Tuesday, January 31, 2012

UN panel urges world at Rio to launch energy fixes

GENEVA (AP) — A high-profile U.N. panel headed by the presidents of Finland and South Africa hopes to spark an "ever-green" energy revolution later this year in Brazil using a general roadmap it presented Monday on how world leaders could wean the world off fossil fuels.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Oil industry sees China winning, West losing from Iran sanctions

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND: As the European Union prepares to ban Iranian oil and the United States turns the screw on payments, oil executives and policymakers say China and Russia stand to gain the most and Western oil firms and consumers may emerge the biggest losers.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Crude Oil Advances as Fed Commits to Low Rates, Durable Goods Orders Gain

Oil rose after the Federal Reserve announced it plans to keep U.S. interest rates near a record low through 2014 and a report showed durable goods orders in the world’s biggest crude-consuming country increased.

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Kuwait Petroleum Selects Total as Partner in $9 Billion China Refinery

Kuwait chose Total (FP) SA as the third partner to build a $9 billion oil refinery in China, the head of Kuwait Petroleum Corp. said, as the Gulf state seeks a foothold in Asia’s biggest consumer of refined products.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

ENERGY: Obama Pushes Forward on Clean Energy Without Congress

With Congress gridlocked and clean-energy policy stifled by solar-panel maker Solyndra's default on a federal loan, President Obama said on Tuesday evening in his State of the Union address that he is pressing forward with major initiatives in solar and wind energy that his administration can shepherd on its own.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Israeli Gas Find Tips Energy Balance

A popular quip in Israel's energy industry has it that when Moses left Egypt, he took a wrong turn on his way to the Promised Land: The Biblical figure should have veered right to Saudi Arabia rather than left to Israel, which has long been assumed to lack any petroleum reserves.

Monday, January 23, 2012

China says U.S. wind tower probe to hurt cooperation

(Reuters) - China's Ministry of Commerce said a U.S. investigation into wind towers from China could hurt bilateral clean energy cooperation, an area the White House has been eager to develop.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Bulgaria bans shale gas drilling with 'fracking' method

Bulgaria has become the second European country after France to ban exploratory drilling for shale gas using the extraction method called "fracking".

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Gas prices may get close to $5 in some spots

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The new year has greeted Americans with the highest January gas prices ever, and some analysts say prices could get close to $5 a gallon in some areas during the warm-weather driving season.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Iran warns Gulf countries not to replace its oil: Mohammad Ali Khatibi

TEHRAN: Iran warned its Arab neighbours on Sunday not to raise crude output to replace Iranian oil in the event of an embargo by the European Union, Tehran's OPEC Governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi was quoted as saying.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Heating homes with gas gets cheaper

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Good news for homeowners: Natural gas prices are the lowest they've been in years. And they're expected to fall even further, thanks to growing production and slack demand.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Pa. families get no quick answer from EPA on water

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Residents of a small northeastern Pennsylvania town at the center of the political fight over natural gas drilling struck out Friday when they tried to take their complaints directly to the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Energy-hungry Japan in $34 bln Australia gas deal

Japanese energy firm Inpex and French giant Total on Friday announced a huge $34 billion gas project in Australia, as Tokyo looks for alternatives to nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima disaster.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Wind and sunlight make Kenyan profits

Many things may be lacking in Africa but there are two which are abundant and free all over the continent - wind and sunlight - and Kenya's Anthony Kiptoo Ng'eno decided to turn them into a profit.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Fracking for oil, natural gas spurs sand mining in Midwest

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. – The rolling hills and scenic bluffs of western Wisconsin and southeastern Minnesota hide a valuable resource that has sparked what's been called a modern-day gold rush.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Biomass and Electricity, Part One

Burning natural gas releases less heat-trapping carbon dioxide then burning coal does because it has only about half as much carbon per unit of energy.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

A Coal-Fired Plant That Is Eager for U.S. Rules

BALTIMORE — As operators of coal-fired power plants around the country welcome a court-ordered delay on tighter pollution rules, the owner of a retrofitted plant here says that the rules cannot come too soon.The company, Constellation Energy, says it is an issue of fairness.

Friday, January 6, 2012

And Now, the Oil Industry Caucus

North America could be self-sufficient in gasoline and diesel fuel in 15 years if only the government would get out of the way, the president of the American Petroleum Institute said on Wednesday in a “state of American energy” address intended to raise the industry’s profile in the presidential election.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Storehouses for Solar Energy Can Step In When the Sun Goes Down

If solar energy is eventually going to matter— that is, generate a significant portion of the nation’s electricity — the industry must overcome a major stumbling block, experts say: finding a way to store it for use when the sun isn’t shining.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Gulf deep drilling thrives, 18 month after BP spill

ALAMINOS CANYON, Gulf Of Mexico – Two hundred miles off the coast of Texas, ribbons of pipe are reaching for oil and natural gas deeper below the ocean's surface than ever before.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Washington Begins Building Its Part of the West Coast Electric Highway

Washington has started building its segment of the West Coast Electric Highway, a series of electric-charging stations that will extend along I-5 from the bottom of California to the top of Washington. Officials celebrated the ground breaking for the state’s first public DC fast-charging station in Bellingham, Wash., on Wednesday.