Energy Update
With spending cutbacks already taking their toll on global upstream activity, oil companies are being forced to rethink their approach to Africa’s vulnerable high-risk, high-reward exploration frontiers.
(Mon, 23 Feb 2015) With the exception of two short periods in late 2013 and the first quarter of 2014, when winter-related logistical bottlenecks drove up ethanol prices, spot ethanol prices have consistently been lower than gasoline prices from December 2011 through October 2014. However, with the sharp decline in crude oil and gasoline prices in the latter months of 2014, gasoline spot prices fell below ethanol spot prices in early November.
“Capacity factor” refers to a measure of actual output over a period of time. Capacity factors for various types of energy systems, as recorded by DOE and NREL, are given in the visual above. The capacity factor of geothermal power facilities is very efficient and is usually at or above 90 percent. This is on par with or higher than other baseload
U.K. subsidies for RWE AG’s Lynemouth power plant face a European Union probe amid concerns government aid would give the company too much to convert the site from coal to biomass and may hamper competition.
The February ferrous scrap buy week in the US had an unexpectedly large price drop, and 2014 was the lowest level of US scrap exports since 2006.
OORAH! The room echoed with excitement from the 20 Marines and Sailors who were getting ready to embark on a multi-week intensive training program through a new technical solar training program for transitioning military personnel. In partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Solar Energy International (SEI) was selected as the trainin
The Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) is set to expire at the end of 2016 — and if it does, residential solar may be in trouble. “The ITC is the swing factor for homeowners — the plunge from 30 percent to zero will dramatically slow down sales for customer-owned systems,” opined Barry Cinnamon, CEO of Cinnamon Solar.
The renewable energy industry has come a long way in relatively little time. The costs of renewable technologies continue to go down, while renewable capacities at many utilities continue to go up. Although, in many cases, renewable technology is mature and ready for utility-scale deployment, state and federal production and investment tax policies appear less evolved.
(Fri, 20 Feb 2015) Working natural gas in storage has surpassed five-year average levels for the first time in more than a year. At 2,157 Bcf as of February 13, stocks are 58 Bcf greater than the five-year average. Recent extremely cold weather may result in high stock withdrawals for the week ending February 20, which could again push stocks below their five-year average.
A US judge has rejected oil major BP’s bid to cut down the maximum civil penalty of $13.7bn it could be slapped with for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010.
Pages
GET IN TOUCH
- 1875 I Street NW, International Square,
Washington, District Of Columbia, 20006 - Phone: +1 (888) 317-3839
- Email: info@mglllc.com
About
Misha Gerhard & Lewis LLC is International Strategic Consulting Firm with an extensive presence in the most rapidly developing regions of the world.