Rystad Energy concluded this week that 2017 was yet another record low year for discovered conventional volumes globally. Less than seven billion barrels of oil equivalent has been discovered YTD. “We haven’t seen anything like this since the 1940s,” says Sonia Mladá Passos, Senior Analyst at Rystad Energy. “The discovered volumes averaged at ~550 million barrels … Continue reading All-time low for discovered resources in 2017: Around 7 billion barrels of oil equivalent was discovered

U.S. oil production recently broke another record, jumping to 10.619 million barrels per day (mb/d) in the last week in April, and the sky seems to be the limit for U.S. shale drillers. However, the fate of U.S. oil, and ultimately a large slice of total additional output for the entire world, is all predicated … Continue reading The Future Of U.S. Oil Relies On A Single Play

The age of the electric vehicle (EV) will be here sooner than you think. Out of 1 billion cars in the world, only 2 million are electric. But that will soon change, as costs diminish, and more governments encourage the adoption of EVs to cut carbon emissions and fight urban pollution. According to Bloomberg, by … Continue reading When Will Electric Cars Take Over The Roads?

The EIA released the latest edition of their Electric Power Monthly on April 24th, with data for February 2018. The table above shows the percentage contribution of the main fuel sources to two decimal places for the last two months. (Click to enlarge) (Click to enlarge)With the spring equinox drawing closer, the absolute contribution from Solar continued … Continue reading Solar Is Surging In U.S. Electricity Generation

If the loss of the fuel cell Investment Tax Credit in Q1 2017 made for a winter of discontent, its restoration in February 2018 amounted to an early Valentine. The fuel cell ITC largely matches those offered to solar and wind, with a 30 percent credit in 2018 and 2019, 26 percent in 2020 and … Continue reading Can Fresh Tax Credits Help High-Temperature Fuel Cells Scale?

Few younger readers will remember how popular hydrogen fuel cells were in the media a couple of decades ago. They came before electric cars. They were supposed to be the cleaner alternative to internal combustion engines. And they never really took off because hydrogen fuel cells were simply too costly to make. But people continued … Continue reading Cheap Hydrogen Could Soon Become A Reality

If you have ever wondered how much of the electricity demand in the U.S. could be supplied by rooftop solar, a new study has the answer. Last month the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released the report Rooftop Solar Technical Potential for Low-to-Moderate Income Households in the United States. As the name indicates, the study … Continue reading Rooftop Solar Could Power 75% Of U.S. Homes

PALMETTO BAY, FL - JANUARY 23: Andres Hernandez, from the Goldin Solar company, installs a solar panel system on the roof of a home a day after the Trump administration announced it will impose duties of as much as 30 percent on solar equipment made abroad on January 23, 2018 in Palmetto Bay, Florida. … Continue reading The Solar Power Potential Of Rooftops In The U.S.

As the solar trade case loomed for much of last year, regulatory uncertainty drove price spikes. Now, three months after President Trump announced that he would be levying tariffs on solar modules and cells, the market is finally beginning to stabilize. Current module prices, which rest in the mid-to-upper 40’s (cents-per-watt) for standard models, may … Continue reading A Clearer Look at the Solar Module Market

Homes and buildings can both consume and produce energy in many ways. In the world of green buildings, a variety of terms are used and some confusion surrounds their definitions. As governments focus on the imperative of reducing carbon pollution from new and existing buildings, it’s essential to understand the implications of setting energy goals for buildings. … Continue reading Net Zero or Zero Carbon? Five Types of Green Buildings Explained