Wednesday, October 31, 2007

News of Note

Today Jim Ostroff of the Kiplinger News asks, `How High Can Oil Go?'
The fundamentals simply don't justify current price levels. "By every supply and demand standard, the oil market is nowhere as tight as it was in 2004 [when oil was fetching about $50 a barrel], yet prices are nearly double now," says Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citigroup Global Markets. One factor contributing to the higher cost of oil is the dollar's ongoing decline.

Xcel chief backs off on clean coal power
But Xcel's technology won't include a cutting-edge power plant known as Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle, or IGCC, until at least 2016, Kelly said.

Some environmentalists consider IGCC plants to be the gold standard of coal power, and critics of the proposed Desert Rock Energy Project in New Mexico say the plant should be built with IGCC technology.

Chinese oil giant defends supply efforts amid fuel shortage
Shortages have caused long lines at filling stations and disrupted trucking in export-driven coastal provinces. The country's state-owned oil companies blame a scarcity of refining capacity due to price controls, but some customers and Chinese media have accused them of creating a phony crisis to force regulators to raise retail prices.

GRID GENERATES POWER IN ALL WEATHERS
The microgrid enables consumers to see how much power is being generated and its source, how it is being used and the amount of energy stored in the system.


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Tuesday, October 30, 2007

News of the Moment

GM Sees Alternative-Energy Vehicles 50% Of Output In 5 Yrs
General Motors Corp. (GM) Chairman Rick Wagoner said Monday vehicles that use alternatives to gasoline will likely grow to account for about 50% of the U.S. automaker's global production over the next five years, up from a projected 10% share this year.

Energy Secretary: Mandates May Be Needed
Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said Monday that government mandates are not ideal but might be a necessary part of efforts to boost the use of alternative fuels.

Israeli unveils ambitious plan to shift transportation to electric cars
Israeli entrepreneur Shai Agassi is that man. The 39-year-old former SAP executive has come up with an ambitious plan to shake up the auto industry by encouraging consumers worldwide to give up their heavily polluting fossil fuel cars and purchase electric cars instead.


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Monday, October 29, 2007

Why Oil Prices Are So High

excerpt:
The recent jumps in oil prices can be linked to four things - fears over supply shortages, political tensions, a weak dollar and strong demand.

Reports from America's Energy Information Administration have revealed that oil stocks in the US are much lower than expected, sparking concern over a lack of supply ahead of the winter months.


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Wednesday, October 24, 2007

News Brief

A new model for predicting peak oil has been generated and the person who did so say that anytime between now and 2018 we shall hit peak oil.

Oil Production Could Peak Next Year
The new model, developed by Fredrik Robelius, a physicist and petroleum engineer at the University of Uppsala in Sweden, uses a “bottom-up” approach based on field-by-field analyses of the 333 giant oil fields in use today. These together account for more than 60 percent of today’s oil production. He pooled the contributions from all the smaller fields together, treating them as an additional giant field.

Nuclear power could really help us get our alternative energy groove on.

Report: Nuclear Power Has Bright Future
Nuclear power's share of worldwide electricity production rose from less than 1 percent in 1960 to 16 percent in 1986, and that percentage has held essentially constant in the 21 years since 1986, the agency reported in a statement today. Nuclear electricity generation has grown steadily at the same pace as overall global electricity generation.

Fianlly, some good news on the ozone layer.

NASA: Ozone Hole Shrinks Back to Average Size
The Antarctic ozone hole is back to an average size, shrinking about 16 percent from last year's record high, NASA said Friday. But it's still the size of North America.


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