Oil and gas helps accelerate UK growth

Improved North Sea oil and gas production helped the UK economy grow in the three months to July, but the strength of the pound remained a drag on exporters, according to a survey.

The CBI’s latest growth indicator comes days after official figures showed growth bounced back in the second quarter with a reading of 0.7% after a slow start to 2015.

Gross domestic product (GDP) figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday showed growth had improved from 0.4% in the first quarter to 0.7% in the April-June period.

Budget tax breaks to support the industry helped North Sea oil and gas improve production.
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A balance of firms reporting growth in the past three months minus those seeing declines gave a reading of plus 20%, up from plus 14% in June.

The rebound was largely due to a faster pace of growth in the business and professional services sector, said the CBI, while expansion for manufacturers and retailers was moderate.

Growth is expected to strengthen further in the coming three months, with a balance of 27%, according to the poll of 736 businesses.

Anna Leach, CBI head of economic analysis, said: “A healthy pace of growth puts the economy on a firm footing going into the third quarter and it looks set to stay that way through the rest of this year, as low oil prices and inflation help support spending.

To read more at: https://www.energyvoice.com/other-news/83856/oil-and-gas-helps-accelerate-uk-growth/

Renewable energy: Senate inquiry push to slash wind farm subsidies will 'destroy sector'

The future of renewable energy in Australia would be destroyed if "radical" recommendations from a Senate inquiry into wind power are adopted, the clean power industry says.

An investigation has been launched into how details of the final report, due to be tabled in Parliament on Monday, were leaked to News Corp and published on Friday.

The Senate inquiry is led by anti-wind power crossbenchers David Leyonhjelm, John Madigan and Bob Day.

According to The Australian, the report will urge the Abbott government to restrict renewable energy certificates for new wind farms to a period of five years, down from more than 20.
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The certificates are a type of subsidy that support wind and other clean power projects.
The report will also reportedly recommend the certificates be granted only to projects in states that adhere to federal rules on infrasound and low-frequency noise.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has described wind farms as "noisy" and "visually awful" and says they may be harmful to health.

The National Health and Medical Research Council last year concluded there was no reliable or consistent evidence wind farms caused health problems.

The reported recommendations follow the government's moves to prevent the $10 billion Clean Energy Finance Corporation from backing wind energy and household solar projects.
The clean power industry is still recovering from a long period of investment uncertainty after months of political deadlock over the renewable energy target.

Clean Energy Council chief executive Kane Thornton said the report's recommendations were provided to the media before being seen by the industry or Parliament, showing the inquiry was "a biased political stitch-up by a small group of senators opposed to the cheapest forms of renewable energy".

He said the recommendations would "destroy the future of renewable energy", and the leak was a "clear breach of proper parliamentary process".

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/environment/climate-change/renewable-energy-senate-inquiry-push-to-slash-wind-farm-subsidies-will-destroy-sector-20150731-giophd.html

Obama’s Clean Power Plan Will Actually Lower Your Energy Bill, According To New Study

A new study from researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology examines how states can reduce carbon pollution cheaply while also keeping household energy prices low. Titled “Low-Carbon Electricity Pathways for the U.S. and the South,” the report found that reducing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants — a requirement of the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan — could be done cost effectively through a combination of renewable energy and energy efficiency policies as well as a modest carbon price.

To minimize costs, the country needs to reduce its coal consumption more rapidly.

“To minimize costs, the country needs to reduce its coal consumption more rapidly, continue to expand its gas-fired power plants, but temper this growth with aggressive policies to increase energy efficiency and renewable energy,” Marilyn Brown, the project’s lead researcher and the Brook Byers Professor of Sustainable Systems in the School of Public Policy at Georgia Tech, told ThinkProgress.
The researchers also found that complying with the Clean Power Plan, which aims to reduce emissions from U.S. power plants by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, would produce substantial collateral benefits. These include lower electricity bills, greater GDP growth, and significant reductions in SO2, NOx, and mercury emissions.

“The strong push on energy efficiency also enables GDP to rise above the business-as-usual forecast,” said Brown. “The U.S. increases its exports and decreases its imports as a result of being more competitive.”

The Obama Administration’s final Clean Power Plan rule is expected in early August. This study is the second one in a number of days to spell out how complying with the rule could end up saving customers money on their energy bills. Another study published by the energy research firm Synapse Energy Economics last week found that energy bills in 2030 could be $35 per month lower under a “Clean Energy Future” scenario as compared to business-as-usual. These studies are significant not only for their research value, but also because they push back on the oft-employed talking point that the Clean Power Plan — and renewable energy deployment in general — will cause electricity rates to skyrocket.

“As energy is used more efficiently, non-competitive power plants can be retired, construction of new coal plants can be deferred, and transmission and distribution infrastructure investments can be delayed, all of which would lower rates and therefore lower the energy bills of all consumers,” Brown said. “This is a counter-intuitive finding to some who keep hearing from critics that have claimed that it will significantly increase the electricity bills of American families.”
The Clean Power Plan allows for state-level flexibility in meeting the carbon reduction targets, which vary according to state. In the proposed rule, Washington needs to cut its emissions by 72 percent in 2030 compared to 2012, while Kentucky only needs to reduce power plant emissions by 18 percent. This variability is meant to reflect both the potential reduction options available to the state as well as reductions expected from existing policies.

“With the compliance flexibilities woven into the CPP, states have an array of options before them,” the authors of the Georgia Tech report write. “On the supply side, they need to assess opportunities to shift the mix of fuels used to generate electricity in their state. On the demand side, they need to consider options for decreasing electricity consumption through energy-efficiency programs and policies.”

States need to prepare for a future where solar energy plays a much stronger role.
The researchers modeled the ways that options could be combined to achieve the desired pollution cuts without increasing electricity prices. Brown said they used a state-of-the-art analysis tool called the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) that the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) also uses.
“It is arguably the most influential energy modeling tool in the U.S.,” she said. “It’s a ‘bottom up’ model with lots of resolution about specific supply- and demand-side technologies.”
Brown and her small team of researchers found that the combination of lower renewable energy costs, a $10 to $20 price metric per ton of CO2 emissions, and integrated energy efficiency policies could curtail emissions growth substantially from the power sector — but that in isolation, none of these would achieve the desired cuts.

The current carbon price per metric ton in California, where a statewide carbon market was recently set up, is $12.67. France introduced a domestic carbon tax in 2014 that started at $7.69/metric ton, but will rise to around $16 by 2020 for large emitters.

While none of these steps on their own will achieve the desired outcome, the researchers found that reduced capital costs for renewables and additional carbon costs from fossil fuel emissions will create “a synergistic force for driving growth in renewable energy.”

This force will cause large increases in renewable energy generation when compared to the reference case — by 44 percent in the United States overall and 76 percent in the South. This is not true of all forms of renewable energy, such as hydropower and nuclear, but specifically applies to wind, biomass, and solar.

To read more at: http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/07/30/3685299/cheapest-way-to-reduce-power-plant-emissions-and-save-money-on-electricity/

Energy provider Your Group making Bristol cleaner and greener

An energy provider is helping Bristol to make the transition to being powered by clean energy.

Your Power is working with Bristol City Council to install solar panels on a range of community buildings, council offices, libraries, schools, and sports centres throughout the city, generating renewable power for the country's homes.

Your Power is part of Your Group, an energy provider which works in solar PV, hydro, electrical, and asset development.

As well as working hard in the green energy sector, the company is also sponsoring one of Green Capital 2015 awards, the Eco Green Building Award. This award will go to the most interesting sustainable building completed since January 1, 2014.

Your Group is actively challenging the thinking around traditional energy, and is helping clients to thrive in the low-carbon economy.

Jamie O'Nians, Your Group CEO, said: "Now is an exciting time to be active in the low-carbon sector, as sustainable practices become an integral part of everyday business.

"We are proud to be sponsoring the Eco Green Building Award 2015 and to help showcase the great achievements of organisations and businesses across the city in bringing low-carbon innovation into their buildings.

Read more: http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Energy-provider-Group-making-Bristol-cleaner/story-27515382-detail/story.html

What’s Wrong with Senate Energy Bill

The Senate is attempting to move forward with allegedly non-controversial legislation, the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015, which, according to proponents, contains no “poison pills.”

But for anyone who wants to swallow a strong dose of government intervention and anti-market energy policy, this bill is chock full of poison pills.

Like the last two major energy bills passed in 2005 and 2007, a few good provisions do not outweigh the abundance of bad policies that waste taxpayer dollars, restrict energy choice and distort markets.

Reforming old laws and breaking down government-imposed barriers to make energy markets more innovative and competitive takes energy policy in the right direction, but the Energy Policy Modernization Act largely perpetuates the status quo of the government thinking it knows best, by picking winners and losers.

The legislation provides taxpayer-funded subsidies generating renewable energy and efficiency retrofits at schools and at non-profit organizations, and for improving energy efficiency for state and tribal buildings.

Not only are these programs duplicative of state efforts, they are also wasteful and distort the choices that families, businesses, schools, and state and local governments can make on their own.

American families and businesses have many different needs. A one-size-fits-all regulation or subsidy to artificially elevate the importance of energy efficiency is not only wasting taxpayer dollars, it is skewing consumer preferences and the market at large.

Read more at: http://dailysignal.com/2015/07/30/whats-wrong-with-senate-energy-bill/

Butterflies could help bring down your energy bill

Scientists have unlocked the secret behind the cabbage white butterfly’s ability to get airborne when the sun is not shining and hope this can make solar energy more effective.

By mimicking the V-shaped posture cabbage white butterflies use to warm up their flight muscles, power providers would be able to generate photovoltaic energy more efficiently.

Aware that cabbage white butterflies take flight before rival species on cloudy days, a team of experts from the University of Exeter has been studying butterfly wing structure and the way it uses “reflectance basking” to give the insect head start in the morning.

Copying the same designs would have incredible benefits for solar panels, increasing the power produced by more than 50 per cent as well as increasing the power-to-weight ratio of solar energy structure 17-fold.

Experts at the Environment and Sustainability Institute (ESI) and the Centre for Ecology and Conservation, based at the University of Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall, published their research - White butterflies as solar photovoltaic concentrators – today in the leading journal, Scientific Reports.

Professor Tapas Mallick, lead author of the research said:“Biomimicry in engineering is not new. However, this truly multidisciplinary research shows pathways to develop low cost solar power that have not been done before.”

This proves that the lowly cabbage white is not just a pest of your cabbages but actually an insect that is an expert at harvesting solar energy
Richard french-Constant
The team also studied the tiny sub structures of butterfly wings which allow light to reflected more efficiently and ensures their flight muscles are warmed to an optimal temperature as quickly as possible.

For butterflies, taking flight early means getting to the best supplies of nectar before other species.

On a human scale, it could mean solar farms become a bigger player in the quest for cleaner, cheaper renewable energy.

One of the areas the research team investigated was how to replicate butterfly wings to develop a new, lightweight reflective material that could be used in solar energy production.

To read more at: http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/595161/Butterfly-energy-prices-solar-power

$185 Billion In New Oil and Gas Projects Up For Grabs

Important news last week -- from a place that's quickly becoming the world's focus for high-impact oil and gas projects.

That's Iran. Where government officials said they are on the verge of revolutionizing the country's petroleum sector. Which could provide big profit opportunities for foreign investors.

Iran's deputy oil minister for commerce and international affairs, Hossein Zamaninia, told Reuters that the country has already identified 50 oil and gas projects it will offer for bids. With the government pegging the value of these properties at $185 billion.

Related: Oil Price Rout Set To Inflict Real Pain On Russia

And officials are hoping to get these fields licensed out soon. With Zamaninia saying that the government plans to offer all of the blocks over the next five years.

Perhaps most importantly, Iranian officials say they have designed a new petroleum contract structure for international investors. Which they are calling the "integrated petroleum contract" or IPC.

Related: Busting The Myth Of A ‘Green Europe’

Officials said that the IPCs will last for a term of 20 to 25 years. A substantial improvement over the older, shorter-term contracts -- which have been a major stumbling point for the world's oil and gas companies.

To read more at: http://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/185-Billion-In-New-Oil-and-Gas-Projects-Up-For-Grabs.html

Where In The World Is The Shale Gas Revolution?

As it stands the global shale gas revolution is missing in action. To be sure, its impact in the United States – and the subsequent ripple worldwide – was nothing short of game-changing, but the wave of enthusiasm has yet to produce substantial results outside of North America.

Still, the dream is far from dead and exciting prospects abound from Argentina to China, and elsewhere in between. Both shale gas and tight oil – more than happenings in Iran, or drilling in the Arctic – look primed to be the dominant market movers in the short- to medium-term.

The U.S. experience is hard to replicate, and with the custom-tailored approach that hydraulic fracturing demands, it’s a difficult template for shale hopefuls to follow verbatim. It does however, provide a basic outline for what works and what doesn’t – an outline that explains the muted success abroad.

First, a helpful tax regime minimized the risk for early, pre-commercial, shale wildcatters. Between 1980 and 2002, tax credits via the federal government subsidized shale gas producers by between 20 to 60 percent of market prices. Also of note is the U.S.’ extensive – and unbundled – pipeline network, robust service sector, and the relative widespread availability of water.

Related: China Doubles Down On Dirty Fuel

Perhaps more important though, are mineral rights. One of the key ingredients to the shale revolution in the U.S. is the ownership of mineral rights for landowners. That gives them a stake in the boom. But that is rare outside of the U.S. – in many other countries the government owns the mineral rights beneath a landowner’s land. That has slowed development in China, and contributed to preventing shale gas development across mainland Europe.

In the U.S., federal or nationally owned lands hinder, rather than help, development. Since fiscal year 2010, production of primarily shale gas and tight oil on federal land is down 31 percent and 10 percent respectively. Conversely, nonfederal lands have seen shale gas and tight oil production grow 37 percent and 89 percent respectively.

Of course, none of the aforementioned factors are prerequisite for shale success. Where there’s a will, there’s a way – and several countries are blazing their own trail in the pursuit of shale spoils.

Relatively new on the scene, but hot out of the gates is Argentina. The South American country is believed to hold more than 800 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable shale gas – ranking it at number three globally. At 27 billion barrels, its technically recoverable shale oil resources rank fourth worldwide.

Related: What Is In Store For the Halliburton-Baker Hughes Tie-Up?

Argentina has yet to produce commercial volumes of shale gas – April saw production hit 67 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) – but interest and capital are present in abundance. Americas Petrogas, Chevron, Dow Chemical, Gazprom, Petronas, and Sinopec are just some of the players working with the national energy company, YPF, to tap the massive Vaca Muerta shale play.

To read more at: http://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/Where-In-The-World-Is-The-Shale-Gas-Revolution.html

Industrial natural gas use to continue to grow quickly, EIA says

New plants coming online are set to drive industrial natural gas growth forward by more than three percent in the next two years, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in an analysis Wednesday.

Industrial facilities, which include methanol and fertilizer plants, consumed an average of 21.0 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas in 2014, up 24 percent from 2009. By the end of 2015, that figure is expect to rise by another 3.4 percent to an annual average of 21.7 billion cubic feet per day. In 2016, the EIA predicted another 3.9 percent gain to 22.5 billion cubic feet per day — a powerful bump in demand for the commodity.

Natural gas is widely used in the U.S. to make chemicals, to heat homes and to generate electricity.

Natural gas prices have collapsed from roughly $5-plus per million British thermal unit between 2000 and 2010 to less than $3.00 per million British thermal unit recently, as shale drillers unlocked massive amounts of the fuel from previously impermeable rock.

Industrial and other users of the fuel have stepped up plans to switch to natural gas as the fuel has become relatively cheaper. Much of the additional demand is expected to come from new industrial facilities coming online along the Gulf Coast.

In 2016, the EIA said three methanol plants are expected to come online in the region, using almost 400 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. Methanol is often combined with other chemicals to make things such as plastics and paints. An additional 100 million cubic feet of demand for the fuel is expected to come from a nitrogen fertilizer plant coming online in 2016.

Outside of the Gulf Coast, the EIA has tracked new methanol plans in Washington and Oregon, where companies are hoping to export the chemical to China. Fertilizer plants have also popped up in the agricultural areas  of Iowa, Indiana and North Dakota.

Read more at: http://fuelfix.com/blog/2015/07/29/industrial-natural-gas-use-to-continue-to-grow-quickly-eia-says/

Oil’s bear market may challenge Nasdaq’s new energy futures exchange

Experts project robust growth in trading volumes on Nasdaq OMX Group’s new energy derivatives exchange, despite oil prices’ recent moves into bear market territory.

After U.S. oil prices met the common definition of a bear market last week — by falling more than 20% from recent peaks, the Brent crude oil price LCOU5, +1.69%  followed suit this week. The international benchmark dipped into a six-month low on fears of further reduced demand from China, the world’s second-largest energy consumer.

The Nasdaq Futures Exchange, launched on July 24, offers futures and options based on oil, natural gas and U.S. power benchmarks. Collectively called Nasdaq Energy Futures, or NFX, these energy derivatives from Nasdaq NDAQ, +0.69%  are duplicative of the existing contracts offered by the new exchange’s competitors in the energy derivatives space — CME Group CME, +0.88%  and Intercontinental Exchange ICE, +0.60%  .

“We are very happy with how it’s started, and we are seeing good market-maker participation. That’s what we are looking for first — to establish good market quality,” said Magnus Haglind, head of U.S. Commodities for Nasdaq and CEO of the new exchange, in a telephone interview.

To ease the transition, NFX offers a fee holiday for the first nine months of trading, after which it plans to more than halve the transaction costs offered by existing exchange operators, Haglind said.

“The average rate per contract, which is typically the way you calculate it, is around $1.30 in the industry, and our average rate per contract will be below $0.50,” Haglind said.

To Haglind, the cut in transaction costs will significantly enhance trading volumes on the new exchange, even with tumbling oil prices.

“When the price of the asset you are trading is going down…certainly the cut in transaction costs becomes very welcomed,” he said. NFX aims to achieve a market share of 10% within 18 to 24 months of launch.

To Read more at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oils-bear-market-may-challenge-nasdaqs-new-energy-futures-exchange-2015-07-30

Alinta Energy to close Port Augusta power stations and Leigh Creek coal mine early

Alinta Energy has brought forward its deadline to close its power stations in Port Augusta and coal mine at Leigh Creek.

The company announced last month it would close the power stations and mine at some point between next March and March 2018.

In a statement the company said the sites would not operate beyond March 2017 and an early closure date would not be before March 2016 "and only if circumstances warrant".

Alinta Energy chief executive Jeff Dimery said the company had updated workers and key stakeholders on the closure timeline.

"We are working collaboratively with Government and unions in developing a package of support services tailored to suit our employees' needs, in order to provide them the best opportunity to transition to new employment," he said.

"We continue to work through the many facets of the Flinders [power plant and mine] closure plan. Through the development of this plan we now have more certainty around Flinders operating future."

About 230 workers will lose their jobs when Alinta's Port Augusta power stations close and more will go when its operations at Leigh Creek wrap up.

The company briefed council on the narrower closure window this morning.

Port Augusta Mayor Sam Johnson has called for an urgent response from both state and federal governments.

South Australia's unemployment rate has risen to 8.2 per cent, the worst in the nation and the state's worst jobless figure for about 15 years. Take a look back at recent job losses.
"We need our state and federal governments to provide support for our region now," he said in a statement.

"We are not asking for any more than what was promised to the northern suburbs with the closure of Holden in 2017," Cr Johnson said.

"The closure of the power stations will affect not only Port Augusta but also Quorn, Wilmington and of course Leigh Creek.

"We are talking about a significant loss to the economies of all of these communities and we urgently need support.

Read more at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-30/alinta-energy-brings-forward-closure-power-station/6661082

Energy efficiency regulations endorsed, saving consumers billions

A review of the Australian program for regulating minimum levels of energy efficiency of appliances and equipment as well as energy rating labelling finds that it will save the community between $3.3 billion to $7.3 billion from 2014 to 2020.  According to the review undertaken by Data Build – a policy research and evaluation firm – the program delivers around $1.70 to $5.20 in energy saving benefits for every $1 incurred in extra costs. According to the review the majority of the savings have been delivered by the minimum regulatory standards, with labelling delivering smaller benefits.

In response to the review, the council of state and federal energy ministers have endorsed the program noting that, “Appliance standards and labelling is one of the most cost effective ways of improving energy productivity and as a result, saving consumers money and reducing greenhouse gas emissions”.

They have also asked government officials in charge of the program to indentify opportunities to strengthen existing minimum standards and also expand the use of standards to new energy consuming products, noting, “Due to its very cost-effective nature the Program is well placed to make a significant contribution to delivering Australia’s energy productivity targets and greenhouse abatement”.

Read more at: http://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2015/7/30/smart-energy/energy-efficiency-regulations-endorsed-saving-consumers-billions

A low-energy solution for drying clothes faster

Clothes dryers in the United States use about as much energy each year as the entire state of Massachusetts, according to an estimate from EnergyStar, which is part of the reason the Department of Energy is trying to develop more efficient home appliances.

Among those making significant progress is Ayyoub Momen, a staff scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee.

Like most Americans, he owns a dryer. But he says he hates using it. He knows it's an energy hog, and it takes so long to dry anything.

Then, one day, he was thinking about ultrasonic humidifiers — a kind of portable room humidifier that uses high-frequency vibrations to turn water into steam without getting hot. And Momen thought: What if I use the same technology on a piece of wet fabric?

“The result was so amazing. It was, like, mind blowing," he says. "In less than 14 seconds, I could dry a piece of fabric from completely being wet. If I wanted to do the same thing with heat, it’s taking somewhere between 20 to 40 minutes."

Momen’s current prototype looks nothing like a conventional dryer. It's basically a small circle of metal called a transducer that he plugs into a battery. He then douses a small piece of fabric in water and places it on top.

The fabric sizzles and steams, and in about 20 seconds, it's dry. Momen says it uses barely any energy.

"This dryer technology has the potential to save somewhere [around] 1 percent of the overall energy consumption of the United States," he says.

Venkat Venkatakrishnan, director of research and development at GE Appliances, calls the technology a "big breakthrough."

"It is not very far-fetched, not very difficult to do," he says. "But it is not an idea that everybody thinks of, because there is a lot of science that goes into it.”

Read more at: http://www.marketplace.org/topics/tech/low-energy-solution-drying-clothes-faster

Frost & Sullivan Study Finds UK as the Forerunner in Tidal Energy Solutions Development

The growing emphasis on renewable and carbon neutral energy generation has pushed tidal energy into the spotlight. Tidal energy being more reliable than wave energy has a few operational plants with substantial capacity across the globe. New, experimental concepts such as dynamic tidal power, which enable production even in low-tide regions, possess the potential to disrupt existing technologies and make tidal power a key energy resource.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Tidal Energy: Current Status and Future Outlook, finds that the United Kingdom is the frontrunner in the development of newer tidal energy solutions buoyed by an ideal tidal pattern and a supportive regulatory scenario. Canada, China and South Korea are also showing steady progress. The United States is one of the top innovators.

 "The success of smaller demonstration plants will propel the immediate adoption of tidal stream and tidal barrage technologies," says Technical Insights Research Analyst Lekshmy Ravi. "The deployment of hybrid energy systems consisting of a combination of tidal and offshore wind energy seems probable in the long term."

Although the basic technology of tidal energy is similar to that of wind turbines, the harsh conditions of the ocean multiply the issues faced during operation. Hence, parameters such as material strength, performance, maintenance and lifespan of tidal converters are aspects that research and development (R&D) efforts must address. Low capacity factor and high costs are further drawbacks.

The setting up of R&D centres and funding institutions dedicated to the cause of tidal energy generation will be crucial to speed up advancements. For example, the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy (FORCE) is a main driver for the progress of in-stream tidal energy in Canada.

"Stakeholders must build a coordinated, multi-disciplinary strategy for tidal power to continue creating ripples in the renewable energy sector," urges Ravi. "A concerted approach by regulatory agencies, technology developers, funding bodies and infrastructure firms will open the floodgates of development and give rise to tidal energy solutions with significant industrial and societal value."

Tidal Energy: Current Status and Future Outlook, a part of the Technical Insights subscription, provides a technology overview of current and emerging tidal energy technologies evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants. The study discusses the technical features in a tidal energy system as well as restraints, drivers, funding, R&D initiatives, technology management strategies, roadmap and tidal energy projects across the globe.

Read more at: http://www.azocleantech.com/news.aspx?newsID=22228

Energy Management Systems – Technavio Publishes Global Market Drivers, Trends & Forecast

Energy management systems market segmentation including application and geography

Technavio’s report analyses the solutions and products offered by market vendors and presents a comprehensive breakdown in terms of market segmentation for applications, including home energy management system (HEMS), building energy management system (BEMS), demand response (DR) and industrial energy management system (IEMS).

Additionally, analysts have segmented market projections by key geography, focusing on the Americas, EMEA and the APAC region.

“Technological advances are improving the product quality and leading to more user-friendly designs, which do not require any programming experience. These designs require less labor and time to operate, thus reducing maintenance and service costs,” says Faisal Ghaus, Vice President of Technavio.

Energy management systems: Market scope and calculation of market size

This report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects for the global energy management systems market from 2015-2019. A detailed study of the key geographies, including the Americas, EMEA, and the APAC region, and the revenue and growth patterns of IEMS, DR, BEMS, and HEMS are provided in this report.

Industry analysis includes:

• Key Vendors:
• C3 Energy LLC
• Echelon Corp.
• EnerNOC Inc.
• Honeywell Inc.
• Schneider Electric SE

To Read more at: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150629005446/en/Energy-Management-Systems-%E2%80%93-Technavio-Publishes-Global#.Vbi5CLOqqko

New study explores transboundary energy exploration in Gulf

As drilling exploration continues to move into deeper Gulf of Mexico waters, negotiations continue between the United States and Mexico over the allocation of oil and gas discoveries that straddle an invisible international barrier at the bottom of the sea.

Dr. Richard McLaughlin, Endowed Chair for Marine Policy and Law at the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, has collaborated with the Center for U.S. and Mexican Law at the University Law Center. He will release the first bi-national study examining the legal issues involved with exploring and exploiting transboundary offshore oil and gas deposits in the Gulf.

McLaughlin and Guillermo J. Garcia Sánchez, a doctorate candidate at Harvard Law School, have completed the first research study sponsored by the Center for U.S. and Mexican Law. The study is titled "The 2012 Agreement on the Exploitation of Transboundary Hydrocarbon Resources in the Gulf of Mexico: Conformation of the Rule or Emergence of a New Practice?" The Houston Journal of International Law will publish the paper this summer. A downloadable version of the study is available here.

 “There is a maritime boundary between the U.S. and Mexico, and the question we had as a nation is, what do you do when you have these boundary-straddling reservoirs of oil and gas and how do you exploit these resources efficiently and still be in compliance with international laws?” McLaughlin said. “This has become increasingly important as we have discovered oil and gas reserves that very likely cross this boundary.”

To Read more at: http://www.wdam.com/story/29652802/new-study-explores-transboundary-energy-exploration-in-gulf

Breazeale Nuclear Reactor to host 60th anniversary open house

The Penn State Breazeale Nuclear Reactor (PSBR) is holding an open house Aug. 18 to celebrate 60 years in operation. The PSBR, housed in the Radiation Science and Engineering Center (RSEC), is the longest operating research reactor in the United States. It is the only research reactor in Pennsylvania and one of only 31 licensed research reactors in the U.S. The open house includes public tours as well as an anniversary program highlighting the history, accomplishments, and future of the reactor.

The open house and anniversary program are open to the community. Tours of the RSEC will run from 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. The anniversary program will be held in 100 Thomas Building from 3 – 4:30 p.m. Visit the anniversary website for additional information.

Penn State was one of the first universities to take advantage of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Atoms for Peace program. Eric A. Walker, then-dean of engineering and architecture, proposed the University construct a reactor for research and education purposes. Penn State President Milton Eisenhower (brother of President Eisenhower) enthusiastically supported this endeavor. On July 8, 1955, the Penn State Reactor received the first research reactor license issued by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

The facility has a long history of providing nuclear science and engineering outreach activities to the local, national and international communities. In 1956, Penn State was one of only two universities established as an International School of Nuclear Science and Engineering. As part of this program, a total of 175 scientists and engineers from 39 countries were educated at Penn State from 1956 to 1959. The PSBR also educated and trained more than 900 reactor operators for nuclear power plants from the mid 1960s to the 1990s.

In the late 1960s the Pennsylvania Department of Education approached the newly formed Penn State Department of Nuclear Engineering to instruct and provide certification for high school teachers interested in teaching nuclear science and technology as a part of their science curricula. And in the 1980s Penn State developed a course called Exploring the Nuclear Option to educate teachers near Three Mile Island about nuclear energy and applications.

Today, the Breazeale Nuclear Reactor educates more than 3,000 visitors a year about the benefits of nuclear technology. These groups range from K-12 students, college students, and teachers and educators, to scientists and government officials. Each year, the facility conducts badge workshops for Boy and Girl Scout troops.

To Read more at: http://news.psu.edu/story/363703/2015/07/22/public-events/breazeale-nuclear-reactor-host-60th-anniversary-open-house

Start of test with solar energy generating noise barriers alongside highway

Alongside the A2 highway near Den Bosch, The Netherlands, two test noise barriers are installed that generate solar energy. The aim of this practical test, that was officially launched 18 June is to assess the economic and technical feasibility of this form of energy generating noise barriers. Playing a key role in the test are the LSC panels, developed by researcher Michael Debije at TU/e.

The translucent, colored panels are a new type of energy source, developed jointly by TU/e. These 'luminescent solar concentrators' (LSCs) receive sun light and guide it to the side of the panels. There, it lands in concentrated form on traditional solar cells. "Thanks to their many colors the LSC are visually very attractive, which makes them ideal for use in many different situations in the built environment", explains Debije of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, who has carried out years of research into these panels. "Further benefits are that the principle used is low cost, they can be produced in any desired, regular color, is robust, and the LSCs will even work when the sky is cloudy. That means it offers tremendous potential." Debije published his latest research findings on this subject last March in Nature.

On 18 June a one-year practical test started in 's-Hertogenbosch, led by the building company Heijmans. The researchers intend to assess the feasibility of generating electricity using solar cells integrated in noise barriers or SONOBs (Solar Noise Barriers). This is the first time in the Netherlands that a practical test of this kind is being carried out at real-life size. The aim is to provide better understanding of how much electricity these semi-transparent acoustic screens can generate under different conditions. Aspects like vandal-resistance and maintenance requirements also form part of the test.

Read more at: http://www.ecnmag.com/news/2015/06/start-test-solar-energy-generating-noise-barriers-alongside-highway

WVU begins monitoring shale gas well activity

West Virginia University began the nation’s first integrated research initiative on shale gas drilling last week after months of study and preparation in an effort to monitor well activity.

The well is the cornerstone of the MSEEL, Marcellus Shale Energy and Environmental Laboratory, which was launched by the university last year in partnership with Ohio State University, Northeast Natural Energy, the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Energy Technology Laboratory.

The five-year, $11 million project is the first comprehensive field study of shale gas resources in which scientists will study the shale drilling process from beginning to end, a press release from WVU states.

On Friday, Charleston-based Northeast Natural Energy drilled a tip hole for the well at the Morgantown Industrial Park using an air-rotary rig, which drills more than 6,000 feet into the earth. The well is cased following West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection standards for Marcellus Shale Development.

Teams of scientist from WVU and other institutes will use the well and surface location to monitor the impact shale gas drilling and production activities have over an extended time. The well will also be used to evaluate new technologies for increased efficiency and resource development.

“The project represents the power of collaboration and the potential for research with great impact,” said Brian Anderson, director of WVU’s Energy Institute. “The work that starts this weekend is the next big step in this groundbreaking project. It is exciting to see the progress that has been made to this point, and it is a real testament to the hard work that all the project partners have done thus far.”

For more details click here: http://marcellus.com/news/id/125334/wvu-begins-monitoring-shale-gas-well-activity/

Utica shale may hold 20 times more natural gas than previously thought

University researchers and government agencies are pumping up the Utica shale play.
It turns out that the natural-gas heavy underground formation that's led to millions of dollars in investment in eastern Ohio probably holds more gas than initially estimated.

"(The Utica) is much larger than original estimates, and its size and potential recoverable resources are comparable to the Marcellus play, the largest shale oil and gas play in the U.S. and the second-largest in the world," according to a new study organized by West Virginia University.

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The Utica, which is also increasingly being drilled in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, could have recoverable volumes of 782 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and almost 2 billion barrels of oil. That's about 20 times more than the U.S. Geological Survey's estimate just three years ago of 38 trillion cubic feet of gas. It also projected 940 million barrels of oil then.
The Utica Shale Play Book Study comes from two years of research sponsored in part by a consortium of drillers in the area, including Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX), EnerVest Ltd. and Range Resources (NYSE:RRC).

“This is a landmark study that demonstrates the vast potential of the Utica as a resource to complement – and go beyond – what the Marcellus has already proven to be,” Brian Anderson, director of West Virginia's Energy Institute, said in a statement.

Of course, while all that gas may be available, drilling is down as the industry struggles with low oil and gas prices. Consol Energy Inc. (NYSE:CNX), active in the Utica and Marcellus, just announced a new round of layoffs. Still, gas production in the Utica is the only bright spot amid a drab monthly report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. It projects the Utica as the only major shale play in the U.S. to increase its natural gas production from July to August. The projected increase is small, but other shale regions, including the Marcellus, are expected to see a net decrease in production.

View source version at: http://goo.gl/rdRlL0

Measuring the heck out of shale gas leakage in Texas

The process of hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”) shales to extract oil and natural gas has lowered prices and displaced some coal with cleaner-burning natural gas in the US. However, some of the methane we're extracting also escapes from oil and gas wells and heads straight to the atmosphere, where it is a potent greenhouse gas.

FURTHER READING

METHANE BURNED VS. METHANE LEAKED: FRACKING’S IMPACT ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Despite its problems, the fracking boom is still better than burning coal.
That leakage is harmful to the climate, a wasted resource, and lost profit for natural gas producers, so researchers are working hard to find out just how much is leaking. If enough of it gets loose, natural gas can even lose its carbon emissions advantage over coal, despite its cleaner-burning nature.

Many different natural gas fields have been investigated using different methods. Some estimates are “top-down,” using measurements from aircraft circling well fields to estimate how much is coming out of wells and pipelines. Other estimates are “bottom-up,” relying on measurements on the ground at individual sites and scaling them up to the total number of sites. Top-down techniques often yield larger estimates, and leakage rates can vary widely from one gas field to another. It’s complicated.

In the fall of 2013, a large group of researchers collaborated on a unique effort to throw the kitchen sink at the gas production around the Dallas-Fort Worth area (from the Barnett Shale). Many techniques—some top-down, others bottom-up—were independently employed simultaneously to complement each other. The result was a pile of papers published together in the journal Environmental Science & Technology detailing every aspect of leakage from the Barnett.

Leakage inequality

An important point has become increasingly clear through this kind of research: the majority of methane leakage from these gas fields often comes from a small minority of point sources. That was true here as well. One group sampled 186 sites where a well or pipeline equipment was located. Just five percent of them accounted for over half of the total methane leakage. At 30 percent of the sites, on the other hand, their instruments detected no leakage at all.

There are at least two obvious ways to get one of these “super-emitters”: either a moderate flow of gas through the site is simply escaping completely, or a much smaller percentage is leaking from a piece of equipment hosting a much higher volume of flow. This difference is important if you want to actually do something about that leakage. Where most of the flow is escaping, there’s often simply something wrong with the equipment—a valve stuck open, perhaps—that could be remedied.

Another paper laid out a functional definition of “super-emitter” designed to highlight those avoidable equipment malfunctions. They separated the samples sites into four groups based on the amount of gas moving through them. Any site above the 85th percentile for leakage (based on the portion leaking rather than the absolute amount) in each group was flagged as a super-emitter. If you’re looking for broken equipment, that’s your list of suspects.

Even within that list, the worst of the worst separated themselves. Between the 95th percentile and the very top, leakage rates could jump from about 10 percent loss to nearly 100 percent.

The researchers calculated that if you could bring all those super-emitters down to the average leakage rate of similar sites, the total amount of methane being lost to the atmosphere could be cut by 73 percent.

See more At: http://arstechnica.com/science/2015/07/measuring-the-heck-out-of-shale-gas-leakage-in-texas/

Minister calls for patience on shale gas

We need to be patient and it will be at least several more years before mining technologies will be developed,” Czerwiński told reporters on Friday.

Speculation that large Polish companies may decide to withdraw from exploration of hydrocarbons from unconventional deposits such as shale was fueled on Thursday after state-owned refiner PKN Orlen in its financial report reduced its planned investments in its Lublin Shale project (including exploration of unconventional hydrocarbons).

The company said that the Lublin Shale project’s unconventional deposits had proved to be limited and had thus decided to narrow the areas of hydrocarbon exploration alongside a further rationalisation of capital expenditures.

“Gas prices are now so low that there is no need to incur high costs associated with the search for unconventional gas," Czerwiński said.

"This does not mean that work stops on technology. Polish companies, researchers, specialists will be working on adapting the technology for shale gas extraction and we have to be patient. Once we master this technology we will see that in about 10 years this gas will be cheap, and it will be distributed to customers," he explained.

Starting in 2008 the US shale revolution changed the energy map of that country. Estimates from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) in April 2011 sparked hopes for a similar revolution in Poland, showing that there could be a potential 5.3 trillion cubic metres of shale gas.

In September 2011 then Prime Minister Donald Tusk visited one of the test wells near Wejherowo and spoke of "moderate optimism" that the commercial exploitation of shale gas would begin in 2014.

The concept was further driven on during the term of former Treasury Minister Mikołaj Budzanowski (2011-2013), who hoped for a quick start of commercial extraction. He also aimed to engage Polish fuel companies and gas utilities, as well as the KGHM copper conglomerate, in the search for shale.

This ultimately did not happen. Several multinationals, such as Exxon, Marathon and Talisman, have since withdrawn.

See more at: http://www.thenews.pl/1/12/Artykul/214978,Minister-calls-for-patience-on-shale-gas#sthash.5STzRjZq.dpuf

Plummeting natural gas prices slash revenue of Marcellus shale producers

The head of Pennsylvania's largest shale gas producer concluded his quarterly earnings call Friday with a dark view of the situation confronting drillers in the Marcellus.

“I have been in this business over 30 years. I've seen a lot of cycles, and this is one of those draconian, down markets,” Dan O. Dinges, CEO of Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., said after spending an hour answering analysts' questions, and talking about low natural gas prices and the promise of more pipelines.

Cabot swung to a $27 million loss for the quarter from a $118 million profit the year before despite a modest increase in production.

Expect to hear similar news from Appalachia's other shale producers as they discuss financial results in the next weeks, based on the prices they have been getting for their gas — less than $2 per million British thermal units — and early word from a few companies.

“The realized price they're getting, that's just ugly,” S&P Capital IQ energy analyst Stewart Glickman said after Downtown-based EQT Corp. released its earnings last week. Pennsylvania's fifth-largest shale gas producer eked out a $5.5 million profit in the quarter — down 95 percent from the year before — but only because of increased revenue from its midstream pipeline operations.

“It's a rough market to be in if you're trying to sell natural gas these days,” Glickman said, noting a 40 to 50 percent drop in the prices companies are reporting.

Cecil-based Consol Energy Inc. warned investors it would report an operational loss Tuesday, when fellow producers Range Resources and Southwestern Energy will share results from the quarter. Other Top 10 Marcellus producers including Chevron, Anadarko and Chesapeake report later in the week and into the first week of August.

Analysts expect losses at Consol, Anadarko and Chesapeake, and profits of less than 5 cents per share at Southwestern and Range, according to Bloomberg's consensus of estimates.

Continued low prices combined with high debt at many companies will become a problem for them soon, said Kent Moors, editor of Oil & Energy Investor.

“They need to be able to hedge their prices forward,” he said about the practice of locking in good prices now for later delivery.

“We just don't see that opportunity today,” Dinges said.

Executives should prepare to hear questions from analysts about maintaining high production in the face of an oversupply that is depressing prices, and about the potential for mergers and acquisitions.

To Read more at: http://triblive.com/business/headlines/8748211-74/gas-prices-companies#ixzz3hB8yeFeE 

US leads in power generation across Americas

The US is a leader in nearly all power generation sectors in both North and South America and has the highest-value pipeline of projects, according to a report from the Timetric’s Construction Intelligence Center (CIC).

US leads in power generation across Americas
New York, New York - The report, Project Insight: Power Generation Construction Projects in the Americas, finds that the value of power generation projects in the US totaled $387.5 billion. This accounts for almost half of the total value of all projects in the Americas, as overall figure $792.6 billion. The country also leads in all power generation sectors, apart from hydroelectricity and oil, in which Brazil and Argentina have higher investment respectively.

The nuclear sector has the highest value of projects in the US, at $121.5 billion, followed by the wind energy sector, with projects valuing $106.4 billion. Nuclear energy projects account for nine of the top 10 projects by value in the US, but the highest value project is the $22.0 billion Mariah Wind Farm project due to start in 2015. Moreover, the project in Texas will deliver 10GW of power-generating capacity.

The total amount of capacity to be added by the power projects pipeline in the US stands at 182GW, with gas projects providing the highest with 73.5GW followed by wind with 52.4GW.

Neil Martin, manager at Timetric’s CIC says, “Reliable power generation is key to the development of countries in both North and South America, and although the US has an advanced system, there are strategic choices that need to be made relating to investment in renewables and reducing dependence on fossil fuels and the nuclear sector.”


View source version on : http://www.onlinetes.com/energy-solutions-US-power-generation-052915.aspx#.VbdRMbOqqko

What Now for UK Shale Gas?

Plans to frack for shale gas in the UK are currently on hold in spite of the pro-fracking Conservative Party securing a majority in the country's Parliament in May's General Election. The main company pioneering efforts to develop a shale gas industry in the UK, Cuadrilla Resources, has faced one obstacle after another in its attempt to explore for shale gas at two locations in Lancashire, England.

The latest stumbling block is Lancashire County Council's refusal to allow Cuadrilla to explore for some of the 2,281 trillion cubic feet of shale gas that the British Geological Survey estimates could be contained within the Bowland Basin in northwest England.


In late June the council's Development Control Committee rejected Cuadrilla's applications to drill at the company's Preston New Road and Roseacre Wood exploration sites due to too much noise and traffic. Cuadrilla itself has pointed out that the council's planning officer had in fact recommended approval of the Preston New Road planning application while the firm believes it can reroute traffic to the Roseacre Wood site in order to get around the council's concerns about more vehicles passing through the area.

Recently, Rigzone caught up with Ken Cronin – chief executive of the UK Onshore Operators Group (UKOOG) – to find out how he thinks things will play out now.

First of all, Cronin is dismissive of the idea that the resistance to fracking by the environmental lobby, certain sections of the public and, now, Lancashire County councillors means that the industry is dead before it has even really begun in the UK – as some commentators in the UK media have been suggesting recently.

"The reality is that 12 years ago my opposite number in the wind industry was shouting from the rooftops that planning was the problem … and [the wind industry] would never get planning for onshore windfarms through, etc. Ten years before that we had a nuclear power station that went through a seven-year planning cycle. So adverse planning decisions are not just something that's unique to this [the shale gas] industry," Cronin told Rigzone.

"It's an issue that onshore energy production has. You have national policies and local decision-making, and those two are always going to rub."

In fact, Cronin thinks that those interested in seeing the development of a shale gas industry in the UK should look at the positives from Lancashire County Council's recent decisions.

"We had a planning officer's recommendation after a very detailed and elongated process in which basically he said: 'All of the above, including the local issues, I've looked at and I give a recommendation to approve.' That was backed up by legal advice, it's backed up by advice from third-party consultants for noise and transport, and the reality is that the councillors rejected it on the basis of very local decisions: noise and landscape.

"So, I think there are a lot of positives to look at. Is one adverse planning decision going to stop the industry? No. There are a number of applications in the pipeline across the country and we shall see those coming through towards the end of the year. When will we see the first frack? We are at the vagaries of planning decisions but I'm hoping to see activity next year."

PLANNING DECISIONS NEED TO BE MADE MORE QUICKLY
As well as being optimistic, Cronin is also pushing for a faster approach when it comes to planning permissions. The lengthy time taken by authorities to allow fracking at a particular site is similar to the long, drawn out planning decisions faced by the wind industry more than a decade ago.

"The Cuadrilla decision from applications being submitted took 15 months for a 16-week process. And the reality is that you cannot plan on that basis. You cannot invest on that basis. We have to have a system that is more streamlined, both for the industry and for the communities involved," Cronin said.

To read more At: http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/139824/What_Now_for_UK_Shale_Gas