Last winter, fossil-fuel enthusiasts began trumpeting the dawn of a new “golden age of oil” that would kick-start the American economy, generate millions of new jobs, and free this country from its […]
Yes, coal is dying, but no, EPA is not the main culprit
Imagine my alarm when I read this headline in The Christian Science Monitor: “Study: EPA regulations squelch US coal industry.” This is a very popular attack from conservatives, including Mitt Romney, but […]
Aviation Biofuel: Technology-Ready, Needs Capex Infusion, RIN Reforms
By all rights, many believe aviation biofuel producers should be attracting deep-pocketed investors ambitious enough to build the infrastructure necessary to meet a clearly burgeoning industrial-sized demand. At the Aviation Biofuels Development […]
BSR Report: Future of Fuels is ‘Efficiency’
With world energy consumption set to rise by about 40 percent by 2030, the sources and structures of transportation fuel systems will radically change, according to a new BSR report. The Sustainability […]
Bob Lutz: GM Not Losing $49,000 Per Volt
I was surprised to read Ben Klayman’s piece on alleged astronomical per-unit losses on the Chevrolet “Volt.” Ben is usually a solid professional who checks his facts. The statement that GM “loses” […]
When Will US Offshore Wind Be Cost-Competitive?
The real question isn’t offshore wind’s potential. A University of Delaware study estimated Eastern seaboard wind from Massachusetts to North Carolina to be big enough to build 330 gigawatts of installed generating […]
Petroleum refineries vary by level of complexity
A refinery is an industrial complex that manufactures petroleum products, such as gasoline, from crude oil and other feedstocks. Many different types of refineries exist across the country. What differentiates one refinery […]
Crude oil distillation and the definition of refinery capacity
A crude oil refinery is a group of industrial facilities that turns crude oil and other inputs into finished petroleum products. A refinery’s capacity refers to the maximum amount of crude oil designed to […]
IRS to Rule on Status of Solar PV Owned by REITs
The biggest open question in my article Solar REITs: A Better Way to Invest in Solar was, when will we have a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)? In particular, Will solar photovoltaics […]
The Breakeven Oil Price for OPEC Nations
In a paper presented at Chatham House, Matthew Hulbert of European Energy Review argues that there is an inherent instability in world oil markets because the OPEC producing countries have failed to […]
Prometheus Institute 