Energy articles from September 2005

Energy archives from September 2005

EIA "discovers" energy shortages?(Energy Information Administration)(Editorial)
September 22, 2005... Federal energy policy lacks serious focus. There appears to be little deep understanding among policymakers of international energy market dynamics and the likely effects on our domestic economy. The lack of focus is evident in energy forecasts...

Islamic powder keg? Caspian oil supplies are threatened by corruption and Islamic extremists.(PRODUCTION)
September 22, 2005... Azerbaijan, the one-time Soviet republic, now independent nation of the Central Asia and Caucasus region on the Caspian Sea, is a small, but geopolitically critical country of eight million people, which, until recently, largely eluded Western...

Production in Azerbaijan.(of petroleum)
September 22, 2005... As a Caspian littoral state, Azerbaijan is capitalizing upon the sea's sizeable, but as of yet mostly untapped, hydrocarbon resources. Since becoming independent in 1991, Azerbaijan has attracted significant international interest in its...

Nordic resource management: Norway is a role model in managing its oil and natural gas.(INTERNATIONAL)
September 22, 2005... Norway's transparent and forward--looking management of its petroleum resources provides a good example to other countries. Norway is playing a pioneering role in the liberalised Nordic electricity market. This is commendable", said Claude...

Trade shifts U.S. carbon emissions to China.
September 22, 2005... The growth of Chinese imports in the U.S. economy boosted the total emissions of carbon dioxide from the two countries by over 700 million metric tons between 1997 and 2003, according to a study published online in the journal Energy Policy....

Strategic oil stocks: they are an important changes in global oil markets.(SECURITY)(Column)
September 22, 2005... Much attention has focused periodically on real and perceived threats to the security of global oil supplies. These include terrorism and instability in Saudi Arabia. political and ethnic problems in Nigeria. the Yukos affair in Russia. labor...

Marginal wells important to economy, security.(IN THE NEWS)
September 22, 2005... Marginal wells continue to play an important role providing for the nation's energy, economic and national security, according to the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission's 2005 report "Marginal Oil and Natural Gas: American Energy for the...

A comeback for nuclear energy.(IN THE NEWS)
September 22, 2005... "The need for new, advanced nuclear energy plants that are safe, clean, dependable and can generate electric energy without emitting air pollutants is growing more evident every day," said Marilyn Kray, president of NuStart Energy Development...

Gassing up: natural gas reserves seem ample. but how much is really proven?(NATURAL GAS)
September 22, 2005... The U.S. natural gas resource base remains ample, according to the most recent Energy Information Agency (EIA) data, as published in the Advance Summary of the U.S. Crude Oil, Natural Gas, and Natural Gas Liquids Reserves Annual report. The...

Fuel cells are here to stay: fuels cells are here for the long haul. But there are still some bumps in the road.(TECHNOLOGY)(Company Profile)
September 22, 2005... According to Pricewaterhouse-Coopers (PwC) 2005 Fuel Cell Industry Survey (see www.pwc.com/ca/fuelcellsurvey05), aggregate revenues for public companies in the fuel cell sector decreased slightly in 2004 to $234 million, down 4 per cent from...

Fuel cells meet durability milestones.(IN THE NEWS)
September 22, 2005... Membrane durability has always been a key technical challenge faced by fuel cell manufacturers, as it translates directly to fuel cell lifetimes. Fuel cell longevity and causes for failure primarily revolve around the membrane and its...

Fuel cell on a chip.(IN THE NEWS)
September 22, 2005... Micronas AG (TechnoPark Technoparkstrasse 1, CH-8005 Zurich, Switzerland; ph: +41- 44 445 3960, www. micronas.com) and University of Freiburg (Freiburg, Fahnenbergplatz, 79085 Freiburg; ph: +49 0761 2030; www.uni-freiburg.de) are jointly...

Making more of rice: instead of discarding rice hulls they can produce electricity and the ash is marketable.(ALTERNATIVES)
September 22, 2005... With oil supplies stretched tight worldwide, oil recently topping $60 a barrel, and nearly every industrialized nation concerned about global warming, the need for alternative energy sources has never been more critical. Agrilectric, a leading...

Process makes scarce resource more abundant.
September 22, 2005... In two projects funded through New Mexico's Innovative Water Fund, petroleum consultants have tested a multistep process, which includes reverse osmosis (RO), for treating produced water. The treatment method could turn brackish water generated...

Reconsidering Oil Shale: it has not been on the U.S. policy agenda for a while. Is it time to take another look?(ALTERNATIVES)
September 22, 2005... Since the early 1980s, oil shale has not been on the U.S. energy policy agenda, and very little attention has been directed at technology or energy market developments that might change the commercial prospects for oil shale. A new report from...

Not just electicity: utilities can reap a bonanza by providing high speed Internet and data access over their powerlines.(UTILITIES)
September 22, 2005... A new report, "Broadband Over Power Lines (BPL): A Whitepaper for New Jersey" provides a technical/market analysis of Broadband over Power Line (BPL) technology that allows voice and Internet data to be transmitted over medium and low voltage...

Modernizing electricity: EPAct 2005 will keep the regulators busy, and challenges for utilities trying to comply.(UTILITIES)
September 22, 2005... The newly-enacted Domenici-Barton Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005)--especially Title XII of EPAct 2005 (known as the Electricity Modernization Act of 2005, or EMA 2005)--creates new tasks for Federal and state utility regulators. National...

Calendar.(Calendar)
September 22, 2005... January 12-13, 2006, Asia Power 2006, Sheraton Towers Hotel. Singapore. Contact: Asia Business Forum; Tel: +65 6536 8676: Fax: +65 6536 4356: E-mail: marcy.chong@ abf.com.sg; Website: www.abl asia.com/project/1782SC_S.pdf, January 17-18,...

Devices reduces drag on tractor trailers.(ENERGY EFFICIENCY)
September 22, 2005... An experimental fuel-saving device developed at Clarkson University may revolutionize the trucking industry. "The aft end of ground vehicles is often a design compromise between functionality and aerodynamics," explained Ken Visser, associate...

Engineers designing more efficient engines.(ENERGY EFFICIENCY)
September 22, 2005... Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI), a new engine technology, may spawn engines that are 20 percent more efficient with near-zero emissions. This past summer Associate Professor (Stanford University) J. Christian Gerdes received $2.5...

Digital television could eat energy.(ELECTRONICS)
September 22, 2005... The U.S. Congress is now considering legislation to set a final date for the transition to digital TV broadcasting. As part of this transition, millions of consumers will need to purchase digital television adapters to receive the digital...

Fluorescent dimming could save energy.(LIGHTING)
September 22, 2005... A world-first technology that can reduce office and commercial lighting energy costs by 30 to 60 percent has taken a major step toward commercialization, according to Fifth Light Technology Ltd. and Sustainable Development Technology Canada...

Quantum dots build 'better light bulb.(LIGHTING)
September 22, 2005... Vanderbilt University researchers claim their quantum-dot approach to the generation of tunable broad-spectrum white light simplifies solid-state lighting, The quantum-dot light bulb. invented by professor Sandra Rosenthal uses a single size of...

Modeling a better energy system.(ENERGY ECONOMICS)
September 22, 2005... America's energy is constantly moving, constantly bought and sold, constantly subject to human decisions, constantly vulnerable to storms and other disruptions. Can that energy system be more efficient? Where can the infrastructure be improved?...

Peabody in coal to-natural-gas project.(COAL)
September 22, 2005... Peabody Energy has entered into a memorandum of understanding with ArcLight Capital Partners, LLC to advance project development of a commercial-scale coal gasification project in Illinois that would transform coal into pipeline- quality...

Ocean-injection for combating greenhouse.(GLOBAL WARNING)
September 22, 2005... In searching for ways to counteract the greenhouse effect, some scientists have proposed capturing the culprit--carbon dioxide--as it is emitted from power plants, then liquefying the gas and injecting it into the ocean. But there are pitfalls...

It could get a lot warmer.(GLOBAL WARMING)
September 22, 2005... If humans continue to use fossil fuels in a business as usual manner for the next few centuries, the polar ice caps will be depleted, ocean sea levels will rise by seven meters and median air temperatures will soar to 14.5 degrees warmer than...

Forster Wheeler expanding Italian waste plant.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
September 22, 2005... According to Foster Wheeler, Ltd. (http:/ /www.fwc.com) their Milan-based subsidiary Foster Wheeler Italiana S.p.A. has been awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the addition of a second processing line at...

$22 million deal for MagPower.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
September 22, 2005... MagPower Systems (Shawn A. McGroarty, Chairman/CEO, 330-6165 Highway 17 Delta, BC V4K 5B8, Tel: 604/940-3232; www.magpower systems.com), a privately held company based in Vancouver, Canada has licensed its magnesium-based portable fuel cell...

GAIA sells German windfarm batteries.(INDUSTRY NEWS)
September 22, 2005... Lithium Technology Corp. (5115 Campus Dr., Plymouth Meeting. PA[dagger]19462: Tel: 610/940-6090: Fax: 610/940-6093) a German subsidiary of GAIA Akkumulatorenwerke GmbH (GAIA), has received a contract from a leading German supplier of wind...

Study finds low levels of radiation are unsafe.(NUCLEAR)
September 22, 2005... Exposure to X-rays and gamma rays, even at low-dose levels, increases risk of cancer. That is the bottom line of a comprehensive five-year study by a National Research Council (NRC) committee that included Stanfords Herbert L. Abrams, a member...

Scientists synthesize cheap, ultra-thin photovoltaic films.(ALTERNATIVE ENERGY)
September 22, 2005... Imagine a future in which the rooftops of residential homes and commercial buildings can be laminated with inexpensive, ultra-thin films of nano-sized semi-conductors that will efficiently convert sunlight into electrical power and pro vide...

Making hydrogen from landfill gas.(ALTERNATIVE ENERGY)
September 22, 2005... Solar Hydrogen Energy Corp. (2214 Hanselman Ave., Saskatoon SK., S7L 6A4 Canada: Tel: 306/956-1133; Fax: 306/956-1144; Web: www.sheclabs.com), with its partners, Giffels Associates Limited (Ingenium) and Clean 16 Environmental Technologies and...

Nanotechnology makes flexible solar cells.(ALTERNATIVE ENERGY)
September 22, 2005... At a time when oil prices are reaching record highs and people are bracing for winter heating bills, researchers at Wake Forest University's Center for Nanotechnology and Molecular Materials have made significant strides in improving the...

New Lexus HEV models available.(TRANSPORTATION)
September 22, 2005... Lexus is now offering a front-wheel drive RX 400h in addition to the all-wheel drive model, which has been on sale since April. According to Lexus group vice president and general manager Bob Carter, "the RX 400h FWD delivers zero-to-60 mph...

Rescue workers now have HEV tools.(TRANSPORTATION)
September 22, 2005... There is an increasing need to protect rescue workers from electrical dangers when extricating victims from HEVs. With this in mind, Hurst Jaws of Life Company has introduced a new specialized rescue tools designed specifically for traction...

New compressor for fuel cell cars.(TRANSPORTATION)
September 22, 2005... Hitachi Industries (603 Kandatsu-machi, Tsuchiu-shi Ibaraki Prefecture: www.hitachi-hic.com) and Hitachi Ltd. have jointly developed a new high pressure compressor for off-site fuel cell vehicle refueling stations. The new compressor compresses...

DaimlerChrysler gets 97 MPG.(TRANSPORTATION)
September 22, 2005... DaimlerChrysler's (Chrysler Group, 1000 Chrysler Drive, Auburn Hills, Michigan 48326-2766: Tel: 248/576 5741) latest fuel cell vehicle, the F600 Hygenius, which was unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show. has achieved an average of 97 miles per...

Ford delivers hydrogen fleet.(TRANSPORTATION)
September 22, 2005... Ford (Ford Motor Company, PO Box 6248. Dearborn, Ml 48126, ph: 800/ 392 3673: www.ford.com) delivered five Focus hybrid hydrogen fuel cell vehicles as part of a five city 30-fuel cell car program to conduct real world testing of it's fuel cell...

Nanomaterials risk assessment completed.(TRANSPORTATION)
September 22, 2005... Using a method for assessing the premiums that companies pay for insurance. a team of scientists and insurance experts have concluded that the manufacturing processes for five, near-market nanomaterials--including quantum dots, carbon nanotubes...

Indicators.(petroleum industry forecasts)(Illustration)
September 22, 2005... INDICATORS THE NEAR TERM Here is how the government forecasters see the future to 2010: U.S. Energy Supply, Disposition, and Prices (Quadriilion BTU) 2003 2004 2010 Production...

Worldwide energy licenses ORNL technology.(TRANSPORTATION)
September 22, 2005... Worldwide Energy has announced an agreement to develop and commercialize an advanced solid oxide fuel cell technology developed at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The exclusive patent licensing agreement with...

Enova annouces global HEV orders.(TRANSPORTATION)
September 22, 2005... Electric, hybrid and fuel cell digital power management system producer Enova Systems (19850 S. Magellan Dr. Torrance. Ca. 90502: Tel: 310/527-2800: Fax: 310/527-7888) has furthered its penetration in the European and Asian hybrid drive markets...

Let's stop procrastinating on alternatives to oil.(COMMENTARY)
September 22, 2005... It's inevitable that world oil production will peak fairly soon and begin to decline while demand for oil, or at least for the benefits oil now brings us, will continue to rise. We aren't prepared for the coming shortfall. We have...