Free Republic

Energy: With the price of oil spiking above $127 a barrel, the search for scapegoats has begun. Some point to the Saudis, OPEC's No. 1 producer. Others blame the oil companies. We have a better candidate: Congress.As President Bush traveled to Saudi Arabia to ask the House of Saud to open the oil spigots a bit wider, Congress showed once again how clueless it is when it comes to energy policy. Underscoring its failure to grasp the nature of our current problems, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Friday refused to end its moratorium on oil shale development in Colorado. "If...

Energy: Even without a terror attack on its oil facilities, Mexico's output is falling sharply and could end as soon as 10 years. Its president is setting an example by fighting a difficult Congress and culture to reverse that.If we Americans think persuading our Congress to get serious about drilling for oil is tough, consider what the president of Mexico is going through. Put simply, Mexico's state oil company, Pemex, is running out of oil. Its output has plunged 20% in the last three years, an unsustainable drop that could lead to a collapse of the country's oil industry in...

Archer Daniels Midland Co. has kept the nameplate capacities of each of its plants a closely guarded secret for many years. After discovering its Cedar Rapids, Iowa, facility could produce as much as 820 MMgy, EPM wondered how such a large plant might impact the industry.

Winnebago, Minn.-based Corn Plus LLLP is interested in an innovative distillers grains microwave drying technology that could bring the facility one step closer to becoming energy independent.

A surprise visit from the ethanol compliance inspector doesn’t have to be an adversarial event. A Minnesota woman is trying to make her regulatory work educational, proactive and fine-free—wherever possible. Her simple advice is to know your permit’s inclusions and limitations, keep your records organized and up-to-date, and appoint a point person responsible for your plant’s compliance. And, if your plant receives a warning letter, act quickly, cooperate with regulatory authorities and take immediate corrective measures. A lapse in compliance doesn’t have to escalate into a fine

Two recently released genome studies are expected to provide answers to how to bolster the production of ethanol from corn and biomass.

Railways are essential to an ethanol producer’s business. Ships are a viable option for only a small number of facilities and trucks can’t handle all of the volume. So rail it is. As the ethanol industry expands, so must the railroad’s capability to handle this commodit

The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the United States rose by 16 this week to 1,862. Of the rigs running nationwide, 1,471 were exploring for natural gas and 381 for oil, Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc. reported Friday. Ten were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago, the rig count stood at 1,744. Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas added 13 rigs, while California, Wyoming and Alaska each added two and Colorado added one rig. Oklahoma lost five rigs, Louisiana lost one and New Mexico was unchanged. Baker Hughes has tracked rig counts since...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabian leaders made clear Friday they see no reason to increase oil production until their customers demand it, apparently rebuffing President Bush amid soaring U.S. gasoline prices.

IBM researchers have achieved a breakthrough in photovoltaics technology that could significantly reduce the cost of harnessing the Sun's power for electricity. ------------------------------------------------------------------ IBM today announced a research breakthrough in photovoltaics technology that could significantly reduce the cost of harnessing the Sun's power for electricity. By mimicking the antics of a child using a magnifying glass to burn a leaf or a camper to start a fire, IBM scientists are using a large lens to concentrate the Sun’s power, capturing a record 230 watts onto a centimeter square solar cell, in a technology known as concentrator photovoltaics, or CPV....

You know something’s afoot (or in this case, ready to rev) when a Texas oil tycoon like T. Boone Pickens calls one of his companies Clean Energy (CLNE). That is, when he’s not trying to corner the market on water or harness the strong winds in the Texas panhandle. Pickens has become a true believer in natural gas as a fuel for transport. He controls a majority of shares of Clean Energy, which provides CNG (compressed natural gas) and LNG (liquefied natural gas) for use in refuse, transit, ports, shuttle, taxi, trucking, airport and municipal fleet markets. He even has...

Senators Warn Bill Could Spike Gas $1.50 to $5 a Gallon Inhofe, Sessions blast massive costs of global warming legislation. By Jeff Poor Business & Media Institute 5/15/2008 5:44:34 PM Worried about gas prices hitting $4 a gallon and beyond? Imagine if they were $6, $7 or even $8 a gallon. Those levels are a certain possibility should Congress pass cap-and-trade legislation, which could face a vote in early June. Oil is trading at record levels, in excess of $120 a barrel. Leading Republican Sens. James Inhofe (Okla.) and Jeff Sessions (Ala.) both told the Business & Media Institute (BMI)...

Having finally worked out the kinks in using more biodiesel in its 600-bus fleet, TriMet is not sure it can afford it because of skyrocketing biodiesel costs.

LONDON (AFP) — The price of oil rocketed to a record high point of 127.43 dollars per barrel on Friday, as US President George W. Bush prepared to urge Saudi Arabia to pump more crude, analysts said. New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, beat the previous all-time peak of 126.98 set on Tuesday owing to worries about tight supplies despite a downgrade to global oil demand growth for 2008. The contract later stood at 126.90 dollars, up 2.78 dollars from Thursday's close. London's Brent crude contract for June spiked as high as 125.85 dollars,...

NEW YORK - Oil prices continued to rise Friday after a whipsaw overnight session that paired the expiration of options with a bevy of news that swung the price of oil per barrel in a $6 range. Light, sweet crude for June delivery was up $1.08 to $125.20 a barrel in electronic trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Europe. During Thursday’s session, the front-month crude oil contract dropped as low as $120.75 before bouncing back to finish at $124.12 a barrel.

HUGE Oil Field in Montana is Good News for Consumers --Which Makes it Unpalatable for the Mainstream MediaWhile Jeroen van der Veer, Shell’s chief executive, fears for the future of oil supplies after 2015--maybe he's confusing Shell's oil supply with the rest of the world's--Newsmax has just released information on the HUGE oil discovery in Montana: the Williston Basin or "Bakken" field. About 470 miles outside the state capitol of Helena - in a place called Richland County, Montana - more millionaires are being created per capita than anywhere else in America. It's the largest domestic oil discovery since Alaska's...

Bloomberg, so cannot be posted (why?).Title says it all, but the story can be found here.

High gas prices got you steamed? Just be glad that Chevy doesn’t run on lattes. A lot is made about the rising price of gas, but coffee prices are already through the stratosphere. Not that anyone cares. Dawn Mosier, a barista at the Java Café on Patrick Henry Village in Heidelberg, said she rarely gets a comment about the shop’s coffee prices, which are higher than those at some other on-base joints because they sell Starbucks. But her neighbors at the shoppette not 50 feet away don’t get the same consideration. "When I’m in the shoppette I always hear people...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- There's no question about it, a new breed of speculator is pouring money into the oil market and helping drive prices to record levels. What's less certain is if this new money is essential to a healthy market. Many blame record prices on Wall Street investors new to the oil market, saying they're bidding up gas prices to artificially high levels - and soaking drivers. As oil nears $130 a barrel, some say $10 to $70 of that price is due to Wall Street speculation. A slippery debate But that's not the whole story. Nearly everyone...

When President George Bush went to see Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah in January to plead for higher oil output, he was politely rebuffed. The rematch is likely to be a great deal more strained. If the Saudis deny help once again, they risk incalculable damage to their strategic alliance with Washington. The price of crude has rocketed by over $30 a barrel since that last fruitless meeting, briefly touching the once unthinkable level of $127. Goldman Sachs fears a "super-spike" to $200 a barrel this year. Asked what he would tell King Abdullah this time, Mr Bush said caustically: "the...

Protesters demonstrated Thursday against a coal-powered power plant proposed by Alliant Energy Corp. at Cassville, heartened by an environmental impact statement by state officials that said the proposed plant was "not the least cost option under any scenario." That statement, in a draft EIS by the Public Service Commission and the Department of Natural Resources, fueled protests by more than 70 environmentalists -- some on bicycles -- chanting "No more coal," prior to Alliant's annual shareholder meeting at the Alliant Energy Center. Protesters were joined by Thomas Sanzillo, a financial analyst who said that coal prices are likely to rise...

"Liquid Metal" at the Center of IBM Innovation to Significantly Reduce Cost of Concentrator Photovoltaic Cells ARMONK, NY, May 15, 2008 IBM today announced a research breakthrough in photovoltaics technology that could significantly reduce the cost of harnessing the Sun's power for electricity. By mimicking the antics of a child using a magnifying glass to burn a leaf or a camper to start a fire, IBM scientists are using a large lens to concentrate the Sun's power, capturing a record 230 watts onto a centimeter square solar cell, in a technology known as concentrator photovoltaics, or CPV. That energy is...

Dallas-based Mesa Power LLP, a company created by energy executive T. Boone Pickens, has placed an order with GE to purchase 667 wind turbines capable of generating 1,000 MW. GE plans to deliver the 1.5 MW wind turbines in 2010 and 2011. The agreement represents the first phase of the four-phase Pampa Wind Project that will become the world's largest wind energy project, with an expected capacity of more than 4,000 MW. When all phases of the project are completed as projected in 2014, the wind farm will be five times as big as the nation's current largest wind power...

Starting in the 1960s, the growth of the petroleum industry and the cheaper cost of producing butanol from petroleum products rather than renewable feedstocks made the biobased butanol plant obsolete. The last significant vestige of the industry—a facility in South Africa—ceased its operations in the early 1980s. But rising oil prices and concerns surrounding climate change and national security have rejuvenated interest, research and development into biobutanol. Although the primary use for the alcohol is as an industrial solvent, it offers several advantages over ethanol as a transportation fuel. Since the molecule contains four carbons compared with the two of...

The motor of Renault-Nissan's electrically-powered vehicle, built on the Megane model, is shown to the media in Tel Aviv, 11 May 2008 Record high oil prices and sluggish sales are forcing the world's biggest automakers to turn to electricity to power their vehicles. Nissan Motor Company is the latest automaker to move in that direction, officially announcing Tuesday it plans to introduce an all-electric vehicle for sale in the United States and Japan by 2010. Nissan's chief executive officer says the company will mass-market electric cars globally by 2012. Nissan also forecast its profits will decline by 30 percent...

What about Al? There is a rumor among those close to the Obama camp that this weekend will bring a big endorsement for the Illinois Senator. We can scratch John Edwards off that list, he is yesterday's news. Probably the only thing 'bigger' than Edwards would be former Vice-President Al Gore -- who will be in Pittsburgh this Sunday (May 18) to give the commencement speech at Carnegie Mellon University. Gore, after his unsuccessful run for president in 2000, took an environmental path, rather than political, and has become a cult-like figure among the left and environmentally correct.

Stoked by surging natural-gas prices, San Diego's Sempra Energy has completed its new Baja California liquefied-natural-gas terminal – opening the first LNG import facility on the western coast of North America. JOHN GIBBINS / Union-Tribune Sempra Energy's new Baja California liquefied-natural-gas terminal, known as Energia Costa Azul, was completed at an estimated cost of $1 billion. JOHN GIBBINS / Union-Tribune The startup of Energia Costa Azul is part of Sempra Energy's corporate strategy that has placed a premium on being one of the top players in natural-gas infrastructure. The isolated docking facility known as Energia Costa Azul, 14 miles north...

HARTFORD, Conn. — A renewable energy company founded by billionaire Boone Pickens said today it's buying 667 wind turbines from General Electric to start what it expects will be the world's largest wind energy project in the Texas Panhandle. Mesa Power says the Pampa Wind Project will use GE turbines that can each produce 1,000 megawatts of electricity. The project's $2 billion first phase — one of four planned — will make enough to power more than 300,000 average U.S. homes. When completed in 2014, it will become the world's largest wind energy project, with more than 4,000 megawatts of...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate late Wednesday approved and sent to the White House legislation directing President Bush to temporarily halt oil shipments into the government's emergency reserve, hoping to lower energy prices. Final approval came without debate after Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada received assurances from other senators, including Republicans, that no one would object. Bush has refused to halt the shipment of about 70,000 barrels of oil a day into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, saying it was such a small amount that it has no impact on gasoline or crude oil prices. Lawmakers acknowledged in debate on...

LOS ANGELES, May 14, 2008 (Reuters) — Alaska hit a milestone on Wednesday that could be a sign of things to come around the United States this summer -- it became the first state where the average price for regular gasoline reached $4 per gallon. "It wasn't totally unexpected," said Geoff Sundstrom, spokesman for the travel and auto group AAA which issues a daily gasoline price report. "Oil prices recently brushed against $127 per barrel so certainly, $4 gasoline could be in the cards for other states as well this summer," said Sundstrom. At $4 per gallon, filling up a...

... So, how is the Democrat’s “common sense plan” working? In the six years before they took control, oil increased an average of about $5 a year. But in the 16 months the Democrats have been responsible for the nation’s energy policy, the price of oil has risen to $126 — an increase of almost $70 a barrel or $5 each month. If I had a choice, I’d take $5 a year over $5 a month. Meanwhile, gas prices on the Democrat’s watch went from $2.20 a gallon to $3.67, an increase of almost 10 cents a month. The Democrat’s...

While oil and gasoline prices continue to rise, the rhetoric and actions of Democrats in Congress seem destined to push those costs even higher, contrary to the Dems' promise that they used to get elected to majorities in 2006 that they had "a common-sense plan to help bring down skyrocketing gas prices". Investor's Business Daily has a continuing series on "Breaking the Back of High Oil", and today's edition has a fascinating breakdown of some of the actions that the Democrats have taken over the last three decades or so to ensure that our country has no defense against the...

HOBBS -- Sen. Pete Domenici will be featured speaker at a national energy policy conference May 27 at the Lea County Event Center titled "The Making of Energy Policy: Where Are We Going?" The conference is sponsored by New Mexico Tech, the Economic Development Corporation of Lea County, and the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy. Co-sponsors are the United States Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute. NMCEP, operated by New Mexico Tech, is organizing the conference, the group said in a news release. Registration will begin at 10 a.m., followed at 11:30 a.m. by a welcome and...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Alaska hit a milestone on Wednesday that could be a sign of things to come around the United States this summer -- it became the first state where the average price for regular gasoline reached $4 per gallon. "It wasn't totally unexpected," said Geoff Sundstrom, spokesman for the travel and auto group AAA which issues a daily gasoline price report.

NMCEP will lead an event in early 2008 that will define the expectations of Americans that they be provided with reliable and competitively priced energy. This will be the first attempt to inject rural viewpoint into energy policy. Senator Pete V. Domenici is expected to deliver a major address at the event. Additional event details will be up soon.

May 14, 2008, 0:00 a.m. The Yuccafication of AmericaPolitical elites commit themselves to noble goals, and then nuke the best means available to achieve those goals. By Jonah Goldberg What do Yucca Mountain and Guantanamo Bay have in common? Well, there’s the obvious stuff. Both have Spanish names. Neither is a great spot for a family vacation. Each is controlled by the federal government. Oh, and both are essential tools in wars a lot of people claim they want to win. See, Yucca Mountain is where the government wants to keep incredibly dangerous substances — nuclear waste — until...

Editorial Director Tom Bryan and Staff Writer Bryan Sims talk about a groundbreaking distillers grains drying technique being explored by one enterprising Minnesota ethanol producer. Akin to a microwave, this novel technology holds the promise of reducing water use and emissions, and producing even better feed.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy U.S. domestic oil production has fallen 40% since 1985 while U.S. oil consumption has risen 30%. U.S. oil production is now under five million barrels a day, it was approximately nine million barrels a day in 1985. According to federal government estimates there are 112 billion barrels of oil in the areas that are now placed off limits. This is enough oil to power 60 million cars for 60 years. The Outer Continental Shelf in the United States contains over 44 billion barrels of oil and 232 trillion feet of natural gas. In...

Brazil's state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, will start a long-term production test at its giant Tupi field in March 2009, Chief Financial Officer Almir Barbassa said in a conference call Tuesday. The test will last two to three months, during which the company will produce 30,000 barrels a day from the field from three wells, Barbassa said. The company already has a platform available for the long-term test, and it is already searching for a rig for a pilot production of 100,000 barrels of oil and 4 million cubic meters of gas a day at the field...

LUBBOCK, Texas - Sweet sorghum is grown in the U.S. for cooking and livestock feed. But the tall plant also might help at the gas pump. A sugary sap inside the plant's stalk, which grow as tall as 12 feet, can be turned into a potent biofuel, and experts and companies are studying its potential with hopes that farmers will want to plant more of it. Ethanol made from the stalk's juice has four times the energy yield of the corn-based ethanol, which is already in the marketplace unlike sweet sorghum. Sweet sorghum produces about eight units of energy for...

By filibustering an amendment to allow development of offshore oil fields and a tiny portion of ANWR, the Democrats in the Senate have essentially said that they WANT the consumers in the US to be hurt by high gasoline prices and they WANT the US to be dependent on terrorist sponsoring nations and tin pot dictators for our supply of crude oil. Part of their reasoning is that even if drilling were allowed in ANWR, it would be years before we saw any relief. They also said the same thing 10 and 15 and 20 years ago. But the sad...

"One of the things I think is very important to realize is that the growth in the world oil consumption is not that strong." —David Kelly, chief market strategist, J.P. Morgan Funds; The Washington Post, May 4, 2008 "...There is substantial evidence that the large amount of speculation in the current market has significantly increased [oil] prices." —U.S. Senate Staff Report, The Role of Market Speculation in Rising Oil and Gas Prices, June 27, 2006 On May 13, the price of a barrel of oil briefly hit a record of $126.98 on the New York Mercantile Exchange The reason was...

UST LUGA, Russia, May 14 (Reuters) - Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin urged on Wednesday to grant tax breaks to new oil provinces to revive output growth and add over a tenth to current production levels by 2015. The Russian stock market, dominated heavily by oil stocks, rose 3.5 percent on the news with the oil and gas index jumping 5.14 and No.4 oil firm Surgutneftegaz soaring almost 11 percent. Putin said Russia should grant tax breaks for a period of up to seven years to oil companies developing fields located on Russia's continental shelf, the Yamal peninsula and the...

Residential Solar Embraces Leasing, Power Purchase Agreements by Charles W. Thurston, Correspondent California, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com] The use of power purchase agreements (PPAs) and similar leasing instruments to finance residential solar power installations is poised for a boom this year which could prove to be as healthy as the commercial solar PPA market was in 2007, several solar integrators in California suggest. "There were approximately 10,000 homeowners with solar power last year in California, and most say that there will be a 30-to-40 percent growth rate in the state this year," says Nat Kreamer, CEO of Sun Run, a Silicon...

RICHMOND-The State Corporation Commission has scheduled a public hearing for June 24 to receive comments on a request by Dominion Virginia Power to increase the company’s fuel rate on July 1. Dominion says the increase is necessary to cover the higher costs of fuel used to generate electricity. The company is seeking to raise its current fuel factor from 2.232 cents per kilowatt-hour to 3.893 cents. An average residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours in a month would see an increase of $16.61 on a monthly bill, or 18.3 percent. A public hearing on the request is scheduled for 10...

Innovalight's Silicon Ink by Joe Kwiatkowski, Physicist, Imperial College London London, UK [RenewableEnergyWorld.com] The last quarter of 2007 was an exciting time for the Silicon Valley start-up Innovalight: first a successful finance round that drew US $28 million of new capital, then the accolade of being amongst Red Herring's top one hundred innovators. Why the interest in Innovalight? Because of its remarkable claim to be able to print thin-film silicon solar cells. Printing is generally a low-cost and high throughput process, in stark contrast to conventional methods used to produce amorphous and crystalline silicon solar cells. As such, Innovalight claims...

The US House of Representatives will hold hearings on energy markets trying to determine who is causing oil prices to rise. The anti-market investigation will blame hedge funds and investment banks for manipulating the markets to make oil go to record levels. Oil is too global a commodity for speculators to determine its price. We know, for instance, that oil prices are high not only in spot markets but in futures markets, not only on the Nymex but in the UK (Brent), Dubai, Malaysia, and numerous smaller, less liquid markets not accessible to speculators. Are we to believe that the...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate, in a direct challenge to President Bush, voted Tuesday to temporarily halt the shipment of thousands of barrels of oil a day into the government's emergency reserve. Both Democrats and Republicans said such shipments make no sense when oil is costing more than $120 a barrel and could better be used to add supplies to a tight market and possibly lower prices. "We are buying the most expensive crude oil in the history of the world and storing it," said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. "When American consumers are burning at the stake by high energy...

Oil at $200 a barrel: that was the warning from Goldman Sachs, published last week. The real price is already at an all-time high (see chart). At $200 it would be twice as high as it was in any previous spike. Even so, it would be a mistake to focus in shock only on the short-term jump in prices. The bigger issues are longer term. Here are three facts about oil: it is a finite resource; it drives the global transport system; and if emerging economies consumed oil as Europeans do, world consumption would jump by 150 per cent. What...