Energy
The Lead
China Says U.S. Energy Projects Violate Free Trade
August 20, 2012 9:32 pm | by The Associated Press | News | Comments
China's government has ruled that U.S. government support to six American solar and wind power projects violates free trade rules, adding to strains between Beijing and its trading partners over renewable energy. The Commerce Ministry announcement Monday made no mention of possible penalties but called on Washington to stop the support that it said violates World Trade Organization rules.
Stricken Japan Nuke Plant Struggles To Keep Staff
May 24, 2013 8:28 am | by Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsKeeping the meltdown-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan in stable condition requires a cast of thousands. Increasingly the plant's operator is struggling to find enough workers, a trend that many expect to worsen and hamper progress in the decades-long effort to safely decommission it.
Tesla Repays DOE Loan Nine Years Early
May 23, 2013 11:15 am | by Joel Hans, Managing Editor, Manufacturing.net | News | CommentsTesla Motors, the California-based electric vehicle manufacturer, has announced that it has paid off its 2010 loan from the Department of Energy (DOE) in full as of today. The payment of $451.8 million repays the full loan with interest. The company claims it is the only American automaker to have fully repaid the government of its loans.
Solar Industry Pushes For More Use In Georgia
May 22, 2013 2:09 pm | by Ray Henry, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe solar industry in Georgia is pushing a power monopoly to expand its use of solar energy as it plans to meet the state's electricity needs over the next two decades. State utility regulators heard testimony Tuesday on the energy plans from Southern Co. subsidiary Georgia Power, which must submit new plans every three years.
Japan Watchdog: Nuke Plant Sits On Active Fault
May 22, 2013 10:13 am | by Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press | News | CommentsIt was the first time Japanese regulators had officially recognized an active fault underneath an existing reactor, virtually acknowledging that the risk at Tsuruga had been overlooked for decades by both the operator and regulators despite warnings by some experts.
Cuba Lifts Ban On Energy-Hogging Appliances
May 22, 2013 8:09 am | by Anne-Marie Garcia, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe change could strain even further the already-overstuffed cargo holds of flights from places like Miami, Ecuador and Panama to Havana. Cuba-bound travelers who routinely check bulky bundles and multiple plasma-screen TVs will now start thinking about things like air conditioners, chest freezers, microwaves and ovens.
Precise Flow Measurements On Small Pipelines
May 21, 2013 2:41 pm | Products | CommentsEmerson Process Management has added the Micro Motion ELITE CMFS sensor platform to its line of Coriolis flowmeters in the effort to bring more precise measurement to pipelines smaller than 2” or DN50. According to the company, the new sensor platform features better scalability and standardization.
Firm To Appeal Nuclear Plant Whistleblower Case
May 21, 2013 8:04 am | by Roxana Hegeman, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found Enercon Services violated whistleblower protections when it retaliated against an engineer for raising concerns during construction work at the Wolf Creek nuclear power plant in Burlington.
Japan Watchdog To Halt Test Reactor Over Safety
May 15, 2013 8:01 am | by Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Nuclear Regulation Authority's decision is the latest blow to the Monju fast-breeder reactor and Japan's nuclear fuel cycle program. The government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is hoping that Monju will be a key part of Japan's plans for disposing of atomic waste and reducing the nation's plutonium stockpile.
Manufacturing Revival Radio: Big Ass Fans — Keeping Cool While Saving Energy
May 14, 2013 2:22 pm | by Manufacturing Revival Radio | Podcasts | CommentsToday we had the pleasure of speaking with two individuals that are helping keep America’s work force comfortable. We welcomed to the show James DeSmet and Christian Taber, Director of Engineering and Operations Senior Applications Engineer (respectively) of Big Ass Fans.
AP: Wind Farms Get Pass On Eagle Deaths
May 14, 2013 1:48 pm | by Dina Cappiello, Associated Press | News | CommentsKilling these iconic birds is not just an irreplaceable loss for a vulnerable species. It's also a federal crime, a charge that the Obama administration has used to prosecute oil companies when birds drown in their waste pits, and power companies when birds are electrocuted by their power lines.
Natural Gas Export Plans Stir Debate
May 13, 2013 3:19 am | by Matthew Daly, Associated Press | News | CommentsA domestic natural gas boom already has lowered U.S. energy prices while stoking fears of environmental disaster. Now U.S. producers are poised to ship vast quantities of gas overseas as energy companies seek permits for proposed export projects that could set off a renewed frenzy of fracking.
DOE: Breach At Nuclear Plant 'Unacceptable'
May 9, 2013 8:36 am | by Matthew Daly, Associated Press | News | CommentsA breach in which an 82-year-old nun and two other protesters sneaked into a Tennessee nuclear weapons plant last year is "completely unacceptable" and an "important wake-up call" for the government, the head of an agency charged with safeguarding the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile said Wednesday.
Enron's Skilling Could See 10-Year Sentence Cut
May 9, 2013 7:37 am | by Juan A. Lozano, Associated Press | News | CommentsConvicted ex-Enron Corp. CEO Jeffrey Skilling's more than 24-year prison sentence for his role in the once mighty energy giant's collapse could be reduced by as many as 10 years if a federal judge approves an agreement reached Wednesday between prosecutors and defense attorneys.
Pa. Proposes Gas Drilling Health Advisory Panel
May 7, 2013 2:11 pm | by Kevin Begos, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Health Advisory Panel on Shale Gas Extraction would look at potential public health impacts from drilling, along with potential health benefits from natural gas use. The members wouldn't be paid for their two-year terms, and it's not clear how much funding will be needed for the proposal.
Nun's Nuclear Protest Trial Gets Underway
May 7, 2013 8:01 am | by Erik Schelzig, Associated Press | News | CommentsAn octogenarian nun and two codefendants used bolt cutters to cut through fences and spent about two hours inside a Tennessee national security plant that has had a hand in making, maintaining or dismantling parts of every nuclear weapon in the country's arsenal, federal authorities allege.
Judge Won't Dismiss ExxonMobil Suit
May 3, 2013 2:15 pm | News | CommentsA federal judge has declined to throw out a 2010 environmental lawsuit against ExxonMobil Corp. over emissions from its Baytown oil refinery. U.S. District Judge David Hittner in Houston on Thursday adopted a magistrate's April 3 recommendation that the Sierra Club and Environment Texas lawsuit be allowed to proceed.
Solar Plane Goes On Cross-Country Trip
May 3, 2013 1:36 pm | News | CommentsIt plans to stop at Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth airport in Texas, Lambert-St. Louis airport, Dulles airport in the Washington area and New York's John F. Kennedy airport. Each flight leg will take 20 to 25 hours, with 10-day stops in each city.
Oil Drilling Technology Leaps, Clean Energy Lags
May 2, 2013 1:42 pm | by Jonathan Fahey, AP Energy Writer | News | CommentsThe consequences are enormous. A looming energy crisis has turned into a boom. These additional fossil fuels are intensifying the threat to the earth's climate. And for renewable energy sources, the sunny forecast of last decade has turned overcast.
Engineering Newswire 36: Electric Car Charge Time Cut in Half
May 2, 2013 11:01 am | by Eric Sorensen, Coordinator of Multimedia Development | Videos | CommentsToday on Engineering Newswire, brought to you by Interpower, the premier supplier of power system components for worldwide markets, we’re bending cellphones, electrifying motorcycles, cutting electric vehicle charge time in half, and riding a screw-propelled snowboard.
EPA Methane Report Further Divides Fracking Camps
April 29, 2013 2:04 pm | by Kevin Begos, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Environmental Protection Agency has dramatically lowered its estimate of how much of a potent heat-trapping gas leaks during natural gas production, in a shift with major implications for a debate that has divided environmentalists: Does the recent boom in fracking help or hurt the fight against climate change?
Report: U.S. Diesel Car Registrations Increase 24 Pct.
April 26, 2013 9:48 am | by Diesel Technology Forum | News | CommentsClean diesel car registrations increased by 24.3 percent in the U.S. from 2010 through 2012 following similar trends of double-digit diesel car sale increases throughout the country, according to new data compiled for the Diesel Technology Forum.
Dialight Announces Advanced Controls For LED Portfolio
April 25, 2013 12:37 pm | Products | CommentsDialight has announced the introduction of integrated controls for its LED lighting fixture offerings, all of which were developed to work in demanding applications. The controls system will debut on Dialight’s LED High Bay products for industrial and hazardous locations.
There’s A New Twist In Wind Blades
April 22, 2013 6:44 pm | by Chris Hardee | Articles | CommentsThis innovative curved blade was proposed in earlier theoretical research and had been garnering increasing interest for use in utility-scale applications. The new configuration is seen as a way to reduce operating loads on ever-lengthening blades.
Earth Day Walk Touts Coal-To-Solar Efforts In NV
April 22, 2013 11:30 am | News | CommentsActivists and faith leaders joined the "Coal to Clean Energy" walk Saturday from NV Energy's Reid Gardner generation station to a planned 350-megawatt solar project on the Moapa Paiute Reservation. The march took place about two weeks after NV Energy announced plans to begin closing Reid Gardner and invest more money in renewable energy.
ABB Plans Power-One Acquisition For About $1B
April 22, 2013 8:25 am | News | CommentsThe Swiss power technology company ABB Ltd. is buying solar equipment maker Power-One Inc. for about $1 billion. The acquisition would ramp up ABB's capability to supply a key component used in solar systems. ABB will become an even larger supplier of solar inverters, which change the variable direct current output from solar panels into an alternating current.
