Biofuels, long struggling with a plethora of problems, may finally be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, as the largest fuel consumer, in the U.S, the Pentagon, is seeking proposals. Last month U.S. Army Energy Initiatives Task Force (AEITF) issued a draft request for proposals (Draft RFP) renewable energy contracts. What’s on offer? Over the next decade, an impressive $7 billion. During the AEITF’s pre-solicitation phase, the Draft RFP is designed to gather information from potential bidders to assist the AEITF to…

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The acute energy crisis that has consumed Gaza is a symptom of realities that have forced Hamas to recalculate its alliances after hedging its bets that a post-Mubarak Egypt would translate into solidified power. Massive queues for gas and daily 18-hour blackouts and hospitals unable to cope without fuel for backup generators has Gaza in a state of panic. The energy crisis has also affected water supplies and sewage treatment. The Hamas government has been smuggling fuel supplies from Egypt to Gaza’s main power plant. The alternative is fuel…

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If you have the power and the desire to bring down oil prices, the best way to proceed is to start bringing them down. The easiest and fastest method would be to make more supplies available to the world market and keep adding until you reach your target price. The less you say about what you are doing, the better. When market participants are filled with uncertainty about your intentions, they have only the direction of prices to guide them. That means the speculative players can help you achieve your goals more quickly as they panic out of their…

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One year after the 9-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami, Japan may still face a nuclear energy crisis. The country was already forced to take on more fossil fuels to offset the loss of nuclear power and could now face a summer of energy shortages given expected shutdowns at its nuclear reactors. Renewables may provide an answer, though the Asian economy may need to muster some political will so that it doesn’t lose another decade, but this time to energy. Japan after the 2011 nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power…

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A new study just published in Nature Geoscience has found it plausible for the first time that the world’s average surface temperature could rise by as much as 5 degrees Fahrenheit (3 C.) by 2050, only 38 years from now. In February, the United Nations warned that the world only has a few years to substantially reduce its dependence on hydrocarbons, if it was to avoid the disasters facing the earth with a temperature rise of more than 2 degrees C. The likelihood that such a rise in temperature can be avoided is now low (emissions were up…

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Following last year’s nuclear disaster at Fukushima caused by the catastrophic meltdown of three reactors due to an earthquake and subsequent tsunami, Japanese confidence in nuclear power has plummeted. A veritable powerhouse in the nuclear power industry before the incident, Japan now has only one of its 54 reactors running, after another was closed down today. Its reactors are being idled in order to undergo safety check-ups, and general maintenance. The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) shut down its final reactor today, meaning that…

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