The prices of oil and natural gas appear to have bottomed now. But with inventories near record levels, a quick price spike much higher doesn’t seem sustainable in the short-term. Yesterday, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly petroleum report clearly showed that recessionary low demand continues to dominate Continue reading
Last year, China was nowhere to be seen on the top ten solar PV market list. Major players Spain, Germany, the US, South Korea, and Japan were joined by small European countries like Belgium, Portugal, and the Czech Republic as biggest global installers. But a new Chinese initiative may rearrange the global picture soon. Late last week, Continue reading
Atlantic City is not just the East Coast’s gambling epicenter anymore. Today it added another claim to fame: leadership in renewable energy. The Atlantic City Convention Center celebrated a gigantic new solar array that is the country’s largest roof-top system. At 2.37 MW, the Convention Center installation beat out Continue reading
As I posted a couple months back, wind has been expected to grow a record amount in 2008. But the credit crisis made me wonder whether growth would really be more than 7.5 GW like the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) projected. Lo and behold, that number was low. Wind power capacity grew Continue reading
I’m proud to announce that SET will co-host its first webinar! On Friday, Jan 9, at 9am US Eastern Standard Time, we will collaborate with our European partners at Leonardo Energy to present the Energy Year in Review for 2008. We will discuss the tumultuous energy trends of 2008 and potential implications for the upcoming year.
Details on the webinar are available at Continue reading
The US Energy Information Agency (EIA) released a preview of yet another exciting energy document yesterday, their Annual Energy Outlook (AEO) to 2030. This year’s AEO 2009 showed dramatic shifts from last year that can help us achieve carbon emissions reduction toward stabilizing our global climate. But it also shows we have more Continue reading
I wrote a few months back how amazingly resilient natural gas inventories were in September despite the hurricane outages. The EIA just published an explanation in their electric power monthly data for the month. Electricity consumption fell more than 5% in September from 2007, sending natural gas demand for electricity down a staggering 15.5%! Demand for coal fell 3% and oil 19%, while hydroelectric generation Continue reading
The US Energy Information Agency recently released data that our country’s implied oil demand was at its lowest point since 1996 this past September. The total was 2.6 million barrels per day (Mbd) below last year’s level, a drop of more than 10%! While some of September’s reduction is clearly attributable to Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, they also signify an intense Continue reading
Mexico’s Environmental Secretary Juan Rafael Elvira became an environmental hero today. He announced Mexico’s commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050 through a sustainable energy transition to include massive integration of solar, wind and other clean technologies. This crucial development shows policymakers in the US that we have a strong partner for climate change mitigation to the South. Continue reading
To face the long-term problem of global warming we need to be rooted in short-term reality. And the reality of the year ahead is a global recession that will make life harder for almost everyone. So, 2009 is an opportunity to utilize the tool that both cuts costs and lowers greenhouse gas emissions – energy efficiency.
I’m as big a fan of solar and wind power as anyone, but Continue reading