Energy articles from March 2004

Energy archives from March 2004

Foreign policy of oil.(EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
March 22, 2004... Foreign Policy of Oil? To a growing number of oil watchers, and not those overseas critics, our foreign policy is looking pretty foreign. The U.S. used to be a, "leader" in so many spheres but with the new oil resource war, there is a quite...

Rethinking the grid: avoiding blackouts and modernizing the power grid is harder than you think.(UTILITIES)
March 22, 2004... (This is part one of a two part article) The problems facing the power grid today are an outgrowth of its changing role as the heart--or more aptly, the circulation system--of the electric utility sector. The original high voltage grid was...

FuelCell wins 4 MW order.(IN THE NEWS: DISTRIBUTED GENERATION)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... FuelCell Energy, Inc.'s (3 Great Pasture Rd., Danbury, CT 06183; Tel: 203/792-1460) Asia-Pacific strategic partner, Marubeni Corp. has placed a new order for 4 megawatts of DFC power plants. FuelCell Energy will manufacture the units and...

Florida to spend $10 million.(IN THE NEWS: DISTRIBUTED GENERATION)(Hydrogen fuel cell projects)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... Florida Governor Jeb Bush's 2004-2005 Executive Budget recommends spending $10 million in federal funds to demonstrate stationary and mobile hydrogen fuel cell projects. These dollars will provide seed capital to share the costs for...

Smart generation tested in house.(IN THE NEWS: DISTRIBUTED GENERATION)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... In the first trial of its kind in the UK, an alkaline fuel cell system developed by Scottish-based company Smart Energy Ltd. will be tested in house at BRE's Watford site. The fuel cell trial will be on display at resource04, an exhibition of...

Axane unveils 2.5 kW system.(IN THE NEWS: DISTRIBUTED GENERATION)(Fuel cells)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... Based on its modular technological platform, Axane (2, rue de Clemenciere--BP 15--38360 Sassenage, France; Tel: + 33(0)4 76 43 64 97) a wholly owned subsidiary of the Air Liquide group, has unveiled the first prototype of its new line of 2.5 kW...

Keeping tabs: utilities adopting wide area monitoring systems.(UTILITIES)
March 22, 2004... Last year's August 14th blackout affected some 50 million people n the United States and Canada and cost an estimated $4 billion in lost revenues. It interrupted more than 60,000 MW of load, or roughly 11 percent of the eastern interconnection....

Trading in ethanol: it's been a beverage, a solvent and fuel for millenia. What now?(ECONOMICS)
March 22, 2004... Fermentation of biofeedstocks (from grains to sugar) has been around since Biblical times. It represents one of the first value-added processes that made basic commodities more valuable. The product of fermentation, ethanol, has seen its...

Strategy in the oil patch: spending growth will remain in single digits in 2004.(Economics)
March 22, 2004... Our Original E&P Spending Survey forecast only 4 percent growth in global E&P spending for 2004. This forecast comprised a 6 percent gain internationally and a fiat outlook for the United States and Canada, based on a survey of 335 companies...

Heading toward hydrogen: what are the hurdles to clean, non-petroleum energy?(TRANSPORTATION)
March 22, 2004... Today, the United States uses almost 20 million barrels of oil per day (Mbbl/day), of which about 13 Mbbl/day is used for transportation of all kinds, cars, trucks, aircraft, trains, and military vehicles. If each barrel of oil contains 5.8...

Politcs power renewables into mainstream.(OUTLOOK)
March 22, 2004... With oil and gas prices soaring amid deepening instability in the Middle East, renewable energy is emerging as a bright spot in the global energy economy--and is poised for a worldwide takeoff. According to a new study from the Worldwatch...

Conserving hydrocarbons would save $438 billion.(OUTLOOK)
March 22, 2004... More judicious use of hydrocarbon-based fossil fuels would reduce U.S. energy consumption by 33 percent and save consumers $438 billion a year by 2014, according to an analysis by Cornell University ecologists. David Pimentel, Cornell professor...

DOE announces FY 2005 budget request.(OUTLOOK)
March 22, 2004... The U.S. Department of Energy rolled out a $24.3 billion budget request for fiscal year 2005. About 10 percent of the budget is earmarked for energy-specific goals. DOE also funds defense, science, and environment related programs, which...

EU expansion signals growth opportunities.(INTERNATIONAL)
March 22, 2004... The May 1st accession into the European Union of ten Central and Eastern European countries (Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia) marks the opening of a new era of energy...

Keeping an eye on Yucca Mountain.(ENVIRONMENT)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... According to information supplied by Public Citizen (1600 20th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009; Tel: 202/5881000), the NRC warned the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in an April 10th letter that it needs to improve the quality of information...

Membrane advances fuel cell goal.(ENVIRONMENT)
March 22, 2004... A new type of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) is being developed by researchers at the Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories to help bring the goal of a micro fuel cell closer to realization using diverse fuels like glucose,...

Siemens promoting geothermal energy.(ENVIRONMENT)(Willy Gehrer of Swiss Electrotechnical Association )(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... According to the expert Willy Gehrer, the environmentally friendly generation of electricity from geothermal sources is going to play an important role in the future of energy production. "I'm convinced that in 20 years geothermal power plants...

Biotech breaks cellulose barrier.(INTERNATIONAL)
March 22, 2004... A milestone in industrial biotechnology has been achieved with the first commercial shipment of bioethanol. Unlike conventional ethanol, bioethanol is made not from grain, but from cellulosic biomass, such as wheat straw, sugar-cane bagasse,...

Investment could lower wholesale power prices.(ELECTRIC UTILITIES)
March 22, 2004... ICF Consulting, Inc. (www.icfconsulting.com) recently completed a major study of transmission adequacy in the U.S. which forecasts the optimal amount of new electric transmission capacity builds and the investments needed to ensure continued...

NERC assesses summer reliability.(ELECTRIC UTILITIES)(North American Electric Reliability Council)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... The North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) released its 2004 Summer Assessment, which provides an independent assessment of projected electricity supply and demand in North America for the upcoming summer season. "NERC expects...

Using engineering to extract efficiency gains.(ELECTRIC UTILITIES)
March 22, 2004... Commercial buildings in the United States consume 15 to 20 percent of the total national energy production, and about 40 percent of this amount is spent on heating, cooling, ventilation, and hot water. Design and operation of these systems...

The petroleum age is far from over.(PETROLEUM)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... According to an article in the journal Science (Vol. 304, May 21, 2004) by L. Maugeri at Eni Spa in Rome, Italy, "crying wolf" over oil scarcities historically has fostered bad political decisions, and contributed to an "oil imperialism" in...

Carbon drill pipe is technical achievement.(PETROLEUM)
March 22, 2004... The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the development of a new "composite" drill pipe that is lighter, stronger and more flexible than steel, which could significantly alter the ability to drain substantially more oil and gas from rock...

GE energy to acquire Gasification Technology.(COAL)
March 22, 2004... GE Energy, a division of General Electric Co. and ChevronTexaco Worldwide Gasification Technology Inc., a subsidiary of ChevronTexaco Corporation, have announced plans for GE Energy to acquire ChevronTexaco's gasification technology business....

Ultra-high temp coal plants are more efficient.(COAL)
March 22, 2004... Advanced materials now being evaluated by a consortium team--under the technical direction of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and others--will allow higher temperature...

Automobiles are sparking a revolution.(TRANSPORTATION)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... Tomorrow's engines could boast greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions because of a system being developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. New ORNL test data shows that spark-assisted homogeneous charge compression ignition has a 12...

Energy managers for the automobile.(TRANSPORTATION)
March 22, 2004... As today's vehicles employ new solutions for reducing fuel consumption and emissions, their requirement for electricity to power modern systems and components grows with consumer demand for innovations. At the Vienna Motor Symposium held on...

Gas tax alternative gets road test.(TRANSPORTATION)
March 22, 2004... In May, researchers at the Oregon State University College of Engineering demonstrated two wireless systems for "vehicles miles traveled" that might one day replace Oregon's gasoline tax. The systems employ wireless technology to calculate how...

Particles give clues to cleaner engines.(TRANSPORTATION)
March 22, 2004... Diesels are the most efficient heat engines ever built. They are highly durable and 30 to 40 percent more fuel efficient than gasoline engines. Though not currently popular with U.S. auto buyers, diesels power trucks, trains and construction...

Largest production of liquefied natural gas.(NATURAL GAS)
March 22, 2004... Air Products' AP-XTM liquefaction process technology has been selected by Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil for the Qatargas II Facility Expansion Project. The Air Products novel patented technology will make possible the world's largest process...

Huge resources found in TX and OK.(NATURAL GAS)
March 22, 2004... The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of the undiscovered oil and gas potential of the Bend Arch-Fort Worth Basin Province, north-central Texas and southwestern Oklahoma. The assessment is based on geologic elements...

Wind provides power for electrolysis.(ALTERNATIVES)(Brief Article)
March 22, 2004... Within a few months, the 230 inhabitants of the island of Utsira off Norway will be independent of the power grid. Two wind-turbine generator systems and a 60-kilowatt fuel cell will provide ten households with the electricity they need. The...

Anniversaries of TMI, Chernobyl.(NUCLEAR)
March 22, 2004... March 28th was the 25th anniversary of the 1979 nuclear accident at the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear power plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. April 26th was the 18th anniversary of the 1986 nuclear accident at the Chornobyl nuclear power...

Riding the tiger: the global impact of China's energy quandary.(INTERNATIONAL)
March 22, 2004... When riding a tiger," goes the old Chinese saying, "it is difficult to get off." So, too, with China's impact on world energy. Blistering economic growth in China, and its surge effect on demand for energy (along with most other commodities),...

Price punch: how high oil prices affect the global economy.(SUPPLY)
March 22, 2004... According to the results of a quantitative exercise carried out by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in collaboration with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Economics Department and with the assistance of the...

Clean coal: natural gas prices are spiking. Coal looks like an alternative.(SUPPLY)
March 22, 2004... Natural gas or coal? Until now, it's been easy for energy providers to make decisions when it comes to building new power plants. Combined-cycle plants--i.e, gas and steam turbines together--have an efficiency rating of around 58 percent, while...

Managing the greenhouse: energy companies face many choices. It's not easy.(ENVIRONMENT)
March 22, 2004... Imagine the following scenario. The year is 2010 and Company X, a major player in the energy business, is in a tailspin. In the past six months, the stock price has plummeted, its debt has been downgraded, and executives are quietly beginning...

Don't forget biomass: renewable energy resources have been left out of the national conversation.(COMMENTARY)
March 22, 2004... It's 2004... Any morning, USA. Legislators, public interest groups and citizens--not to mention the media--are consumed by any number of vital issues: the amendment banning gay marriage, the post-9/11 economy; the Middle East, war, personal...

Indicators.
March 22, 2004... Domestic crude oil production continues to stagnate, indeed decline while import growth proceeds apace. Most analysts see demand for oil in the United States growing at a rate of 1-2 percent per year for the foreseeable future. Net new demand...

Return to sanity? A look at where high technology panaceas haven't flown.(Contrarian's View on Energy ...)
March 22, 2004... A curious thing is happening: Whereas the start of a junk technology demonstration was always trumpeted loudly during the past half century, its predictable failure was quietly forgotten when it happened. Nowadays, it is at least publicly...

Calendar.
March 22, 2004... July 9-14, 2004. Solar 2004, Portland, Oregon. Contact: Shuksan Energy Consulting; Tel: 303/443-3212. July 12-16, 2004, Natural Gas for Power Generation--Economics, Technology and Financing, Oxford, U.K. Contact: Hana Perry, The Oxford...