THE crew of workers fought off the blistering Louisiana sun, jerking their wrenches to tighten the fat hoses that would connect their cement trucks to the Chesapeake Energy drill rig — one […]
Solar REITs: A Better Way to Invest in Solar
Solar panel prices have continued to drop this year, but solar project development remains a capital-intensive business. The 1603 program allowed solar developers to monetize the solar investment tax credit (ITC) much […]
Impact of U.S. ethanol waiver would arrive year later: think tank
If the Obama administration relaxes the requirement to use corn-based ethanol in gasoline, the benefits would arrive a year later, with more corn available at lower cost for livestock feed and lower […]
Discount rates: A boring thing you should know about (with otters!)
How much is it worth to us today to avoid climate disruption later this century? To understand how that question has typically been answered, you need to understand what economists call “discount […]
Scaling a Clean Energy Business: Lessons From the BoP
While at most conferences onsolar energy, people talk about the BoS (Balance of System), at the SOCAP 12 conference held last week in San Francisco, it was all about the lessons learned from the […]
A new ‘golden age of oil’ in the U.S.? Don’t believe it
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” […]
Prometheus Institute 