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ROVs: A High-Tech Win-Win Investment in the Offshore Drilling Boom Posted: 06 Jul 2012 10:24 AM PDT An increase in offshore, deep-sea oil drilling and a nod to Shell to proceed in the Alaskan Arctic will drive demand for remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) through 2015. An ROV is a tethered underwater vehicle often employed in offshore hydrocarbon extraction. ROVs are linked to ships via a tether of cables that carry electrical power and video and data signals back and forth. The more technologically advanced ROVs also employ hydraulics, sonars, magnetometers and other equipment used to take water samples. The offshore oil and gas industry…
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U.S. Arrogance Triples Fuel Prices for Troops in Afghanistan Posted: 05 Jul 2012 03:51 PM PDT Most days, writing about energy issues is less interesting than watching paint dry, as a mind-numbing procession of barrels per day, investment infrastructure costs and bilateral memos of understanding make one wish that their current topics was Britney Spears.But every now and again, a news item illuminates the landscape like a star shell fired over a midnight battlefield.Such an event occurred late last week when Vice Admiral Mark Harnitchek stated on 27 June that logistical supplies for U.S. and NATO International Security Assistance Forces…
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Business as Usual for Big Oil Despite Falkland Tensions Posted: 05 Jul 2012 03:44 PM PDT While tensions between Britain and Argentina have been rising as a natural response to the 30th anniversary of the Falkland War, oil is the primary driver of a renewed Falkland dispute that will determine the fate of tens of billions of dollars in black gold.At the same time, while Argentine President Cristina Kirchner and British Prime Minister David Cameron are trading serious barbs over the sovereignty issue, big oil companies are largely ignoring the implications and conducting business as usual.The Falkand Islands (Islas Malvinas) were reclaimed…
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Cities that are Paving the Way for an EV Revolution Posted: 05 Jul 2012 03:37 PM PDT Sixteen cities around the world have set a cumulative target to sell almost six million electric and plug in hybrid electric vehicles by 2020. If they reach this goal, EVs would account for about 6% of total vehicle sales and about 20 million cars on the road.A new report called the EV City Casebook highlights how these leading cities are putting the right pieces into place to encourage the adoption of EVs:“Cities are also leading by example. Many have already added electric vehicles to municipal fleets and incorporated hybrid buses into…
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Burning Ultra-Low Sulphur Jet Fuel Could Actually Increase Global Warming Posted: 05 Jul 2012 03:26 PM PDT In an effort to reduce acid emissions from the aviation industry, preventing an annual number of between 1,000 and 4,000 deaths, it is planned to burn very low-sulphur jet fuel in planes. However, although better air quality is anticipated, such low sulphur fuels might also reduce the formation of sulphate aerosols, particles of which reflect solar energy back into space and help cool the planet.Such ultra-low sulphur jet fuels (ULSJ) contain just 15 ppm of sulphur, to be compared with a high of 3,000 ppm for some jet fuels. Indeed, the sulphur…
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Energy Development Could Hold the Key for America’s Unemployed Masses Posted: 05 Jul 2012 03:24 PM PDT “For many American families, struggling to make ends meet in the jobless recovery, energy development is an answer to a prayer. The fact that the oil and gas boom has been done without taxpayer subsidies—and despite reactionary public policies at the federal level and in some states (such as New York)—means that more economic opportunity is on tap.”In this so-called “jobless” recovery, aka the Great Recession, an estimated 20 million American workers are unemployed or underemployed. One out of every two college…
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$26 A Gallon for Biofuel – Is the Navy Paying too Much to be Green? Posted: 05 Jul 2012 03:22 PM PDT At the current RIMPAC, the world’s largest international naval exercise, the US are testing the use of biofuel as part of their plan to ‘green the fleet’ by 2016. The USNS Henry J. Kaiser is carrying 900,000 gallons of biofuel/petroleum mix; 700,000 in the form of hydro-treated renewable diesel fuel, and 200,000 gallons of hydro-treated renewable aviation fuel. The biofuel has been developed from waste cooking oil and algae oil, and cost a staggering $26 a gallon. Republicans in Washington are not happy.The Navy released a statement…
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China to Quadruple 2015 Solar Energy Target Posted: 05 Jul 2012 03:21 PM PDT Due to the massive in-balance between supply and demand for solar cells, largely due to the huge manufacturing output of China, prices of PV panels have fallen to unprofitably low levels. Solyndra was the biggest and most famous of the companies to fall due to the low profit margins. Whilst the low prices can stimulate demand, they also deter new companies from entering the market, which means fewer teams researching solar technologies; a move that could harm the promising growth both in size and efficiency that the solar industry has seen lately.It…
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GT Energy and E.ON to Develop Five New Geothermal Projects in the UK Posted: 05 Jul 2012 03:20 PM PDT As part of plans to increase operations in the UK and benefit from the government’s Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) programme, Ireland’s GT Energy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with E.ON UK, one the largest power and gas companies in the kingdom to develop five new deep-geothermal projects.Padraig Hanly, the managing director of GT Energy, said that “government backing in the UK is already making a huge difference to a fledgling industry. The UK’s Renewable Heat Incentive is a welcome and positive step.”…
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