Energy articles from September 2001

Energy archives from September 2001

You don't always get what you asked for. (Editorial).(energy market deregulation and the Enron situation)(Editorial)
September 22, 2001... We've seen some pretty dramatic examples that "deregulation" isn't the panacea it's been made out to be. The latest is Enron. The questions are variously, "Why did Enron fold?" "At what cost to the economy?" And "How will this affect the...

Energy and Afghanistan: the overthrow of the Taliban will alter the global energy security picture. (Supply).
September 22, 2001... If the U.S. succeeds in overthrowing the Taliban and replacing them with a "pro-western" government, it will have substantially altered the energy security picture in East Asia. Although Afghanistan has some oil and gas of its own, it is not...

Russia's new play: Gazprom's deals with the Dutch presage a new balance in European energy. (Supply).(Industry Overview)
September 22, 2001... Russian natural gas giant Gazprom began deliveries on Oct. 5th to a new customer, Gasunie, a Dutch natural gas firm. On the same day, Gazprom also began production at Zapolyarnoye, a massive new field holding 3.2 trillion cubic meters of gas in...

Sell it--don't burn it: Shell plans to enhance gas revenues from Nigeria by eliminating flaring by 2008. (Production).(Industry Overview)
September 22, 2001... Nigeria is ranked tenth in the world in both oil and gas reserves. Of these gas reserves, Approximately 50 percent is associated gas (AG) and 50 percent is non-associated (NAG). Gas production is currently around 3.5 Bcf/d with approximately 17...

Outlook for Canadian Gas: a new report assesses Canadian natural gas reserves. (Production).
September 22, 2001... The Canadian Gas Potential Committee has just completed a four-year study of the undiscovered natural gas potential in Canada. CGPC-2001 is the second such gas study prepared by the Canadian Gas Potential Committee. The Report presents an...

Making the right choice: advanced command and control systems can aid energy industry decision-making. (Management).
September 22, 2001... Real-time information, and the optimal decision making resulting therefrom, can be immensely useful in energy industry settings. Acting as personal "command and control" stations, real-time decision management software allows individuals to...

Lessons from California: restructuring was a disaster. What can we learn from it? (Management).(1996 law for deregulation of electricity industry was never achieved and led to 2001 crisis)(chronology of restructuring, 1994 to 2001)(Chronology)
September 22, 2001... The 1996 law that restructured California's electricity industry was intended to be the first step toward lower electricity prices for 70 percent of the state's population. Few observers foresaw the situation that would exist in California by...

Let consumers decide: is degregulation the sound of one hand clapping? (Deregulation).
September 22, 2001... Twenty four states in all have decided to move toward competition in electricity supply at the retail level. Using different methods, and working with different time frames, the states developed plans that will eventually allow all customers to...

Will there be insurance? In the wake of September 11, underwriters are scaling back on energy industry policies. (Finance).(Industry Overview)
September 22, 2001... The market reaction to the events of September 11 has been either to avoid writing risks extending beyond January 1, 2002 or to scale back dramatically line size, in anticipation of an inability to purchase reinsurance protection at acceptable...

Speeding oil sands heat recovery. (Technology).
September 22, 2001... Use of a new analysis method has substantially reduced the amount of time needed to obtain substantial energy savings from a heat recovery unit at a Canadian oil sands plant. The heat recovery unit is an important module of a co-generation...

Power line inspection set for takeoff. (Utilities).(digital imaging and aerial inspection used by utilities partnership)(Electric Power Research Institute Airborne Inspection System )
September 22, 2001... By combining state-of-the-art digital imaging with the speed, ease, and efficiency of aerial inspections, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and three utility partners have created a powerful new tool for keeping power lines up and...

Can a crater heat Stockholm? (Utilities/Power Generation).(research and government funding for alternative energy source)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2001... Twenty-five percent of Sweden's energy consumption is used for heating. The country needs new energy sources fairly soon as nuclear energy there is being phased out. Nuclear power accounts for a third of energy production in Sweden. To explore...

Projects improve supercritical plants. (Coal).
September 22, 2001... In a move largely designed to help American companies compete with their European and Japanese counterparts in producing stronger materials for ultrahigh temperature coal-fired power plants, the Department of Energy is preparing to fund a new...

Strong standards for storing coal waste. (Coal).
September 22, 2001... The federal government should have clear authority to review the stability of basins designed to store liquid waste from coal processing plants, says a new report from the National Academies' National Research Council. The study, Coal Waste...

IEA reviews energy initiatives in Belgium. (International).(International Energy Agency)
September 22, 2001... The International Energy Agency has just issued a new in-depth review of Belgium's energy policies. The review was conducted by an international team of energy experts from the Member countries of the IEA. While giving Belgium good marks for...

Don't count on carbon sinks. (Environment).
September 22, 2001... According to Recent Patterns and Mechanisms of Carbon Exchange by Terrestrial Ecosystems, a paper published in the November 8th edition of Nature, carbon sinks of today's magnitude cannot be relied on to operate steadily into the future because...

Carbon emissions still gaining. (Environment).
September 22, 2001... Estimated emissions of carbon dioxide in the United States and its territories, which account for more than 80 percent of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, increased by 3.1 percent in 2000, rising from 1,536 million metric tons of carbon...

Successful results to control mercury. (Environment).
September 22, 2001... Coal-fired electric generators currently represent the largest single source of man-made mercury emissions in the United States. In response to growing health concerns about mercury in our nation's lakes and fish, the EPA decided in December to...

Adsorbing carbon with corn. (Environment).
September 22, 2001... A successful full-scale test of the carbon-injection process for removing mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants took place July 30-Aug. 12 at the University of Illinois Abbott Power Plant. The technology demonstration tested a...

Improving oil tanker designs. (Environment).
September 22, 2001... When the Exxon Valdez ran aground in 1989, it produced some of the most striking images of environmental devastation the world had ever seen. Resolved to prevent a similar event from happening, Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990,...

LNG to take bigger share of imports. (Natural Gas).(Liquified natural gas)(Brief Article)
September 22, 2001... In a November report, CIBC World Markets oil and gas analyst Christopher Theal predicts that liquified natural gas (LNG) imports into the United States will account for 40 percent of U.S. gas imports by 2010, rising from only 7 percent today....

Constraints cramp New England area. (Electricity Markets).
September 22, 2001... In late October, the Board of Directors of ISO New England, operator of the region's bulk electric power system, unanimously approved a five-year assessment of the region's transmission system. The assessment, known as the 2001 Regional...

Where off peak can help. (Alternatives/Efficiency).
September 22, 2001... The U.S. electric utility industry is reeling from shortages, new regulations, environmental concerns and all the while, increasing demand. A balance of conservation, new construction, and more efficient fuels are all solutions, but what can...

Pricing programs spur growth. (Alternatives/Efficiency).
September 22, 2001... A new study by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) identifies key factors for ensuring the success of "green pricing" programs and ranks programs nationwide for their relative effectiveness (see...

Preventing power quality glitches. (Alternatives/Efficiency).
September 22, 2001... By 2005, revenues in the U.S. power quality devices market are projected to reach $7 billion. It is no longer possible to ignore the cost implications of the reliability and overall quality of our electrical power supply. Without dramatic...

The lake keeps Cornell cool. (Alternatives/Efficiency).
September 22, 2001... In searching for cooling options for Cornell University, a team of New York engineers turned to the cold, deep water of Cayuga Lake. The use of lake source cooling eliminated the use of refrigerant based chillers, reducing energy use by 86...

Battery system to cut interruption costs. (Alternatives/Efficiency).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2001... ABB (501 Merritt 7, Norwalk, CT 06851; Tel: 203/750-2200: Fax: 203/750-2263; Toll-Free: 800/626-4999; Website: http://www.abb.com/us) has won a $30 million order from Golden Valley Electric Association Inc (GVEA) in Fairbanks, Alaska, for the...

Medical facility uses lake cooling. (Alternatives/Efficiency).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2001... A 120-acre medical campus is being served by the largest lake-coupled geothermal system in the United States. The system at Great River Medical Center in West Burlington, IA, also is one of the first applications for use in a hospital. "The...

Illinois could live off the wind. (Alternatives/Efficiency).(Wind energy)
September 22, 2001... According to newly released data, Illinois has the potential for an enormous 3,000 MW of wind energy development. Wind energy capacity of 3,000 MW in Illinois would provide enough power for almost 1 million homes. This potential was on the...

Fuel cell powers bike. (Alternatives/Efficiency).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2001... Time Magazine has named a prototype bicycle designed by Aprilia, S.p.A and powered by a fuel cell produced by the Manhattan Scientifics, Inc. (127 Eastgate Dr., Los Alamos, NM 87544-3300; Tel: 505/662-0660) NovArs unit (http:// www.mhtx.com) in...

A Clean Energy Blueprint: a new report offers a plan for a smarter energy policy. (Policy).
September 22, 2001... In October, the Union of Concerned Scientists along with the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy and the Tellus Institute published A Clean Energy Blueprint: A Smarter National Energy Policy for Today and the Future, a...

NY stresses efficiency. (In the news: conservation).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2001... At the direction of Governor Pataki and the state legislature, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority has awarded a $188,000 contract to Arthur D. Little (25 Acorn Park, Cambridge, MA 02140-2390: Tel: 617/498-5000 or...

Distillation with less energy. (In the news: conservation).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2001... In late October. Hyprotech (Suite 800, 707-8th Ave., SW, Calgary, Alberta T2P 1H5, Canada: Tel: 403/520-6000, Fax: 403/5206060; Website: www.hyprotech.com) released DISTIL Version 5.0, software for the design, analysis, and optimization of...

Natural gas diesel cuts fuel costs. (In the news: conservation).(Brief Article)
September 22, 2001... According to Westport Innovations, Inc. (1691 W. 75th Ave., Vancouver, British Columbia V6P 6P2, Canada; Tel: 604/718-2000, Fax: 604/718-2001: Website: www.westport.com) their 2001 Michelin Challenge Bibendum team has driven the world's first...

Letting the sun shine: a study predicts that solar could supply 25 percent of world electricity by 2040. (Alternatives).
September 22, 2001... Greenpeace and the European Photovoltaic Industry Association have recently completed a study of World PV markets. Solar Generation concludes that solar power could meet fully 25 percent of global energy demand by 2040. A major aim of the...

Waste gas? Fast track microturbines can power facilities with their wastes. (Technology).
September 22, 2001... Recently, I was involved in a unique field installation of two Honeywell Power Systems Parallon 75 microturbines at a Philadelphia, PA waste processing facility known as Changing World Technologies (CWT). Although Honeywell has since exited the...

Household fuel cells? Don't leave the light on at night, says the Contrarian. (Contrarian's View on Energy).
September 22, 2001... In a recent study, the National Research Council (NRC) concluded that there was a big pay-off in some areas of the Department of Energy's (DOE) research and development program and none in others. "Energy Research at DOE: Was It Worth It?" was...

Calendar.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
September 22, 2001... January 29-February 1, 2002, Reducing Your Energy Costs Conference and Exhibit, New Orleans, LA. Contact: Stuart Steller; Tel: 781/939-2411; Fax: 781/939-2495; E-Mail: s.steller@cbinet.com. March 18-20, 2002, GasMart/ Power2002, Reno,...