CAMBRIDGE – When President Richard Nixon proclaimed in the early 1970’s that he wanted to secure national energy independence, the United States imported a quarter of its oil. By the decade’s end, […]
The Efficiency Tango: A Deeper Look at Geothermal Heat Pump Efficiency
A couple weeks ago, I compared the efficiency of the two most advanced geothermal heat pumps (GHPs) recently launched by Waterfurnace Renewable Energy (TSX:WFI, OTC:WFIFF) and Climatemaster, as division of LSB Industries […]
Crude oils have different quality characteristics
Many types of crude oil are produced around the world. The market value of an individual crude stream reflects its quality characteristics. Two of the most important quality characteristics are density and […]
Energy Source – How we power the world
News of a “monster” natural gas find last month in British Columbia has one again highlighted that North Americans need to make a choice. Do we want to keep the huge volumes […]
A PACE Rebirth? Sacramento and Ygrene Try to Unlock Green Homes
Property assessed clean energy, or PACE, financing — paying for home solar installations, energy efficiency retrofits and other green improvements through property taxes — was all the rage a few years ago. […]
In Europe, Coal Regains Its Crown
According to BP’s “Statistical Review of World Energy,” released last month, coal consumption in Europe went up 3.3% last year over 2010. Germany, the biggest consumer of coal in Europe, consumed 77.6 […]
Competition among fuels for power generation driven by changes in fuel prices
The mix of fuels used to generate electricity has varied over time. Several factors, especially changes in relative fossil fuel prices, have influenced the mix of energy sources used. EIA recently released […]
Commercial Solar’s Risk Targeted by Insurers’ Partnership
Because solar is a still maturing industry, one of the big fears its financial backers have is that the panels on which their investment depends will not perform according to manufacturer claims. […]
Carbon Tax or Cap And Trade? Whichever Leaves Less Room For Politics And Corruption
It’s generally agreed among economists that the solution for climate change is either a carbon tax or a cap and trade permit system. This does of course assume that you agree that […]
Solar Hot Water at Intersolar: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed
The crowds swarming this year’s Intersolar North America at San Fransicso’s Moscone Center did an unusual thing. After combing the aisles and aisles hosting the photovoltaic (PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP) […]
Prometheus Institute 