Expect Electricity Prices To Rise Soon

Electricity prices in the U.S. (in real terms) have held steady for two decades. A remarkable record achieved because of: cost cutting during the initial days of industry deregulation, the abundance of natural gas that changed the fuel picture for electric generators and the declining cost of capital spurred in part by lower interest rates. … Continue reading Expect Electricity Prices To Rise Soon

Has the World Reached Peak Ecological Footprint?

Humanity’s ecological footprint may have leveled off after decades of consistent increase, according to new data released last week by the Global Footprint Network. Mathis Wackernagel, founder and CEO of Global Footprint Network, speaking in an interview with me from Oxford University just before the launch, said, “We may have reached peak eco-footprint, after years of … Continue reading Has the World Reached Peak Ecological Footprint?

Air Pollution Contributed To More Than 6 Million Deaths In 2016 [Infographic]

Statista Age-standardized deaths per 100,000 people attributable to air pollution in 2016. </div> </div>">The annual State of Global Air Report was published on Tuesday by the Health Effects Institute (HEI) and it found that over 95 percent of the world's population is breathing unhealthy air. Long-term exposure to air pollution contributed to the … Continue reading Air Pollution Contributed To More Than 6 Million Deaths In 2016 [Infographic]

Trump says he will probably allow E15 gasoline sales all year

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday his administration may allow the sale of gasoline containing 15 percent ethanol year-round, something that could help farmers by bolstering corn demand. A gas pump selling E15, a gasoline with 15 percent of ethanol, is seen in Mason City, Iowa, United States, May 18, 2015. … Continue reading Trump says he will probably allow E15 gasoline sales all year

Fuel cell power plants are used in diverse ways across the United States

April 20, 2018 At the end of 2016, the United States had 56 large-scale fuel cell generating units greater than 1 megawatt (MW), totaling 137 megawatts (MW) of net summer capacity. Most of this capacity (85%) has come online since 2013. Fuel cells collectively provided 810,000 megawatthours (MWh) of electricity in 2016, representing 0.02% of … Continue reading Fuel cell power plants are used in diverse ways across the United States

New Solar Capacity Exceeded All Other Fuel Sources Combined in 2017, Study Finds

In 2017, the world invested more in solar power than it did in any other energy technology and installed more new solar capacity than all other energy sources combined, including fossil fuels. Those are the bright findings of a UN-backed report Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment 2018, published Thursday. The report, a collaboration between the United Nations Environment Programme, Bloomberg … Continue reading New Solar Capacity Exceeded All Other Fuel Sources Combined in 2017, Study Finds

Could Natural Gas Threaten Permian Oil Production?

In a recent article, I provided a firsthand look at the booming oil production in the Permian Basin. Notably, after 100 years of production, the Permian Basin is pumping record volumes of crude oil. However, as I also noted there are some looming constraints that threaten to slow this production growth: “Oil production can expand only as quickly as infrastructure can … Continue reading Could Natural Gas Threaten Permian Oil Production?

Four U.S. States Generate Over 30% Of Their Electricity From Wind

Wind power generated a record 6.3-percent share of total U.S. electricity last year, with four states generating more than 30 percent of their electricity from wind power, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) said in its newly released U.S. Wind Industry Annual Market Report 2017. In 2016, wind accounted for almost 6 percent of the … Continue reading Four U.S. States Generate Over 30% Of Their Electricity From Wind

Solar PV and wind on track to replace all coal, oil and gas within two decades

The Conversation Solar photovoltaic and wind power are rapidly getting cheaper and more abundant – so much so that they are on track to entirely supplant fossil fuels worldwide within two decades, with the time frame depending mostly on politics. The protestation from some politicians that we need to build new coal stations sounds rather … Continue reading Solar PV and wind on track to replace all coal, oil and gas within two decades