Energy
Natural Gas Prices Rise From Historic Lows
April 17, 2013 1:56 pm | by Kevin Begos, Associated Press | News | CommentsNatural gas is now just over $4 per thousand cubic feet. Energy experts say prices in the $4 or $5 range won't affect the increasing use of the fuel by consumers and industry since the price was $8 just a few years ago. In Europe and Asia prices are even higher — $10 to $14.
Amid Investigation, Coal Exports At Record Levels
April 15, 2013 8:03 am | by Matthew Brown, Associated Press | News | CommentsFrom the time coal is scooped from the depths of the Spring Creek strip mine in Montana's wide-open Powder River Basin until it travels more than 6,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean to power plants in South Korea, the price can increase more than fivefold.
Union Workers Rally In Support Of Pipeline Project
April 10, 2013 2:24 pm | by Justin Juozapavicius, Associated Press | News | CommentsOrganizers of the rally backing Calgary-based TransCanada's Keystone XL Pipeline said the project would allow the U.S. to tap a key energy source in North America instead of sending its money overseas to import millions of barrels of oil every day.
Vestas' Colo. Factories Benefit From Canada Order
April 8, 2013 2:02 pm | News | CommentsThe Danish company announced Monday that it has received an order to make 166 wind generators for the Blackspring Ridge Wind Project near Alberta. It will also provide service and maintenance under a 20-year contract for the project, which is expected to be the biggest in western Canada.
Japan Experts Say New Nuclear Safety Plans Too Lax
April 8, 2013 1:42 pm | by Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe investigators told parliament on Monday that the recently formed Nuclear Regulation Authority is merely rubber-stamping TEPCO's work at the plant, which is still using makeshift equipment put together after the March 2011 disaster, caused by a massive earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan.
Pa.'s Marcellus Gas Fee Generated $198M In 2012
April 5, 2013 10:07 am | News | CommentsAn impact fee from drilling for natural gas in Pennsylvania generated $198 million in 2012, about the same it raised the prior year. The figures released Thursday were announced a few days after the annual deadline for companies to pay the fee to the state.
Engineering Newswire 31: Superdome Fiasco, Relay to Blame
April 2, 2013 10:32 am | by Eric Sorensen, Coordinator of Multimedia Development | Videos | CommentsToday on Engineering Newswire, we’re talking to virtual heads, firing sexists in Silicon Valley, investigating a super-sized power outage, and fishing far flung space garbage from the bottom of the ocean. This episode features, among others, forking repo’s and big dongles brought big problems at the PyCon 2013 conference held in Santa Clara last week.
Survey: Manufacturing Energy Use And Intensity Down Since 2002
April 2, 2013 10:26 am | by The U.S. Energy Information Administration | News | CommentsTotal energy consumption in the manufacturing sector decreased by 17 percent from 2002 to 2010, according to data released today by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Manufacturing gross output decreased by only 3 percent over the same period.
San Onofre Submits Draft Linked To Restart Bid
April 2, 2013 8:06 am | by Michael R. Blood, Associated Press Writer | News | CommentsThe operator of the shuttered San Onofre nuclear power plant submitted a draft plan to federal regulators Monday that could help pave the way to restart one of the twin reactors by summer. The seaside plant between Los Angeles and San Diego has been shut down since January 2012.
U.S. Grants Permit For $1.3B Fertilizer Plant In Iowa
April 1, 2013 12:47 pm | by Ryan J. Foley, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued the permit last week to the Iowa Fertilizer Company to build the plant near Burlington, as part of a deal to require workers to monitor the site to ensure the 320-acre site is not an Indian burial ground.
GE’s ADAPT Wind 1.7 Introduces Shaft Crack Detection and Intelligent Change Indication
April 1, 2013 11:44 am | Products | CommentsThe ADAPT 1.7 is the latest addition to the Advanced Distributed Architecture Platform Technology (ADAPT) condition monitoring platform from the Bently Nevada Product line of GE Measurement & Control. The company says ADAPT 1.7 can be retro-fitted to existing ADAPT turbine monitoring system to provide shaft vibration monitoring.
Tesla Shares Up 19 Pct. As Company Sees 1Q Profit
April 1, 2013 11:03 am | News | CommentsThe Palo Alto, Calif., company said Sunday night that first-quarter sales have exceeded 4,750 Model S sedans, above prior guidance of 4,500. Previously the company said it would be slightly profitable in the first quarter, excluding noncash option and warrant expenses.
1 Killed, 3 Hurt In Accident At Ark. Nuclear Plant
April 1, 2013 9:39 am | News | Comments"We are deeply saddened by what has happened today," said Jeff Forbes, Entergy's chief nuclear officer, after an accident in which a heavy piece of equipment fell on the three employees Sunday morning. Entergy's two nuclear reactors were shut down after the accident.
NY Awards $46M For 76 Solar Energy Projects
March 29, 2013 2:12 pm | News | CommentsThe state is awarding $46 million to help finance 76 large-scale solar energy projects across New York. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday the money will go to 28 recipients for projects at businesses, factories, municipal buildings and other large energy users.
Solar Powered Everything!
March 27, 2013 8:25 pm | by Chris Rendall, Mechanical Engineer, PCDworks | Articles | CommentsBesides cost, which unfortunately is still too high for most people to see a return on investment in a reasonable amount of time, the other big obstacle is rigidity. Rigidity is fine for things like a solar power plant or a space station, but it doesn’t work for everything.
Oregon Wave Energy Project May Be Delayed
March 27, 2013 10:50 am | News | CommentsThe company planning a wave energy project off the south Oregon coast says it may not be finished this year. Ocean Power Technologies says regulations, business and financial factors may delay installation of its Mark 3 PowerBuoy off Reedsport beyond 2013.
Study Finds Health Impacts Of Coal Power Subsidy To Industry
March 26, 2013 8:38 am | by Bob Weber, The Canadian Press | News | CommentsThe study also says the plants — many of which have decades to comply with new federal emissions rules — will also be behind thousands more hospital admissions and lost workdays. It concludes the cost of those health impacts amounts to a subsidy for generators because they don't have to pay for them.
Nuclear Waste A Growing Headache For South Korea
March 26, 2013 8:11 am | by Youkyung Lee, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsNorth Korea's weapons program is not the only nuclear headache for South Korea. The country's radioactive waste storage is filling up as its nuclear power industry burgeons, but what South Korea sees as its best solution — reprocessing the spent fuel so it can be used again — faces stiff opposition from its U.S. ally.
Calif. Farmers Team Up To Convert Beets To Ethanol
March 24, 2013 8:52 pm | by Gosia Wozniacka, Associated Press | News | CommentsIf the demo project in Five Points succeeds, the farmers will build the nation's first commercial-scale bio-refinery in nearby Mendota to turn beets into biofuel. Europe already has more than a dozen such plants, but most ethanol in the U.S. is made from corn.
Troubled Calif. Nuke Plant Seeks Restart In Summer
March 23, 2013 3:51 am | by Michael R. Blood, Associated Press Writer | News | CommentsSouthern California Edison disclosed Friday it hopes the move could open the way for the Unit 2 reactor to be back in service by summer, when power demand typically soars in the region. San Onofre has been shut down since January 2012, after a small radiation leak led to the discovery of unusual damage to hundreds of tubes that carry radioactive water.
Bosch To Abandon Solar Energy Business
March 22, 2013 10:38 am | News | CommentsGermany's Bosch says it is abandoning its solar energy business because there's no way to make it economically viable amid overcapacity and price pressure in the industry. The engineering company said Friday that it will stop making components such as solar cells and wafers at the beginning of next year.
The Learning Thermostat
March 21, 2013 9:40 pm | by Meaghan Ziemba, Editor, WDD | Articles | CommentsPalo Alto, CA-based Nest Labs, has created a thermostat solution that will help reduce energy consumption within households by up to 20 percent. According to the company, energy consumption accounts for 50 percent (or more than $1,000 per year) of the average household utility bill.
Expert: Superdome Outage Due To Device Malfunction
March 21, 2013 9:15 pm | News | CommentsA partial power outage during this year's Super Bowl occurred because a relay device with a design defect malfunctioned, an outside expert confirmed Thursday. Entergy, which supplies electricity to the Superdome, and the stadium's management company hired forensic engineer John Palmer to perform an independent analysis of the Feb. 3 outage.
Drivers Face High Gas Prices Despite U.S. Oil Boom
March 21, 2013 1:30 pm | by Jonathan Fahey, AP Energy Writer | News | CommentsThe U.S. is increasing its oil production faster than ever and U.S. drivers are guzzling less gas. But you'd never know it from the price at the pump. The national average price of gasoline is $3.69 per gallon and it is forecast to creep higher and could approach $4 by May.
Mining, Energy Sectors Face Workforce Shortage
March 21, 2013 11:22 am | by Vicki Smith, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe report released Thursday by the National Research Council urges new partnerships to tackle the problem of retiring Baby Boomers who cannot readily be replaced. That includes a retooling of higher education to produce more young people competent in science, technology, engineering and math.
