Germany’s love hate relationship with nuclear energy

July 28, 2010 by Dan Yurman
0
Greens want to close them. Government wants to tax them. In 1988 the German government in a fit of political myopia agreed to a truly dumb plan to close its 17 nuclear reactors which provide about 25% of all the nation’s electricity.  The... [read more]

Following the Oil Money: How ‘Slick’ are Your Representatives?

July 28, 2010 by TaylenPeterson
0
I recently wrote a post about the BP Republicans in Congress. Those are the no-brainers like Joe Barton who apologized to the now infamous oil (spilling) company because President Obama took some semblance of leadership on the issue by forcing BP... [read more]

Study: Solar power is cheaper than nuclear

July 27, 2010 by OshaDavidson
28
The Holy Grail of the solar industry — reaching grid parity — may no longer be a distant dream. Solar may have already reached that point, at least when compared to nuclear power, according to a new study by two researchers at Duke University. It’s... [read more]

New report encourages energy innovation as Defense Department priority

July 30, 2010 by TerynNorris
0
The 14 MW solar farm at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada demonstrates the potential for further energy innovation opportunities within the Department of Defense. With Congress demurring once again on comprehensive energy innovation reform, creative and practical thinking will be necessary to build America’s clean energy economy. One... [read more]

Licensing small nuclear reactors

July 29, 2010 by Dan Yurman
0
American Nuclear Society committee white papers are out A special committee of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) will publish this week a series of white papers on licensing issues for small modular reactors (SMRs). The committee, which is composed of representatives from nearly 40 organizations, believes that fundamental changes are... [read more]

Another Spill: EPA: 1M gallons of oil may be in Mich. river

July 29, 2010 by MattDernoga
0
It appears an 800,000 gallon oil spill from Tuesday in Kalamazoo is not being contained, has swollen to over a million gallons, and is at risk of devastating Lake Michigan if it reaches it.  This is just another example of why we need to get off of oil, accidents that devastate the ecosystem and local economy will continue to happen... [read more]

22 Smarter Cities Put Clean Energy on the Map

July 29, 2010 by FrancesBeinecke
0
This week, NRDC released the “2010 Smarter Cities” list of 22 municipalities that are leading the way in green power, energy efficiency, and conservation. These cities are already testing out the solutions that will launch America into the 21st century clean energy future. I have long viewed cities as incubators of environmental... [read more]

Wind Energy Opponents Might Soon Be Able to Say - "Wall Street Won't Finance Wind"

July 29, 2010 by RodAdams
0
Scale of 1.5 MWe Turbines at Cefn Croes During the first six months of 2010, the installation rate for wind turbines in the US has dropped by 71% compared to the same period in 2009. Though there are 5,000 MW (peak capacity) still under construction, there are few projects in the planning phases with expected start dates after... [read more]

If insulation is sexy, Arizona is totally hot

July 28, 2010 by OshaDavidson
0
While the national media are focused on Arizona because of the state’s controversial immigration law, there was virtually no coverage of a momentous leap in an area President Obama himself has declared “sexy.” I’m talking about Arizona’s adoption, Tuesday, of a toughest-in-the-nation rule on energy efficiency. Hot hot hot The new rules... [read more]

Volt vs. Leaf: Choosing your green drive

July 28, 2010 by ToddWoody
0
Are you a Volt kind of gal or a Leaf guy? With General Motors and Nissan revving up to put the first mass-produced electric cars in showrooms in a few months, the shape of the nascent market is starting to emerge as the engineers complete their work and the marketers begin theirs. The cars, the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf, take... [read more]

Reid Unveils Weak Energy Bill

July 28, 2010 by MattDernoga
0
Harry Reid has unveiled his weak energy bill that can muster the 60 votes to break the filibuster.  Absent from it is a price on carbon, climate provisions, and a Renewable Energy Standard.  Here is the 24 page summary. Now that there aren’t some good provisions, it’s just they feel like baby steps compared to the problem we’re... [read more]

The Missing Oil, Death of a Climate Bill, and French Engineering

July 28, 2010 by RobertRapier
0
The Missing Oil I just wanted to briefly touch on three energy stories that were in the news over the past week. The first is that the oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico seems to be slowing: BP Oil Spill: Clean-Up Crews Can’t Find Crude in the Gulf Thousands of small oil patches remain below the surface, but experts say an astonishing... [read more]

South Africa still in pursuit of its nuclear future

July 27, 2010 by Dan Yurman
1
Pebble Bed project is shut down. Future reactor investments up in the air. This is not a good time to be looking to invest in nuclear energy in South Africa. Eskom, the major utility that would buy them, backed out of a multi-reactor tender a few years ago because it lacked the money to pay for them. Since then, with the global economic... [read more]

BP Shrinks by $16 Billion

July 27, 2010 by Geoffrey Styles
0
I've been going though BP's second-quarter earnings press release and results to get a better sense of the impact of the Gulf Coast oil spill on the company's finances. It's a measure of the scale of a "Supermajor" like BP and the robustness of its underlying cash flows that it could continue to invest more than $6 billion (B) in capital... [read more]

"Climate Bill Set Aside, What's Next for U.S. Energy Policy"

July 27, 2010 by JesseJenkins
1
I appeared last Friday on 88.9 KCRW Santa Monica and Public Radio International's nationally-syndicated show "To the Point" to discuss the recent withdrawal by Sen Harry Reid (D-NV) of a compromised Energy bill based on largely on a framework of Cap and Trade. After more than $100 million in lobbying by green groups and allied industry... [read more]
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