Energy articles from June 2003

Energy archives from June 2003

Blackout aftermath: should we make the grid larger or smaller?(Editorial)
June 22, 2003... The marvels of large, modern engineered systems abound: the nearly million pound (with fuel) jet-powered aircraft that slice through the air; the labyrinth of assembly lines teeming with robots that work to produce goods while we sleep;...

Another cascading blackout: why wasn't this rolling power outage contained?(Utilities)
June 22, 2003... Most commentators have rightly pointed out that a thorough in investigation must be completed to fully explain the causes of the blackout in the Northeastern United States. The investigation must not only address the immediate causes of the...

Gridlock relief: the case for implementing control technologies to optimize the electrical network.(Utilities)
June 22, 2003... According to Electric Power Research Institute studies, transmission system stability and reliability deficiencies that result in power interruptions and inadequate power quality in the U.S. cause economic losses exceeding $100 billion per...

The enigma of coal: coal is simultaneously abundant yet problematic to produce and use.(Supply)
June 22, 2003... Three key issues face coal, affecting its prices, supply, and demand. The first set of issues relates to the environmental pressures affecting coal generation, particularly existing coal-fired units. The debate over the extent to which...

Working out the kinks: understanding the fall and rise of energy use in China.(Supply)
June 22, 2003... At 67 percent, the share of coal in China's primary energy consumption is at its lowest level since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. In just four years, from 1996 to 2000, reported output of coal fell by nearly 400 million metric...

Meeting low-sulfur standards: the low-sulfur mandate for gasoline and diesel fuel has refiners scrambling.(Regulations)
June 22, 2003... For many oil refiners, the low-sulfur fur mandate for gasoline and diesel fuel is looming large. The Tier 2 Motor Vehicle Emissions Standards and Gasoline Control Requirements mandated by the EPA in 2001 under the Clean Air Act of 1990 set a...

Customer satisfaction at all-time high.(Electricity)
June 22, 2003... Residential electric utility satisfaction levels have increased for the second straight year, even as customers report higher spending on electricity, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2003 Electric Utility Residential Customer...

Western resources deemed adequate.(Electricity)
June 22, 2003... Eric Hirst, a prominent electric utility industry consultant (see www.EHirst.com), recently spoke at the annual meeting of the Western Conference of PSC Commissioners. His presentation dealt in depth with western resource adequacy. According to...

E&P spending survey updated.(Oil)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... According to the results of Lehman Brothers "Original E&P Spending Survey, 2003", the 330 oil and gas companies that they surveyed are planning an increase of 5.4 percent in their worldwide E&P expenditures in 2003 to $138.8 billion. This...

No to Petro pipe from TX to CA.(Oil)
June 22, 2003... In August, the California Energy Commission adopted a report that recommends against building a pipeline to bring gasoline and other petroleum products to the state from refineries in Texas and the Gulf Coast. The report, "Gulf Coast to...

Greenhouse emitters act on climate change.(Environment)
June 22, 2003... Most of America's biggest carbon dioxide-emitting companies--including ChevronTexaco, ExxonMobil, General Electric, Southern Company, and Xcel Energy--are not adequately disclosing the financial risks posed by climate change and also are...

C[O.sub.2] emissions increased 1.3 percent in 2002.(Environment)
June 22, 2003... U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels increased by 1.3 percent in 2002, from 5,686 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (MMTC[O.sub.2]) in 2001 to 5,762 MMTC[O.sub.2] in 2002, according to preliminary estimates prepared by...

EPA defines "routine maintenance".(Environment; Environmental Protection Agency )
June 22, 2003... The Environmental Protection Agency released new final rules on the Clean Air Act's definition of "routine maintenance." In brief, the new rules will allow more air pollution from approximately 17,000 industrial facilities across the country,...

Winning utilities "stuck to their knitting".(Economic And Policy)(Lexecon.Inc study results)
June 22, 2003... Electric and gas utilities that stayed with traditional businesses were the winners during the first five years of U.S. utility deregulation, according to a study from Lexecon. Inc. (http://www.lexecon.com), an economics consulting firm. The...

Fund created to cut gas emissions.(Economic And Policy; greenhouse gases)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... The World Bank has launched a fund to help finance projects to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in poor countries, with initial commitments of $35 million from both public and private-sector participants, including Japanese firms, Kyodo News...

Africans to disclose details of oil deals.(Economic And Policy)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... Nigeria and Sao Tome have pledged to publish the financial results of their next licensing round for a $270 million oilfield. The decision is a breakthrough for the UK-led campaign to reduce corruption in oil and mineral-rich developing...

Study questions radwaste stability.(Nuclear; radioactive waste)(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... Plutonium oxide--a preferred compound for storage of nuclear waste--could theoretically take up oxygen from water and release explosive hydrogen gas, according to a new study ("First-Principles Calculations of PuO2," by L. Petit and A. Svane at...

Westinghouse wins contracts in China.(Nuclear)
June 22, 2003... Westinghouse Electric Company has signed two significant and first-of-a-kind nuclear fuel related contracts with major companies in China. The first contract calls for Westinghouse to provide first-of-a-kind engineering services and 10 metric...

Analysis projects cancer deaths.(Nuclear; bomb manufacture)
June 22, 2003... A new plant designed to manufacture plutonium triggers for the U.S. nuclear arsenal is likely to cause several fatal cancers among its workforce, according to an independent analysis of newly released government documents. The conclusion is...

IntelliPipe wired for speed and durability.(New Technology; oil wells)
June 22, 2003... Methods for gathering downhole oil and gas well data have grown more sophisticated in recent years, but the speed with which this data is communicated from the bottom of the well to drillers on the rig can be slower than the Pony Express....

California's ample renewable potential.(Alternatives)
June 22, 2003... There will be enough renewable electricity generation in California to allow the state's investor owned utility companies to meet a mandated 20 percent renewable energy requirement by 2017, according to the California Energy Commission. The...

Wither gas prices: high prices are here to stay--for this decade, perhaps longer.(Economics)
June 22, 2003... What is occurring now with regard to natural gas can be characterized as a painful period of adjustment as a commodity moves from relative abundance to relative scarcity. While this pain is felt by many, especially low income individuals and...

Bottom of the barrel: East Africa's oil boom displays the most extreme examples of misery amidst plenty.(International)
June 22, 2003... A powerful convergence of interests between African governments, international oil companies, International Financial Institutions and Northern governments is propelling the rush to exploit Africa's oil reserves. As U.S. energy companies become...

Calendar.(energy conferences)
June 22, 2003... November 2-4, 2003, World Summit on Ethanol for Transportation, Quebec, Canada. Contact: BBI International; Tel: 719/ 942-4353: E-Mail: conferences@bbiethanol.com. November 12-14, 2003, 26th World Energy Engineering Congress, Atlanta GA....

The ethanol equation: an energy panacea? Alcohol might not be all it's cracked up to be.(Alternatives)
June 22, 2003... The objective of this brief analysis is to update and assess both the required energy and economic inputs for the entire ethanol production system. Direct costs of the fermentation/distillation process and production of the corn feedstock,...

Keeping options open: nuclear is the wild card in the energy equation. But, who knows, we may need to play it.(Nuclear)
June 22, 2003... In terms of "energy futures," in our view it is likely that we shall need all options: efficiency in electricity generation and use; expansion of renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal; capture of carbon dioxide...

Energy economics, 101: energy efficiency depends upon how much is lost during production, transport and usage.(Contrarian's View on Energy ...)
June 22, 2003... Energy is available in various forms, the "lowest" being heat and the "highest" electricity. It can be dug or pumped out of the earth, derived directly and indirectly from the sun or moon (tides), and obtained as one of the products of nuclear...

Nanotech motors rob less energy.(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... According to an article in Nature. University of California. Berkeley, engineers have built a nanoscale motor that is the smallest synthetic motor that's ever been made. Alex Zetti, professor of physics at UC Berkeley and faculty scientist at...

Favorable review for geothermal project.(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... The staff of the California Energy Commission has just released part one of its Final Staff Assessment for the Salton Sea Unit 6 geothermal power project (Salton Sea Unit Six Geothermal Power Project, Attn: Robert Worl, California Energy...

Study documents wind power potential.(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... A new study, reported in the Journal of Geophysical Research reports detailed spatial and temporal distributions of U.S. winds and wind power at 80 m (the hub height of large wind turbines) derived from measurements. The results suggest that...

Hydrogen research looks to future.(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... One of the challenges to creating an infrastructure for a fuel cell-based economy is refining a pure source of hydrogen to power vehicles. A chemical engineering professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute believes the best way to do this is...

First industrial-scale coal-gas plant.(Brief Article)
June 22, 2003... FuelCell Energy, Inc. has produced its first two-megawatt Direct FuelCell (DFC) power plant. The DOE's Office of Fossil Energy, and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) recognize it as the world's first industrial-scale fuel cell...