A recently completed distributed energy project at the large, 4,000-inmate Santa Rita Jail in Alameda County, California, ties together power from fuel cells, solar panels, wind turbines, and diesel generators—all located at […]
Geology and technology drive estimates of technically recoverable resources
A common measure of the long-term viability of U.S. domestic crude oil and natural gas as an energy source is the remaining technically recoverable resource (TRR). TRR estimates are a work in […]
Drought, Climate Change, Corn Prices, Ethanol and Biofuels
As we’ve all noticed there’s a drought going on in the American heartland. As many have noted this is leading to soaring prices of three main crops, corn wheat and soya. For […]
Solar Investment Tax Credit Pays For Itself, Delivers 10% Return
The solar investment tax credit (ITC) can deliver a 10% internal rate of return to taxpayers on the U.S. government’s initial investment, according to a new report published by the U.S. Partnership […]
Where’s the Money for Energy Efficiency Financing?
Amongst the problems with energy efficiency upgrades is the little issue of money. Even though the projects will ultimately save a city, business or household money over the long haul, it’s tough […]
Evidence that Oil Limits are Leading to Limits to GDP Growth
The usual assumption that economists, financial planners, and actuaries make is that future real GDP growth can be expected to be fairly similar to the average past growth rate for some historical […]
Much of the country’s refinery capacity is concentrated along the Gulf Coast
Of the more than 17.3 million barrels per day (bbl/d) of refinery capacity located in the United States as of January 1, 2012, about 44% (or nearly 7.7 million bbl/d) is located […]
Why do ‘experts’ always lowball clean-energy projections?
Last month, Michael Noble of Fresh Energy put up a fascinating list of projections made by energy experts around 2000 or so. (I got there via Brad Plumer.) Suffice to say, the […]
New Ethanol Process Boosts Recoverable Energy By 2000%
With so much focus on electric cars these days, it can be easy to forget how much money and effort is being funneled into biofuels. Ethanol has gotten a bad rap in […]
Is a natural gas car revolution coming in the U.S.?
Cheap, abundant natural gas is changing the game for energy in the U.S., and that means a renewed push for natural gas cars. According to Pike Research, there will be a total […]
Prometheus Institute 