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Musk’s Cousins Battle Utilities to Make Solar Rooftops Cheap

In September 2013, Hawaiian Electric Co. told thousands of customers they couldn’t connect their new solar panels to its distribution grid. In some neighborhoods, HECO said, its system couldn’t absorb any more unused energy from home solar arrays. The moratorium, which lasted 13 months, made Hawaii a central battleground in the effort by utilities to control the rapid growth of independent solar companies across the U.S. And it was a big deal to people such as Robert Gould, a retired Northwest Airlines pilot living near Honolulu. He’d just paid $53,000 to have solar panels installed. Gould and other customers protested loudly to state officials. They finally got help from Lyndon Rive, the CEO of SolarCity . The San Mateo, California, company is the biggest installer of rooftop solar panels in the U.S. and has 10,000 Hawaiian customers, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its May issue. Rive studied the situation […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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API: Ensure U.S. oil boom continues

Federal data show U.S. oil production fading after 2020, a forecast industry supporters said needs Washington’s attention. Photo by Kyle Waters/Shutterstock WASHINGTON, April 15 (UPI) — A federal U.S. report shows oil production peaking in 2020, a forecast the industry says shows Washington needs to ensure dominance can continue. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in an annual report domestic crude oil production peaks at 10.6 million barrels per day in 2020 and then fades to 9.4 million bpd by 2040. The general increase is greater than the previous year’s forecast. The full-year average production for 2015 is forecast at 9.2 million bpd. Kyle Isakower, a vice president for economic policy at the American Petroleum Institute, said federal data show the U.S. oil sector is resilient despite a weak crude oil market crimping spending on exploration and production. "We need more energy — not less — especially as natural […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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North Dakota oil production slumps

Gas capture efforts and low oil prices lead to a decline in oil production in North Dakota, state data show. Photo by Steve Oehlenschlager/Shutterstock BISMARCK, N.D., April 15 (UPI) — Oil production in North Dakota has declined 4 percent since a record was set in December, largely because of lower oil prices, state data show. The North Dakota Industrial Commission said oil production in February, the last full month for which data are available, was 1.17 million barrels per day, a 1.1 percent decline from January and a 4 percent decline from December. December’s oil production of 1.2 million bpd was the all-time high. NDIC Director Lynn Helms said a weak crude oil market and state targets aimed at reducing the amount of gas burned off during oil production was to blame for the decline . "Oil price is by far the biggest driver behind the slow-down, with operators […]

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Crude by Rail Facing Tougher Standards

NTSB Calls for Stricter Rail Standards The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is urging tougher standards for oil tankers carrying Bakken crude. Related: Bakken Crude by Rail Under Attack In a 10 page letter to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), the NTSB outlined its findings from their study of recent train derailment accidents and concluded that the current fleet of DOT-111 tank cars rupture too quickly and result in spillage and ignition. The agency also found that performance of the industry’s enhanced CPC-1232 rail car is unsatisfactory. Controversy over the safety of moving crude by rail has skyrocketed as several high-profile accidents have recently made headlines. This combined with a sharp increase in crude by rail since the start of the oil boom has many concerned. Related: Crude by Rail Up 1700% “We can’t wait a decade for safer rail cars,” said NTSB Chairman Christopher A. […]

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In California a lack of water encroaches on castles in the air

Drought threatens to haunt the manicured paradise of Los Angeles, writes Edwin Heathcote Swimming pools are seen behind homes in Palm Springs, California April 13, 2015. The average daily water usage per person in Palm Springs is 201 gallons, more than double the California average, according to the New York Times. California’s cities and towns would be required to cut their water usage by up to 35 percent or face steep fines under proposed new rules, the state’s first-ever mandatory cutbacks in urban water use as the state enters its fourth year of severe drought. Communities where residential customers use more than 165 gallons of water per person per day would have to cut back by 35 percent. Picture taken April 13, 2015. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson W ater has shaped the state of California and its biggest city, Los Angeles . Cities usually take time to grow but Los Angeles […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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EPA: US greenhouse gases up 2% in 2013; increased coal consumption, cool winter

Total US greenhouse emissions were 6,673 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2013, an increase of 2% (127.9 MMT CO 2 Eq.) over the prior year, according to the EPA’s newly published Inventory of US Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990–2013 . Total US emissions have increased by 5.9% from 1990 to 2013. The increase from 2012 to 2013 was due to an increase in the carbon intensity of fuels consumed to generate electricity due to an increase in coal consumption, with decreased natural gas consumption, according to the report. Additionally, relatively cool winter conditions led to an increase in fuels for the residential and commercial sectors for heating. The transportation sector was the second largest sector source, at 27%. Transportation emissions increased as a result of a small increase in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and fuel use across on-road transportation modes. By sector, power plants were […]

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AEO2015: US on track to eliminate net energy imports by 2030

HOUSTON, Apr. 15 Continued growth in oil and natural gas production , growth in the use of renewables, and the application of demand-side efficiencies show the potential to eliminate net US energy imports in the 2020 to 2030 timeframe, according to projections in the Annual Energy Outlook 2015 (AEO2015), released by the US Energy Information Administration. The US has been a net importer of energy since the 1950s. AEO2015 presents updated projections for US energy markets through 2040. “The projections provide a basis for examination and discussion of energy market trends and serve as a starting point for analysis of potential changes in US energy policies, rules, and regulations, as well as the potential role of advanced technologies,” EIA said. EIA’s projections in the outlook are based on six cases (reference, low and high economic growth, low and high oil price, and high oil and gas resource) that reflect […]

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Industry Not Expected To Fight Live Offshore Viewing

Access to images perhaps similar to those that captivated viewers in real time around the world during the Deepwater Horizon disaster would be standard procedure under a new set of proposed federal offshore guidelines . These include the live monitoring of deepwater and high-temperature/high pressure drilling activities, similar to what is currently used onshore. “The real-time monitoring requirement ensures that the operator has access to onshore technical expertise if needed and that there is ‘another set of eyes’ available during critical operations,” according to the statement. Houston personal injury lawyer Charles Herd, a partner at The Lanier Law Firm, which represented commercial plaintiffs during the Deepwater Horizon litigation, said he doesn’t expect much pushback from the agency on this particular requirement. “Not only has it been an advantage in onshore applications, it is certainly reasonable,” he told Rigzone. “It should’ve been done (offshore) before now.” On April 13, the […]

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Oil Exporters Are Dumping US Assets At A Record Pace

 Back in November we chronicled the (quiet) death of the Petrodollar, the system that has buttressed USD hegemony for decades by ensuring that oil producers recycled their dollar proceeds into still more USD assets creating a very convenient (if your printing press mints dollars) self-fulfilling prophecy that has effectively underwritten the dollar’s reserve status in the post WWII era. Here’s what we said last year: Two years ago, in hushed tones at first, then ever louder, the financial world began discussing that which shall never be discussed in polite company – the end of the system that according to many has framed and facilitated the US Dollar’s reserve currency status: the Petrodollar, or the world in which oil export countries would recycle the dollars they received in exchange for their oil exports, by purchasing more USD-denominated assets, boosting the financial strength of the reserve currency, leading to even higher […]

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North Dakota Oil, Gas Production Declines Continue

North Dakota Oil, Gas Production Declines Continue thumbnail For the first time in more than four years, oil/natural gas production in North Dakota’s Bakken Shale play declined for two consecutive months, but the state’s chief regulator said Tuesday he expects things to turn around when June statistics are released. In the meantime, further monthly declines of 1-2% are expected. In the latest report from Lynn Helms, director of the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR), January-February production continued downward, following all-time record levels reached in December. February is the most recent month for which DMR has complete statistics. Oil production in February dropped to 32.9 million bbl (1.17 million b/d), compared to 36.9 million bbl (1.19 million b/d) in January, following the December all-time peak total of 1.22 million b/d. Natural gas production in February was 41.2 Bcf (1.47 Bcf/d), compared to 45.6 Bcf (1.47 Bcf/d) in January, following an […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple