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Steyer, NRG’s Crane share visions for energy industry’s future

Two of the energy industry’s most visible agents of change delivered messages here yesterday on policies and business models they believe are needed to reshape how energy is generated and how it’s used. Billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer and NRG Inc.’s David Crane delivered separate keynote speeches as part of the Clean Energy Challenge, a competition among early-stage companies and student teams from around the Midwest who were pitching business models for a share of $500,000 in prizes. Crane, the outspoken CEO of the nation’s largest independent power generator, covered a broad range of topics during a lunchtime question-and-answer session. And many of his answers revolved a central theme — his belief that today’s electric power business won’t be recognizable in five, 10 or 20 years, and that distributed generation will gradually supplant the current centralized power system. "The fact that distributed […]

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British solar plan to shift to rooftop installations

British Energy Minister Greg Barker said Friday the government wants to install solar panels on top of the more than 900 square miles of south-facing rooftops. "There is massive potential to turn our large buildings into power stations and we must seize the opportunity this offers to boost our economy as part of our long term economic plan," he said in a statement . Barker said the measure is part of the so-called Solar Strategy, touted as the first plan of its kind for the country’s renewable energy sector. He said the strategy envisions a shift away from large-scale solar farms to one that expands the market on top of the estimated 250,000 hectares of south-facing commercial rooftops in the country. The British government estimates there are about 2.7 gigawatts worth of solar capacity installed in the country. The Solar Strategy calls for as […]

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Excessive consumption

Just 80% of global private consumption is snapped up by 20% of the world population living in the richest countries, which is “left overs” for 80% of the population (5.6 billion people), residing in poorer countries and in the process of development, with only 20% of world production. Only the U.S., with 4.5% of the world population consumes 40% of all available resources. Large-scale consumption is synonymous with degradation of natural ecosystems; more physical production is the result, clear and evident, more pollution, more waste (disposal) and less preserved environment, compromising greatly in the quality of life for all. Not coincidentally, etymologically the word “consume” means “exhausted”. While the richest exaggerate consumption, the poorest suffer the consequences of close environmental imbalance. Over the past 30 years, global consumption of goods grew at an annual average of 2.3%; in some East Asian countries this rate exceeds the threshold of 6%. […]

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ITER: How a new star will be born

The ITER project is truly at the frontier of knowledge, a collective effort to explore the tantalising future of free, clean and inexhaustible energy offered by nuclear fusion. Where the Large Hadron Collider at CERN pushes the boundaries of physics to find the origins of matter, the ITER project seeks to give humans an endless stream of power which could have potentially game-changing consequences for the entire planet. In this article, Robert Arnoux from ITER offers us his vision of nuclear fusion. Opinion: A new star will soon be born, a star unlike any other … a man-made star. ITER— both the Latin word for “The Way” and the acronym of International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor—will light up in the early years of the coming decade. From a scientific and technological point of view, it will be one of mankind’s major accomplishments. The creation of an artificial star and the […]

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Oil Holds Onto Gains in Asian Trade, US Jobs Data in Focus

By Eric Yep Crude-oil futures held on to overnight gains in Asian trading hours Friday ahead of key U.S. jobs data and amid some doubts over the re-opening of Libya’s eastern oil export terminals. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in May traded at $100.45 a barrel at 0514 GMT, up $0.16 in the Globex electronic session. May Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $0.04 to $106.19 a barrel. Financial markets expect the U.S. Labor Department’s March jobs report due later Friday to shed light on the state of the world’s largest economy, with forecasts of an increase in hiring after the recent winter slowdown. Crude prices are likely to rally on better demand prospects, with the International Monetary Fund’s managing director Christine Largarde suggesting that there would be no hard landing in the Chinese economy, analyst Tan Chee Tat at […]

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Iran, six powers start expert-level nuclear talks in Vienna

VIENNA (Reuters) – Iran and six world powers began an expert-level meeting about Tehran’s nuclear program on Thursday, part of efforts to reach an agreement by late July on how to resolve a decade-old dispute that has stirred fears of a Middle East war. The meeting in Vienna of nuclear and other experts from Iran and the United States, France, Germany, Russia, China and Britain was to prepare for a new round of higher-level negotiations next week, also in the Austrian capital. A spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton – whose office is coordinating contacts with Iran on behalf of the big powers – confirmed that the meeting had started but gave no details. Officials earlier said they were expected to last until Saturday. The April 8-9 meeting of chief negotiators – including Ashton and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif – will be the third […]

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Natural Gas Prices Rise on Concerns About Dwindling Stockpiles

Natural gas prices rose for a second day on concerns about producers’ ability to replenish stockpiles that were depleted over the winter. Thursday’s gains came after government data showed U.S. gas inventories fell to an 11-year low last week. The decline was also unusually large for late March, when warmer temperatures typically reduce demand for the heating fuel. Natural gas for May delivery ended up 2.4%, at $4.47 a million British thermal units on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have risen 4.5% over the last two days. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that inventories fell 74 billion cubic feet in the week ended March 28, to just 822 billion cubic feet. The drop heightened concerns that gas prices remain too low to convince producers to pump out enough gas this spring and summer to refill storage. "The market seems to think […]

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Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report

Working gas in storage was 822 Bcf as of Friday, March 28, 2014, according to EIA estimates. This represents a net decline of 74 Bcf from the previous week. Stocks were 878 Bcf less than last year at this time and 992 Bcf below the 5-year average of 1,814 Bcf. In the East Region, stocks were 448 Bcf below the 5-year average following net withdrawals of 46 Bcf. Stocks in the Producing Region were 410 Bcf below the 5-year average of 762 Bcf after a net withdrawal of 24 Bcf. Stocks in the West Region were 134 Bcf below the 5-year average after a net drawdown of 4 Bcf. At 822 Bcf, total working gas is below the 5-year historical range. The shaded area indicates the range between the historical minimum and maximum values for the weekly series from 2009 through 2013. Source: Form EIA-912, "Weekly Underground Natural Gas […]

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Libya Rebels Report Accord ‘in Principle’ to Reopen Ports

The prospects for a recovery in Libyan oil exports moved closer after rebels blocking shipments from the country’s east said they agreed in principle with the government to allow a resumption. The rebels’ Executive Office for Barqa, representing the eastern region of Cyrenaica, reached an accord that four terminals halted since July can reopen, Ali Al-Hasy, a spokesman for the group, said April 2. Barqa politicians indicated the ports could operate within 24 to 48 hours, Sliman Qajam, a member of the energy committee in Libya’s government, said by phone yesterday from Tripoli, the capital. Libyan oil production plunged by more than 1 million barrels a day in the past year as protests halted oil fields and ports. Brent crude futures, used to price more than half of the world’s oil, are near the lowest level since November amid speculation that the export terminals may re-open, adding to supply. […]

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Libya sees 'good intentions' in talks with rebels, no deal yet

Libya has seen "good intentions" at indirect talks with eastern rebels which might lead to the lifting of their blockage of major oil ports within days, acting oil minister Omar Shakmak said on Thursday. Hopes have been building in oil markets that an eight-month blockage of major oil exports ports will end ever since rebels and the government said they were close to an agreement. Any deal will help the OPEC member halt its slide into instability as the weak central government has seemed unable to control militias who helped oust Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 but kept their guns and made political demands on the state. "There are good intentions," Shakmak told reporters in the eastern city of Benghazi, adding that tribal leaders and local leaders were working hard to negotiate with the port rebels. He did not elaborate. The government also gave no update, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple