What is driving the decline of the U.S. coal industry? Most of the blame has gone either to Obama’s “war on coal” (EPA regulations) or to cheap natural gas. But there’s a […]
Big Coal in big trouble as coal production costs rise
Fighting the ‘Resource Curse’
About a year ago, in the aftermath of the revolution that drove Muammar el-Qaddafi from power in Libya, journalists crowded into a press conference called by the transitional government’s Oil Ministry. Among […]
The Global Race For Fusion Power
Power plants based around nuclear fusion are clean, economical to operate and can provide virtually limitless amounts of power. They are also still maddeningly non-existent, but that may change in a few […]
Are US Shale Gas Resources Overstated?
A forthcoming book argues that the country’s shale gas plays contain only about a quarter of the fuel that has been estimated by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, and other widely used […]
Economics 101 Comes to the U.S. Department of Energy: Exporting LNG is Good
Apparently exporting something America has in abundance creates economic value — in this case, natural gas, not wheat (but that would be obvious). And the more of it you export, the more […]
5 reasons why the off grid solar revolution will be driven by cell phones
More than one in five people in the world, mostly in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, lack access to electricity. There are high hopes that solar energy can leapfrog the electric grid […]
Yingli, Munich Re Enter Performance Warranty Agreement
Yingli Green Energy has signed a module performance warranty insurance agreement with one of Munich Re’s specialty primary insurers. Under the terms of the agreement, Yingli Green Energy and Munich Re will […]
The Rare Earth Crisis Is Over
Or at least we’re getting to the beginning of the end of the rare earth supply crisis. Lynas has actually switched on its separation plant in Malaysia: Lynas has been embroiled in […]
Energy Perspectives: The United States has a varied and complex energy flow chart
The United States flow of energy from supply to demand is complex. Petroleum, natural gas, and coal together account for about 82% of our energy use, with renewable and nuclear energy providing […]
CSP 2012: Concentrated Solar Power Review
The four major CSP companies kept their PPA-driven flagship projects on track for power production in 2013. One: Abengoa’s 280-megawatt Solana parabolic trough project with six hours of storage in Arizona; Two: […]
Prometheus Institute 