In my last Greentech Media article, I looked at the limitations of top-down energy efficiency programs and began to lay out a pathway toward a market where energy efficiency is treated as […]
Oil Import Dependence Not Aways Economic Disadvantage, Study Finds
According to research by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research energy imports should not be “understood as a threat to the security of energy supply and an economic disadvantage” per se. The […]
Big utilities charge into distributed energy, one step at a time
Australia’s biggest two utilities have decided they want to own the rooftop solar on homes and business, and maybe the storage and EVs too. RE interviews the executives behind the strategies, and […]
Petroleum refinery outage in California highlights markets’ quick price reaction
On February 18, an explosion and fire occurred at ExxonMobil’s refinery in Torrance, California. The Torrance refinery, the third-largest refinery in Southern California, has about 20% of the region’s fluid catalytic cracking […]
How and why utilities make solar look expensive
The utility’s 2014 resource plan suggests that it hasn’t grasped (or refuses to seize) the opportunity. Although they forecast growth in renewable energy by 600 megawatts (MW) in the next 15 years, it’s only […]
Wind generation seasonal patterns vary across the United States
Wind plant generation performance varies throughout the year as a result of highly seasonal wind patterns. Nationally, wind plant performance tends to be highest during the spring and lowest during the mid- […]
Alaska To Build a State-Owned Gas Pipeline?
The state of Alaska is considering a more aggressive approach to oil and gas development in order to make up for its collapsing revenue. Alaska relies on oil and gas to fund […]
Higher RIN prices support continued ethanol blending despite lower gasoline prices
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 […]
China and Changing Fuel Sources and Needs
While China’s coal consumption growth has slowed down, and fell in 2014, coal-fired power generating capacity continues to grow rapidly. This apparent contradiction has led some observers to conclude that China’s coal […]
Is The EU Finally Breaking Free Of Russia’s Energy Grip?
Gazprom’s dominance over European energy supplies may be beginning to slip. The collapse of oil prices has punished Gazprom’s revenues, but in a new development that is further damaging to the Russian […]
Prometheus Institute 