Fuels
Read this section to learn about alternative fuels sources that are more readily available and are better for the environment.
Clean Energy Fuels Gets $150M in Investment
Dec 30th
Clean Energy Fuels gets $150M in investment
Clean Energy Fuels Corp., a leading provider of natural gas fuel for transportation in North America, said it has received $150 million from investors, including Boone Pickens. The investments resulted from the exercise of Mr. Pickens’ warrants to purchase 15 million shares of the company’s common stock at $10 per share. Mr. Pickens purchased 1.5 million shares and transferred the balance to existing investors RRJ Capital, Seatown Holdings and Chesapeake Energy Corp., as well as Chief Capital LP, an investment vehicle owned by energy investor Trevor Rees-Jones.
The investments bring the total invested or committed to the company to $450 million during 2011, Clean Energy President and CEO Andrew J. Littlefair said in a statement.
Western Wind buys 42 MW solar panels; secures US cash grant
Western Wind Energy Corp. has signed a module supply agreement with an international, multi-billion dollar photovoltaic panel manufacturer for 42 MW DC for its Yabucoa Project in Puerto Rico. The transaction enables Western Wind Energy to be eligible for the 30% U.S. Federal Tax Free Cash Grant, which is estimated to be about US$45 million. In addition to the US$45 million tax-free cash grant, the company also qualifies for an additional US$64 million of Puerto Rican investment tax credits, which are both marketable and monetize-able. The module supply agreement was secured by a US$12 million loan that will be repaid with the project finance proceeds led by Rabobank’sNew Yorkoffice.
EERC plans to produce energy from coffee-processing plant waste
TheEnergy & EnvironmentalResearchCenterat the University of North Dakota is leading a project to develop an efficient renewable electricity technology for coffee-processing plants. In a partnership with South Burlington, Vermont-based Wynntryst LLC, the EERC will develop a gasification power system to utilize the waste from a coffee-processing plant to produce energy. The project specifically focuses on the waste from the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. plant.
BP Makes Investment in Cool Planet BioFuels
Dec 29th
BP makes investment in Cool Planet BioFuels
BP Technology Ventures has made an investment in Cool Planet BioFuels Inc.’s C Round. BP followed General Electric, Google Ventures, ConocoPhillips, NRG Energy and North Bridge Venture Partners in investing in Cool Planet BioFuels. The round was led by Shea Ventures.
Cool Planet BioFuels is developing bio based renewable, reduced carbon gasoline that can be blended with conventional gasoline and used in today’s vehicles. In addition to BP and ConocoPhillips, several other energy companies are in the process of testing and evaluating Cool Planet’s fuel with very good results to date. The company expects to announce additional energy company strategic relationships throughout 2012.
SunWater Solar complete two solar water-heating systems in San Francisco
SunWater Solar Inc. and Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corp. have completed new solar thermal systems at two affordable housing buildings in the heart ofSan Francisco’s Tenderloin District. The two systems, consisting of 40 solar collectors and 24 collectors, respectively, garnered a total of $85,867 in California Solar Initiative-Thermal (CSI-Thermal) rebates.
The solar water-heating systems are one element of TNDC’s Green Retrofit Initiative, an effort aimed at making TNDC buildings more energy efficient. Co-sponsored by the San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Enterprise Community Partners, the initiative also included boiler replacements, and the installation of energy-efficient lighting and low-flow showerheads and toilets. Fine Line Construction served as the general contractor for the project.
ONYX to provide energy distribution of 22MW solar project
Onyx Service & Solutions Inc. announced a plan to distribute power on their new 22 MW project inRoatan,Honduras. Currently, Roatan has had numerous issues with power outages and much of this has been is attributed to the older distribution system currently in place. ONYX plans to use a cutting-edge repository system for the larger production farms and may decide to utilize its new “Plug-N-Play” panel for smaller output areas. Repository systems store energy for use after the sun has gone down or if there is not ample sunlight for extended periods of time. ONYX’s new “Plug-N-Play” panel already has a battery unit and inverter integrated into the panel straight from the factory.
Insight Into The Efforts Of The Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance
Oct 23rd
Mike Wolcott, of Washington State University, discusses his universities efforts to make cost effective jet bio-fuel for the transportation sector and why the Northwest Advanced Renewables Alliance was created.
David and Goliath: Vietnam Confronts China Over South China Sea Energy Riches
Jun 28th
An increasingly fractious maritime confrontation is developing in the South China Sea, with enormous implications for international companies interested in developing East Asia’s offshore hydrocarbon resources. Far from the radars of London and Wall Street investors, the clash has seen Vietnam emerge as a spear carrier for its fellow ASEAN members on the dispute.
Offshore drilling is the most capital-intensive form of exploiting hydrocarbons, but its expense and scarcity has also allowed technically advanced Western companies to drive hard bargains with third world countries over their offshore waters, as they don’t have indigenous advanced technical resources nor the finances to exploit their maritime wealth.
Accordingly, most countries attempt to procure the best bilateral deals with foreign companies to get a taste of the offshore revenues that come from exploiting their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), which the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNLOS) recognized 12 nautical miles as normal for territorial seas and waters and provided international recognition of 200 mile EEZs. On the vexed question of overlapping claims, when an overlap occurs, UNLOS deferred to the competing states to negotiate to delineate their final and actual maritime boundary, with the general principle that any point within an overlapping area defaults to the nearest state.
According to U.S. government statistics, Vietnam’s oil and gas industry is currently the country’s biggest foreign currency earner and a major procurer of imported technology. Since Vietnam’s first oil export shipment in April 1987, crude oil has earned over $17 billion for Vietnam’s economy, all of it from offshore production. Vietnam is currently Asian third largest oil producer behind Indonesia and Malaysia.
Over the past few years China has asserted its sovereign maritime claims and takeovers even as Beijing has settled most of its disputes over its land frontiers with post-Soviet Central Asian states since the early 1990s. China’s expansive sovereignty claims on South China Sea, including the Spratly (Nansha) and Paracel (Xisha) islets, is putting Beijing directly in conflict with the sovereignty claims and security of five Southeast Asian states – Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia, not to mention China’s irredentist claims on Taiwan. All, except Taiwan, are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN.
Vietnam has now emerged as the plucky David challenging Beijing’s Goliath. The confrontation began on 26 May when three Chinese patrol boats halted a seismic survey in Spratly waters claimed by Vietnam as part of its EEZ, 80 miles from Vietnam’s coast and 375 miles south of China’s Hainan Island. Following other incidents, on 13 June Vietnam’s navy held live-firing exercises in an area 25 miles off central Quang Nam province after warning other vessels to steer clear.
While China has the stronger navy, both sides can currently deploy only light maritime forces, and for the moment, regional rhetoric exceeds firepower.
Besides the cover support of its ASEAN partners, China is in a dialectical trap of its own making. Asserting its unilateral sovereignty will weaken a China dominated ASEAN as a political organization and potentially drive a number of its members to closer relations with the U.S., the only significant non-Asian power in the western Pacific.
Beyond the regional posturing, the issue seems tailor-made for international arbitration. UNCLOS provides for bilateral discussions, but given the diversity of claims, ASEAN would seem to be a better forum.
In the meantime, the South China Sea hardly seems the best potential zone for foreign energy investment companies.
Written by. Dr. John C.K. Daly for OilPrice.com. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author, Dr. John C.K. Daly. For more information on oil prices and other commodity related topics please visit www.oilprice.com
Is America Force Feeding American’s Oil?
May 23rd
On top of declining oil prices, declining petroleum consumption, a slight increase in the use of renewable energy, market launch of electric vehicles and the United State’s renewed sensitivity to greenhouse gas emissions, America is looking at reopening the door to offshore drilling.
Last week, The Obama administration announced an interest to “open vast expanses of water along the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Alaska to oil and natural gas drilling, much of it for the first time”.
Politics aside, any immediate measures to reduce our dependence on foreign oil are in America’s best interest. With national priorities on energy security, economic prosperity and a cleaner environment, it makes sense to use domestic resources. However, with the door open, the question is when, if ever, will the door close to allow mainstream adoption of cleaner fuels?
To exasperate the situation, last week the National Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences issued a sharp warning that “not only is global warming real, but the effects are already becoming serious and the need has become “pressing” for a strong national policy to limit emissions of heat-trapping gases“.
Unfortunately, America’s energy policy makers have boxed us in with few viable non-carbon based sources of energy. Furthermore, President Obama’s campaign pledges to “ensure 10% of U.S. electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012 and 25% by 2025, and to establish a low national carbon-fuel standard” have evaporated as fast as a drop of water on the sun. The fact remains that after 40 years of federal spending on alternative fuels, renewables (not including hydroelectric power) constitute about 6% of U.S.’s energy consumption.
According to the Minerals Management Service, an arm of The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement:
- “…85 percent of the U.S. offshore – known as the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) – is currently restricted from oil and gas production.”
- “…federal offshore waters hold great potential for expanding domestic energy resources over the next 5 to 15 years.”
- “…U.S. Department of Interior estimates that there are currently 85.9 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas available in federal offshore areas.”
- “…accessing these known reserves would provide enough oil to produce gasoline to run 192 million cars and heat 78 million homes for 15 years;”
- “…it is enough oil to completely replace current Persian Gulf imports for more than 60 years.
- “…known natural gas reserves in the OCS in the lower 48 states alone would heat more than 75 million homes for 60 years.”
- “Provided environmental safeguards are met, offshore development would serve the national interest as a means of improving energy security, diversifying supply, increasing economic development, and generating important local, state and federal revenue.”
In closing, it’s difficult to argue against any of these points. The fear now is; can America go another 60 years with our heads in the barrel!
Opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author, Barry Stevens.
Dr. Barry Stevens is an accomplished business developer and entrepreneur in technology-driven enterprises. Barry has a depth and breadth of experience in the renewable energy, utility scale wind and solar power generation, electronics, chemicals & plastics, and manufacturing industries. He is the founder of TBD America Inc., a technology business development group. In this role, he is responsible for leading technology driven enterprises through ideation, development and commercialization.
Mazda Presents SKYACTIV Fuel-Saving Technologies
Apr 21st
Watch live video from mazdausa on Justin.tv
Mazda is featuring their SKYACTIV fuel-saving technologies at the New York International Auto Show today. The new technolgies were designed to increase a car’s fuel efficiency as well as decrease its impact on the environment.
Gas Prices Rise Again!
Mar 10th
Here we go again, petroleum retail prices surging throughout our nation. A painful case of déjà vu going backto the early 70’s.! History dictates prices will soon enough drop to tolerable levels. So why worry? And whatbecame of our National goals of energy security, economic viability and environmental stewardship?
Mechanical Monstrosities Of Fossil Fuel Extraction
Mar 1st
Between reports that peak oil has already passed, and recent investor demands from that energy companies start to include climate change in their risk assessments, there’s no denying that we are entering a period when the price and availability of energy will become one the most important issues facing our society. More >
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