On 5 May Hokkaido Electric Power shut down the No. 3 reactor at the utility’s Tomari Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) in the Hokkaido village of Tomari, the last of Japan’s 54 NPPs that were still functioning after the crisis caused after the 11 March 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami that destroyed Tokyo Electric Power Company’s six reactor Fukushima Daiichi power complex.According to preliminary estimates, fiscal losses from the disaster and the subsequent shuttering of the NPPs are to over $300 billion and rising.The event is hardly…

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Last week we talked about the possibility that researchers have found a second and potentially useful and inexpensive way of converting hydrogen into helium accompanied by a release of significant quantities of energy. Many, of course, believe such a discovery is too good to be true, for it implies that in the long run the world might be able to abandon other more expensive ways to obtain energy including oil, coal, and natural gas. Moreover, the new “green energy” renewable technologies – solar, wind, waves, tides, and biofuels – might…

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A new report from the prominent global consulting firm McKinsey shows why solar photovoltaics have hit a tipping point.As the economics of solar PV continue to improve steadily and dramatically, McKinsey analysts conclude that the total “economic potential” of solar PV deployment could reach 600-1,000 gigawatts (1 million megawatts) by 2020.In the year 2000, the global demand for solar PV was 170 megawatts.That doesn’t mean 1 million megawatts will get developed by 2020; it’s just an estimate of the economic competitiveness…

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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in India on Monday that New Delhi can reduce its oil imports from Iran further, pressuring that country to fall in line with unilateral US sanctions and Washington’s virtual blockade on the sale of Iranian petroleum. India, however, pushed back, saying it would maintain its trade ties with Iran. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offered an offset to his disappointing message to Clinton, however, pledging that he would open up ownership of retail businesses to foreign firms (at the moment retailers have…

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Europe is at a pivotal point. Or, rather, it is at a point where its structural transformation can no longer be ignored. Events in Europe have finally led us to the dénouement of the 20th Century. It may presage a new Europe tied more firmly into the Eurasian heartland than old Europe. It is the end — ’though not without economic, social, and political pain — of the 20th Century form of Atlanticism. Similarly, the United States and much of the West is at a pivotal point, except that — by almost all public reaction…

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Chevron is about to put the first deepwater drillship designed with the capacity to perform ‘dual gradient drilling’ to work. The ship is a Samsung 12000 design capable of operating in 12,000 ft (3,658 m) water depth and is equipped for 40,000 ft (12,192 m) drilling depth.Chevron’s Pacific Santa Ana Drillship. Able to work in 2 1/3rd miles deep water and over seven miles into the earth the new ship is a world leader.  Named the Pacific Santa Ana the ship was built to Chevron’s specifications under a five-year contract with…

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Beijing is one of the most polluted cities in the world, and as China follows its desires to become a leader in clean, renewable energies, it must also look to clean up the air quality of its capital city.Many complain about the heavy smog often found within the city. Smog so thick that sometimes planes can be grounded and trains going to and from the city be delayed due to poor visibility. Obviously the local residents also complain of health concerns, with many being forced to wear face masks to prevent inhalation of the dirty air.Zheng Zaihong…

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Back in 2009, as part of Obamas goal to expand domestic renewable energy sources, the Stillwater geothermal power plant was built in Fallon, Nevada, one of several areas in Utah and Nevada identified for geothermal development.Initially the plant had a generation capacity of 33 MW, but just recently Enel Green Power, the renewable energy arm of the Italian, Enel Group, constructed 89,000 polycrystalline photovoltaic panels at the site adding an extra 26 MW of solar generating capacity. Stillwater is now the world’s first ever geothermal-solar…

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A researcher believes thermoelectric paint could bring affordable DIY solar energy to the market within five years.”This weekend, dear, shall we clean out the basement or go solar?” This scenario may soon be a real possibility, using a back-to-the-future approach called thermoelectric paint.Despite their many benefits, solar photovoltaic panels are not a do-it-yourself delight. Installing them is complex and typically requires someone certified to do it. They’re expensive too, and with payback times of 10 years or more, they require a real commitment.Now…

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To be sure, there are particular small countries which have made serious spending cuts, in the Baltics most of all.  But sometimes one hears it said that an anti-austerity strategy must be EU-wide as a whole, or that austerity is “a failed strategy for the eurozone,” or something similar.  So perhaps it is worth looking at some numbers for the larger picture.First, I wish we would stop being surprised by what’s happening in Europe right now. Second, I wish anti-austerity critics would start acknowledging that taxes have…

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