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China's New Wager: Pulling Energy From the Ocean

;A race is under way to unlock one of the world’s biggest untapped sources of clean energy—the ocean—with China emerging as an important testing ground. That could heighten competition with Western companies, especially if Chinese businesses begin using technologies developed with joint-venture partners to expand rapidly. The European Union so far has led efforts to harness the sea to make electricity, for which there are three principal techniques: underwater turbines that draw power from the ebb and flow of tides, surface-based floats that rely on wave motion and systems that exploit differences in water temperature. The world’s first commercial, grid-connected tidal-flow generator was installed in Northern Ireland in 2008. Germany’s AG , a big investor in wave and tidal power, predicts that tidal currents alone could someday power 250 million households world-wide. France’s SA also is developing the technology. But with 11,000 miles of coastline rich with energy […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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China’s New Wager: Pulling Energy From the Ocean

;A race is under way to unlock one of the world’s biggest untapped sources of clean energy—the ocean—with China emerging as an important testing ground. That could heighten competition with Western companies, especially if Chinese businesses begin using technologies developed with joint-venture partners to expand rapidly. The European Union so far has led efforts to harness the sea to make electricity, for which there are three principal techniques: underwater turbines that draw power from the ebb and flow of tides, surface-based floats that rely on wave motion and systems that exploit differences in water temperature. The world’s first commercial, grid-connected tidal-flow generator was installed in Northern Ireland in 2008. Germany’s AG , a big investor in wave and tidal power, predicts that tidal currents alone could someday power 250 million households world-wide. France’s SA also is developing the technology. But with 11,000 miles of coastline rich with energy […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Two New Ideas in Wave and Tidal Power

IEEE Spectrum has an article on some new ocean energy technologies – Two New Ideas in Wave and Tidal Power . The wave power idea is closer than the tidal energy one to rollout, with a planned open-water test for this summer. M3 Wave dispenses with all the problems that come with buoys or other above-and-below-the-surface designs by mooring a simple device to the ocean floor. The device, pictured above, involves two air chambers: as a wave passes over the top of the first chamber, the pressure inside increases, forcing air through a passageway to the second chamber. Inside the passageway is a turbine, so the passing air is actually what generates the electricity. As the wave continues on, it raises the pressure inside the second chamber, pushing the air back through the turbine—importantly, it is a bidirectional turbine—and back into the first chamber. Another wave, another cycle. Repeat.The […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ethanol Rises Above $3 a Gallon for First Time Since 2011

Ethanol futures rose above $3 for the first time since 2011 amid demand from refineries and blenders before U.S. gasoline use rises with warmer weather. Distillers are facing delays transporting the ethanol they produce to markets after winter storms slowed deliveries and competition for rail cars forced ethanol plants to slow production . A 2007 U.S. law requires the biofuel, mostly made from corn, to be blended into gasoline, so higher ethanol costs can boost prices at the pump. Inventories last week were down 10 percent from a year earlier, according to government data. “We’re moving into the driving season, and refineries want more ethanol than they’re able to get,” Chris Wilson , an analyst at Atten Babler Risk Management LLC in Galena, Illinois , said in a telephone interview. “Also, logistics continue to be a big component.” Denatured ethanol for April delivery gained 7.3 cents, or 2.5 percent, […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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US corn-based ethanol production falls 10.76% to 11-month low: EPA

February production of corn-based ethanol in the US lowered by 125.01 million gallons, or 10.76%, to an 11-month low of 1.04 billion gallons, US Environmental Protection Agency data showed Friday. The drop in ethanol production was unsurprising to sources as delayed rail return times to plants forced reduced run rates and a significant drop in production. "If you think those numbers are nuts, wait until March comes out," one trader said. "We’ll be lucky if we hit 900 [million gallons]." US ethanol prices have soared in recent weeks as supply concerns continue to send a resounding bullish sentiment throughout the market. Delayed return times on railcar deliveries, caused primarily by severe freezing weather and a higher demand for railcar space, was the root of the price surge throughout February, sources said. The Platts Chicago Argo ethanol assessment hit $3.24/gal Friday, up $1.1850/gal from a […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Scottish renewables may falter alone, British minister says

British Energy Secretary Ed Davey said Scotland could face a difficult task in supporting its renewable energy ambitions if it breaks from the United Kingdom. Scotland holds a September referendum for independence from the United Kingdom. The government in Edinburgh said it could support itself economically through oil and gas reserves in the North Sea. Davey told an energy conference in Edinburgh that while the Scottish people could endure alone, unity was better in terms of energy policies. Scotland, he said, is developing its renewable energy sector at a record pace. Scotland accounts for 10 percent of all households in the U.K., but gets 25 percent of all support for renewable energy generation. "If Scotland were to choose to go it alone, maintaining this level of support would take up a greater proportion of national finances," he said in remarks published Wednesday. "This has the potential to fundamentally change […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ford installing GE WattStation chargers, charging network at facilities

Ford Motor Company, in conjunction with GE, will supply electric vehicle charging stations at Ford facilities nationwide, beginning with facilities in and around its headquarters. Ford will begin installing the GE WattStation Level 2 charging stations across its North American campuses, developing a workplace charging network at nearly every Ford facility in the United States and Canada. Ford now offers three plug-in vehicles: the battery electric Focus Electric, and the C-MAX Energi and Fusion Energi plug-in hybrids. Ford Fusion Energi and C-MAX Energi drivers typically make three of their four daily trips in all-electric mode, based on data from Ford’s MyFord Mobile app. Ford estimates that its customers now have logged 65 million all-electric miles, increasing at a rate of 290,000 electric miles per day. (MyFord Mobile is complimentary for five years from the vehicle sale date as recorded by the dealer. Subscriptions fees apply after five years. MyFord […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Solar Power More Economical Than Natural Gas, Coal, Nuclear In Texas

Yeah but the seven or eight cent per is based on Today’s price for gas. Almost everyone agrees, it’s almost impossible to make money at today’s gas prices. A person can make the argument that NG prices will never go much higher (than $4.50) in which cases energy companies will simply stop drilling for gas. Or one can hope for shortages on account of low prices hoping low prices will cure low prices. Solar technology is leaping forward both on the manufacturing and efficiency angles. Even if PV price stabilizes, in 2014 dollars, in a few years either NG is No More or it’s futures price makes it better suited to make plastics and fertilizer than burning to power that wall to wall TV. Depending on region, wind, hydro, geothermal Owning too much stigma, nuclear power […]

Posted On : Published By : ASPO-USA
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Is Natural Gas-Fired Electricity An Intermittent Resource?

Wind power is only available when the wind is blowing. Similarly, cloudy skies means less solar power. The use of renewable energy resources for generating electric power is limited by the fact that renewable resources are not always available. This is why renewable energy is commonly described as an “ intermittent ” energy resource. Intermittency, or “ variability,” is renewable energy’s Achilles heel. Intermittent resources are considered potentially problematic because the output from individual units may vary widely in response to variation in available wind and solar energy, which can only be predicted to a moderate degree of accuracy. The assumption seems to be that non-renewable energy resources – namely, fossil fuels – are not intermittent. If the past three months have taught us anything, it is that not all fossil fuels are created equal in terms of availability. Unlike coal and fuel oil, natural gas cannot be stored […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Ethanol shippers avoiding Chicago bottleneck to supply low-stocked East Coast

US railroads are rerouting ethanol shipments to avoid bottlenecks in Chicago, particularly for delivery to the East Coast, where supplies are running low, rail company officials said Thursday. David Garin, BNSF’s vice president of industrial products, said Chicago — already congested as the US’ busiest freight rail hub — has been severely impacted by winter weather, leading to delays on routes using interchanges there for all commodities. Though BNSF does not serve East Coast markets, Garin was speaking at a meeting of the US Surface Transportation Board’s Rail Energy Transportation Advisory Committee as a representative of the rail industry. "Chicago is a big challenge for us," Garin said. "We’ve looked at longer routing. It may not seem to make sense to [ship ethanol on rail] through Arkansas to the East Coast, but right now where we’re trying to avoid interchanges in Chicago." Ethanol inventories […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple