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Chesapeake Energy is spending $1 billion on a three-pronged plan to "break the headlock" of OPEC oil dependency, CEO Aubrey McClendon told CNBC Tuesday. First would be to get the U.S. oil and natural gas liquids industry to increase output by 3 million to 4 million barrels a day over the next 10 years, from the current eight million barrels a day. Chesapeake [CHK 29.87 0.12 (+0.4%) ] also plans to invest $155 million in a private company in Colorado, Sun Drop Fuels, to build a demonstration plant to show off its "breakhtrough technology" that combines "non-food biomass waste material...

Clean Energy Fuels CLNE extended its gains for another day on Wednesday as Wall Street continues to do the math on plans by the company to build 150 natural gas filling stations for fleet trucks to convert their rigs to run on natural gas. Sounding a bullish call on the stock, Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Steven Milunovich upgraded Clean Energy Fuels to buy from underperform and said a savings of up to $2 a gallon on fuel costs for natural gas-powered trucks could be enough of an incentive for truck owners to make the switch, even if a...

The Texas Senate sent a bill to Gov. Rick Perry’s Desk Thursday afternoon that will establish incentives for companies to buy natural gas-fueled vehicles and help fund fueling stations in the “Texas Triangle” between Houston, San Antonio and Dallas-Ft. Worth. Senate Bill 20 would redirect the funds from the existing Texas Emissions Reduction Program – which replaces or retrofits heavy-duty construction equipment and other vehicles that emit high levels of pollution with less noxious equipment — toward those that specifically use natural gas. Here’s a summary of the bill by the House Research Organization. Natural gas producers have been big...

With Chrysler's soon-to-be-owner Fiat successfully selling natural-gas vehicles (NGVs) in Europe and South America, analysts have suggested that Chrysler would develop and sell natural-gas cars and trucks as one element of its green strategy. Not 'til 2017? Now the company has confirmed it. Bob Lee, Chrysler's vice president for engines and electrified propulsion systems, said Monday that, "the technology is very actively being worked on."

Recently, my colleague Tom Fowler wrote about the use of natural gas-fueled vehicles locally, and efforts to expand that usage nationwide. At its monthly board meeting last Thursday, Metro joined the discussion. The agency's board agreed to cooperate with the Texas Transportation Institute and Capital Metro of Austin to study the use of compressed natural gas (CNG) in its bus fleet. Metro's share of the cost of the research is capped at $34,000. Metro has been moving toward a diesel-electric hybrid fleet, with 338 of its 1,250 buses now hybrids, or 27 percent of the fleet, spokesman Jerome Gray said....

Movement toward natural gas-fueled vehicles finally appears to be firing on all cylinders. The surge in U.S. natural gas production from prolific shale formations has created an abundance of the blue-burning fuel. Middle East turmoil and a recovering global economy are putting energy security and high gasoline prices front-and-center in consumer minds. Legislative efforts to reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions are mired in partisan bickering. And President Barack Obama provided a timely rallying point in a speech this week, giving a positive nod to government incentives for natural gas vehicles as alternatives to ones powered by higher-emission, oil-based fuels....

[The following is an excerpt] Atlanta Gas Light intends to ‘seed’ the new CNG market to better enable potential market participants to make the long term capital commitments required to purchase vehicles or provide fueling infrastructure to benefit from access to the Atlanta Gas Light baseline facilities. Atlanta Gas Light intends to provide the installation and maintenance of fueling equipment and supporting infrastructure at locations throughout metropolitan Atlanta and eventually in other major cities and along major transportation corridors throughout the state. These locations would be on new or existing commercial sites, convenient to the location of commercial fleets and...

After almost two decades of effort to reduce vehicle emissions, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will retire its last diesel bus Wednesday and become the only major transit agency in the nation with a fleet that is totally equipped with alternative-fuel technologies. In an urban area where diesel buses began operating in 1940, the MTA now has 2,221 buses powered by compressed natural gas, as well as one electric bus and six gasoline-electric hybrids. Transit officials estimate that the elimination of diesel engines has reduced the release of cancer-causing particulates from the bus fleet by 80% and greenhouse...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Wednesday said he was sending more than 200 national guard troops to the California-Mexico border. After a tour of the border Wednesday, Schwarzenegger said he plans to have 224 troops in place by Sept. 1. “These men and women will provide much-needed assistance to help secure our border, but it’s important to remember that this is only the beginning," Schwarzenegger said in a statement Wednesday.

Instead of a wholesale switch to electric cars, with all their inherent range and charging problems, a seemingly easier way to wean ourselves off gasoline is to find alternate fuel that could be used in slightly modified internal-combustion engines. Unfortunately, there are some very real reasons—never mind what conspiracy theorists might tell you about oil companies and corrupt government officials—why most alternative fuels are not ready for prime time yet. Here’s a look at the current status and near-term future outlook of the major alternatives to gasoline. Modern turbo-diesels get about 30 percent better fuel economy than their gasoline counterparts,...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday mobilized members of the California National Guard as part of a federal effort to deter drug trafficking and illegal immigration along the border with Mexico. His order supports President Barack Obama's plan to have 1,200 National Guard troops assist with federal border protection, customs and immigration agents.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an order Friday to deploy National Guard troops to the Mexico-U.S. border for about a year.

Allen Brooks is to be complimented for writing this piece to stimulate discussion on the gas capacity and economics of one of the most important new reservoirs, the Haynesville Shale. I rarely respond to our guest commentators but in this case I wear two hats. I happen to be, as many of you know, a petroleum production engineer, with more than 25 years of experience in hydraulic fracturing. I was also among the first people in the industry to have used this type of well completion on horizontal wells. The deployment of these two technologies, along with geosteering, new instrumentation,...

I’ve written extensively on the severe economic, environmental, and national security problems the US faces as a result of its dependence on foreign oil imports in an era of peak oil. A recent series of my articles published here on SeekingAlpha have built strong cases to support the following assertions: The transportation sector is 70% of total US oil consumption. To significantly reduce US foreign oil imports the US must reduce oil (gasoline) consumption in the transportation sector. The only US domestic fuel capable of being scaled up to significantly reduce oil consumption in the transportation sector over the next...

WASHINGTON, DC - April 6, 2009: Amidst charges that embattled American Honda is systematically suppressing its compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicle program, the company has suddenly fueled that impression by throwing into bankruptcy its wholly-owned CNG refueling company, Fuelmaker. Toronto-based Fuelmaker was arguably the lynchpin of CNG’s future as a bridge solution to alternative fuel. The firm manufactured and distributed the essential refueling appliance that allowed home-based and fleet refueling of CNG vehicles, including the Honda Civic GX, heralded as the “greenest car in America.”

[...] As the name suggests, the Camry CNG Hybrid concept transforms the stock gasoline-electric hybrid into one that runs on compressed natural gas. Why CNG? According to Chris Hostetter, Toyota's vice president of advanced product strategy, future demand for liquid petroleum will exceed supply, and automakers must look for an alternative. "We believe CNG will be one of those alternatives," he said. Indeed, it's an interesting choice. CNG burns cleaner than gasoline, producing less particulate matter, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and nitrous oxide than its commonplace counterpart. Add the ability to run on electric power alone, and the Camry CNG...

Now Provides Natural Gas Fueling at 20 US Airports SEAL BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq:CLNE - News) will own, operate and supply fuel for new compressed natural gas (CNG) public access stations to support airport operations in Atlanta and Oklahoma City. In the Atlanta area, the City of College Park, Georgia, contracted with Clean Energy to design, construct and manage a public access CNG fueling station on City-owned property located less than a mile from the entrance to Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, among the busiest in the world. The facility is designed to serve a range of light,...

-- Acquisition Extends Clean Energy's Natural Gas Fueling Franchise to Small Fleets and Consumers in United States and Overseas -- SEAL BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq:CLNE - News) has entered into a definitive agreement with American Honda Motor Co., Inc. and The FuelMaker Trust to acquire FuelMaker Corporation of Toronto, Canada for (US) $17 million in cash. The acquisition is expected to be completed within 25 days. FuelMaker (www.fuelmaker.com) manufactures, distributes, installs and services vehicle refueling appliances (VRA) and accessories for fueling vehicles powered by compressed natural gas (CNG). The consumer version of the VRA is the Phill,...

<p>Europeans can buy cars that run on natural gas from at least eight automakers, but despite large reserves of the relatively inexpensive fuel in the United States, the federal government and states, including Massachusetts, are backing pricier biofuels as a way to lessen dependence on imported oil.</p>

Troy Anderson was at the gas pump and couldn't have been happier, filling up at a rate of $5 per tank. Anderson was paying 63.8 cents per gallon equivalent for compressed natural gas, making Utah a hot market for vehicles that run on the fuel. It's the country's cheapest rate for compressed gas, according to the Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition, and far less than the $3.56 national average price for a gallon of gasoline. "I'm totally celebrating," crowed Anderson, a 44-year-old social worker, who picked up a used Honda Civic GX two months ago. "This is the greatest thing. I...

SEAL BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Clean Energy Fuels Corp. (Nasdaq:CLNE) today opened the world’s largest compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station in Lima, Peru. ...SNIP... Owned and operated by Clean Energy del Peru, a joint venture (“JV”) between Clean Energy and Energy Gas del Peru, the station is strategically located midway between downtown Lima, Peru's capital city, and the Lima International Airport. With thousands of taxis being converted to CNG each month and thousands of buses targeted for replacement with natural gas buses, this is the first of several fueling stations the JV anticipates constructing to support the expanding CNG vehicle and...

As Calif. fires burned, copters grounded By AARON C. DAVIS and MICHAEL R. BLOOD, Associated Press Writers 2 minutes ago As wildfires were charging across Southern California, nearly two dozen water-dropping helicopters and two massive cargo planes sat idly by, grounded by government rules and bureaucracy. How much the aircraft would have helped will never be known, but their inability to provide quick assistance raises troubling questions about California's preparations for a fire season that was widely expected to be among the worst on record. It took as long as a day for Navy, Marine and California National Guard helicopters...

BOISE - A massive bus fire torched a ValleyRide coach during the peak of the Thursday morning rush hour. It happened in downtown Boise at about 8:30 a.m. Flames shot out of the back of the bus - snarling traffic. The Associated Press reports the driver of the vehicle was taking a break when the fire broke out. Another drive saw the flames and quickly called 911. The coach is powered by compressed natural gas. Fire Department Captain Tom Pawek told the AP that a venting system prevented a large natural gas explosion. A number of fire engines and paramedics...

SAN DIEGO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sounded more conciliatory Thursday toward President Bush's plan to send 6,000 National Guard troops to the Mexican border, but the governor's advisers said he still has not decided whether to participate. "If that will help to prevent people from coming across the border for right now, then we are more than happy to join in and to help temporarily," Schwarzenegger said. "But it definitely should not be a permanent solution." Schwarzenegger is concerned that California Guardsmen will be caught up in an open-ended mission on the border that could drag beyond the two years...

The state department that runs the California National Guard bears the weight of an unusually large and at times unchecked military bureaucracy that provides lucrative benefits for high-ranking officers, a Bee investigation has found. The state's Military Department - about 400 soldiers strong - is known as a destination for those whose federal military careers have ended. As state soldiers, they can earn salaries and tax-free allowances well in excess of $100,000, and qualify for state pensions on top of their federal retirement income. So many colonels, whose rank is signified by an eagle, have availed themselves of this opportunity...

What do plots to blow up National Guard armories and synagogues, 9/11, well-intentioned liberals, the War on Terror, and residue from the Vietnam era have in common? They all are playing out in California in three seemingly unconnected stories. The first story is about three men arrested for plotting to attack California National Guard facilities, the Israeli Consulate and synagogues. The men, one a Pakistani national and the other two, American converts to Islam, were found with weapons and “jihadist” material. The second story involves a liberal Democratic California state senator who has been making headlines with his allegations that...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Islamic leaders and peace groups are criticizing the California National Guard for a flier posted in its headquarters suggesting the United States execute Islamic terrorists with bullets dipped in pig's blood to deny them entry to heaven. The flier attributed the practice to World War I General John J. Pershing. "Maybe it is time for this segment of history to repeat itself, maybe in Iraq?" the flier stated. It was posted outside a cubicle in the Guard's Civil Support Division. A second flier showed the wings and tail of a bomber forming a peace sign with the...

SACRAMENTO - Islamic leaders and peace groups are criticizing the California National Guard for a flier posted in its headquarters suggesting the United States should execute Islamic terrorists with bullets dipped in pig's blood to deny them entry to heaven. The poster attributes the practice to World War I General John J. Pershing. "Maybe it is time for this segment of history to repeat itself, maybe in Iraq?" the flier stated. It was posted outside a cubicle in the Guard's Civil Support Division. A second flier showed the wings and tail of a bomber forming a peace sign with the...

SACRAMENTO – U.S. military authorities on Wednesday began investigating whether a California National Guard unit was established to spy on U.S. citizens, as about 30 demonstrators outside guard headquarters confronted officials backed by armed soldiers. The federal probe of the nation's largest National Guard force involves the U.S. Army's inspector general, the federal National Guard Bureau's inspector general and the National Guard Bureau's legal division. The unit has raised concern among peace activists that the Guard is resorting to the same type of civilian monitoring that characterized Vietnam War-era protests. "These are your mothers, grandmothers and neighbors," said George Main,...

SACRAMENTO - Despite a request from a state senator that it preserve all documents related to a controversial intelligence unit, the California National Guard erased the computer hard drive of a retiring colonel who oversaw the fledgling project. Computer technicians at the Guard erased the officer's hard drive on June 27, said Col. Cherie Takami, the Guard's acting chief of staff. That same day, state Sen. Joe Dunn asked top military officials not to destroy any evidence concerning the special intelligence unit. On Tuesday, the National Guard rebuffed Dunn's requests for answers and immediate access to the computer, saying they...

MATHER, Calif. - A California congresswoman and a state senator said Tuesday they plan separate hearings into whether a California National Guard unit was established as a spy agency. Guard spokesmen denied that was the unit's intent but declined to make the unit's commander available for an interview to fully explain its function. State Sen. Joseph Dunn, D-Garden Grove, whose budget subcommittee oversees funding for the California National Guard, ordered the Guard to turn over all documents about the unit, formally called the Information Synchronization, Knowledge Management and Intelligence Fusion program. That would include any information collected about citizens. That...

Alexander says he would like top Guard job permanently The Atascadero man is named to lead the National Guard on an interim basis The Atascadero man appointed to lead the California National Guard on an interim basis told The Tribune on Wednesday he is strongly interested in having the job permanently. Brig. Gen. John Alexander was appointed Monday to command day-to-day Guard operations. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will appoint the permanent adjutant general, a decision that typically takes between four and six months, though no timeline has been set for a decision, military officials say. "I'm absolutely interested (in the permanent...

SACRAMENTO – The commander of the California National Guard has resigned amid accusations that he failed to meet a Pentagon combat requirement and tried to arrange a flight on a military aircraft for members of a Republican group. Major Gen. Thomas Eres resigned late Monday after questions were raised by the San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times newspapers about whether he passed a required shooting-skills test before visiting troops in Iraq. The papers also said Eres attempted to provide a military flight for a Lincoln Club group – a partisan Republican organization – that wanted to travel last...

California National Guard members serve in the Iraq war and respond to local disasters from fires to earthquakes, but now they're the ones seeking public aid - the right to a state pension. Legislation to grant new retirement rights to Guard soldiers and airmen was proposed this month, while more than 6,100 members are serving on active duty, many in the Middle East. Nine California National Guard members have died in Iraq since August 2003. The measure, AB 30, is expected to be one of several seeking to enhance fringe benefits for Guard members, a push likely to spark debate...