All Energy Voices
Three ways utilities can lead energy innovationAs new and disruptive vendors, technologies, and business models enter the market, many utilities have seemed unsure about what their role is or should be. Here are three roles utility companies can play to help spur energy innovation.
SolarCity IPO: How it beat the solar curseSolarCity defied a trend of failing solar IPOs Thursday when its share prices soared nearly 50 percent on its first day of trading. What's behind the succes of the SolarCity IPO?
SolarCity IPO share price slashed. Cloudy skies ahead for solar?SolarCity IPO saw a steep price cut Wednesday. SolarCity is one of the leading US installers of residential solar panels, so why are investors getting cold feet?
Enbridge set to invest $6.28 billion in oil pipelineEnergy firm Enbridge has announced it will go ahead with its investment of $6.28 billion in expanding the system of pipelines that transport crude from locations in Canada and the United States around North America, according to Consumer Energy Report.
A123 sale to China: threat to US security?The sale of advanced battery maker A123 to China's Wanxiang Group could recoup US taxpayer funds. But critics warn the threats to US security outweigh any benefits from the pending sale of A123.
Is Chicago a new cleantech hub?The recently-announced Joint Center for Energy Storage Research in suburban Chicago arguably leapfrogs the Windy City into the top echelon of cleantech technology research clusters, Stuebi writes.
Leveraging energy: why China succeeds where the US failsCountries like China and India which leverage their oil use to a greater extent with more coal use are less affected by a rise in oil prices – Tverberg writes. It's one reason why jobs are moving to China and India, and away from the US.
Heating oil: a last stand in the Northeast?The gap between heating oil and natural gas prices is the largest in at least a decade, causing Northeast homeowners to convert to natural gas.
Fighting winter with fire? Wood-burning on the rise.The number of US homes relying on burning wood for heat is up 24 percent since 2006. But environmental concerns could quash further growth of wood-burning.
Freeport-McMoRan to acquire oil, gas assets in $20 billion dealCopper-mining giant Freeport-McMoRan will purchase two oil and gas companies, which could rescue a venture by McMoRan Exploration Co. to drill one of the deepest offshore oil wells on record.
Solar-powered plane to circumnavigate globe. How will it fly at night?The solar-powered plane, scheduled to fly around the world in 2015, travels only 30 miles per hour and will have to stay aloft 20 days, even at night. The solar-powered plane is the brainchild of Bertrand Piccard, the first person to circumnavigate the globe in a hot air balloon.
New plastic lighting saves energy. Goodbye, fluorescent lights?Scientists have designed an energy-efficient light of plastic packed with nanomaterials that glow. The shatterproof FIPEL technology can be molded into almost any shape, but still needs to prove it's commercially viable.
Pressure on Obama grows for Keystone XL decisionPresident Barack Obama is facing pressure from all sides concerning the fate of the Keystone XL, a pipeline that would stretch from Canada through the Midwestern US in order to easily transport crude from Alberta’s oil sands to refineries in Texas.
Oil and the 'fiscal cliff'Tverberg explores the connection between changes in the oil market and growing concern of the 'fiscal cliff.'
Hidden factor behind brighter US energy outlookOne big reason the US will become nearly energy self-sufficient by 2035 is increased energy efficiency, says Fatih Birol, chief economist at the International Energy Agency. Aggressive energy efficiency policies could yield even bigger gains.
Former Shell Oil president: Global warming debate is overIn an interview with Consumer Energy Report, former president of Shell Oil John Hofmeister said the debate on global warming is effectively settled.
UN: 2012 was one of the hottest years everClimate Change Conference-goers in Doha learned Wednesday that 2012 will go down as one of the hottest years on record. A provisional statement by the UN warns of rising temperatures and melting ice.
New source of Mexican oil could hold 1 billion barrelsMore than 500 million barrels of oil are estimated to lie beneath a newly discovered well site, with another 500 million barrels of oil expected to lie in surrounding areas, according to Consumer Energy Report.
Unnatural disasters: What can be done about natural gas pipeline explosions?The natural gas explosion in Springfield, Mass., is a calamitous reminder of what can happen when the nation's vast oil and natural gas distribution network fails.
Libya’s political unrest stifles oil investmentUnrest in Libya has made investors wary of the nation’s chances to sustain and grow its oil production market, leaving the future of Libyan oil up in the air, according to Consumer Energy Report.
