powers such as 3M and Johnson Controls, is asking for $1 billion to $2 billion in U.S. government funding during the next five years to...

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Oil production slashed during OPEC meeting — OPEC agreed yesterday to its largest cut in production ever. Reducing output by two million barrels, OPEC leaders said, will chase up oil prices which have fallen since July’s high. Non-OPEC members Russia and Azerbaijan may compliment the cut by lessening their output by a combined 600,000 barrels. [Source: AFP] American oil demand...

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