Betting Big on a Boom in Natural Gas - Yahoo! News

Betting Big on a Boom in Natural Gas

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Earlier this year the time came for Lloyd M. Yates, CEO of Progress Energy (NYSE:http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=pgn">PGN - http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=pgn">News), to decide how the big Raleigh (N.C.) utility would meet the state's stringent smokestack laws. First he considered the easy solution: installing pollution scrubbers on the utility's old coal-fired plant in Sutton, N.C., at a cost of $330 million. Then his attention turned to natural gas, the price of which had plunged by two-thirds in the previous year. Sure, the recession accounted for some of the slide. But reports were also circulating of massive discoveries of natural gas in the U.S. Moreover, because the fuel emits half the carbon of coal, it seemed safe from the climate legislation being considered in Washington, which could impose steep penalties on emissions.

After weighing their options, Yates and his board decided against the scrubbers and opted to upgrade another coal plant to natural gas -- a $900 million project. In Yates' calculations, that would satisfy the smokestack law and more than pay for itself over time. "It was like deciding whether to put a catalytic converter on a '52 Chevy," Yates says. "It was: 'When do you buy the new car?'"

The U.S. natural gas industry hopes that as Lloyd Yates goes, so goes the country. In summer 2008 the U.S. and much of the rest of the world were consumed by talk of peak oil and natural gas and fears that high fuel prices would persist forever. Today analysts still worry about the oil supply but far less about natural gas. U.S. gas producers, capitalizing on a technological breakthrough, have in recent years unlocked an enormous volume of natural gas in the shale rock under Colorado, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, and other states. According to a July report by the Colorado School of Mines, the U.S. now holds 1,800 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, one third of it in shale, the equivalent of some 320 billion barrels of oil. That's more than Saudi Arabia's 264 billion barrels.

Of course, natural gas isn't interchangeable with oil and won't solve America's energy woes by itself. While natural gas can be used to heat homes and power vehicles, it's mostly used, like coal, to generate electricity.

But the supply estimates for natural gas are so vast and the plunge in prices so steep that they're forcing business leaders to rethink their long-term energy strategies -- quickly. Utilities are debating whether to retrofit coal plants for gas. Big corporations such as AT&T (NYSE:http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=t">T - http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=t">News) and UPS are beginning to convert large truck fleets from oil-based gasoline to natural gas. Even renewable-energy players are jumping in: As they try to coax more power from unpredictable wind and solar generators, they're finding that inexpensive natural gas helps keep their output steady.

It's not certain that the gas boom will fulfill its promise. "We don't know if it will be truly awesome or only theoretical in its impact," says David G. Victor, a professor and energy expert at the University of California at San Diego. While natural gas producers say they're sitting on the greatest volumes ever, they also face considerable barriers to getting their commodity to market. Prices are so low that many producers have closed their wells. Most utilities fitted with coal-burning units remain reluctant to invest in natural gas equipment. Critics say the water-intensive shale-drilling process poses risks to nearby drinking water supplies. And skeptics point to the late 1990s, another era when prices seemed permanently lowered, only to spike a few years later. "Utilities have been burned many times," says Andre Begosso, an energy strategist at Accenture (NYSE:http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=acn">ACN - http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=acn">News), a consulting firm.

Yet the opening up of U.S. shale gas may make the current wave of discoveries different from those of the past. A technique developed in the late 1990s by tiny Mitchell Energy & Development is driving the action. Before hydraulic-fracturing, as the technique is called, gas that was encased in solid shale was untappable. Mitchell and others figured out how to inject the rock with water and chemicals to release the gas molecules. Another recent advance has made it possible for drillers to fan out horizontally, recovering gas from far larger areas than in the past. U.S. natural gas production rose 14% between early 2007 and mid-2008, in large part because of new fields such as the Barnett Shale in Texas.

And the shale boom is only in its infancy. In 2004, John H. Pinkerton of Range Resources (NYSE:http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=rrc">RRC - http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=rrc">News) drilled the first such well in Appalachia, the Marcellus Shale, a 62 million-acre gas field spanning some 600 miles north to south. Since then Pinkerton has beefed up a one-person Pittsburgh office to 150 geologists, geophysicists, and engineers. Pinkerton says his production has quickly tripled, to some 90 million cubic feet a day. "We expect to double that next year, and again in the following years," he says.

In Raleigh, Progress Energy's Yates made his decision to shift to natural gas in the face of a state requirement to cut the utility's sulfur dioxide emissions in half, to 50,000 tons a year, by 2013. To do so in time, the utility had to act this year. After weighing the options it chose natural gas, in effect betting that prices would stay low for a while. Output at the plant will rise considerably, with a 950-megawatt natural gas unit replacing 397 megawatts of coal-fired capacity. And it will do so while also meeting the sulfur dioxide requirement: It will lower carbon dioxide emissions by 60% and nitrogen oxide by 95%, and will eliminate mercury emissions.

If Washington puts a cap on carbon emissions, Yates will likely face another decision on how to modernize Progress Energy's three other 1950s- and '60s-era coal-fired plants. Yates says natural gas will figure prominently in the calculations, while "we are not even considering coal because of its cost."

A few other utilities are making the shift to gas or considering doing so. Tampa Electric (NYSE:http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=te">TE - http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=te">News) has transformed its coal-fired Gannon Power Station into a natural gas unit at a cost of $750 million. In April, developers of the Highwood Generating Station near Great Falls, Mont., dropped plans to burn coal and chose natural gas for a new plant. Portland (Ore.) General Electric (NYSE:http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=por">POR - http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=por">News) is proposing to build two new natural gas plants.

Most utilities, however, remain on the sidelines. Natural gas prices have been so volatile over the years that executives are unwilling to make a long-term commitment. That's because if they lock in a guaranteed supply at higher prices than today's and prices don't rise to that level, they might have to raise the rates they charge customers. That wouldn't be an easy sell to regulators, who "are not keen on cost-recovery for wrong-way bets on supply contracts," says James Owen, spokesman for the Edison Electric Institute, an industry lobbying group.

Oddly enough, natural gas is finding more popularity among utilities that embrace renewable energy. Fears that cheap natural gas might take investment from costlier solar and wind power have proven overblown; instead, utilities are building both. Because gas turbines can vary their output with precision, they complement wind farms and solar fields that generate irregular power flows. The result is a more stable and reliable energy supply.

Florida Power & Light (NYSE:http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=fpl">FPL - http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=fpl">News), the nation's largest renewable-energy developer, is building a solar thermal power plant that will be the nation's second largest. The Juno Beach (Fla.) company put its new facility next to an existing gas-fired plant so that when a cloud passes in front of the sun, the gas plant can keep the power flow steady. Public Service Enterprise Group, (NYSE:http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=peg">PEG - http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=peg">News) a major mid-Atlantic utility, is developing gas and renewable projects simultaneously. "The ease of dispatching gas-combustion turbines makes them perfect complements" for wind and solar plants, says PSEG CEO Ralph Izzo.

General Electric (NYSE:http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ge">GE - http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=ge">News) has targeted a line of fast-start gas turbines at renewable projects. As part of a $320 million investment, Topeka (Kan.)-based Westar Energy (NYSE:http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=wr">WR - http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=wr">News) has paired four of those turbines with 300 megawatts' worth of wind capacity spread around the region. It's a wind-rich area, where gusts not only die suddenly but also get too brisk, forcing the turbines to shut down for safety. In either event, gas turbines can kick in to maintain power. Westar committed to build the turbines back in 2006, when gas was double today's price. Now, with prices so low, "they offer an extra benefit, supplying regular power too," says Greg A. Greenwood, a vice-president at Westar.

Natural gas is also making a small dent in the transportation market. AT&T (NYSE:http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=t">T - http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=t">News) in March announced that it would be replacing 8,000 service vans with natural-gas-powered vehicles. The 10-year, $350 million upgrade came as part of a $565 million alternative-fuel vehicle initiative started last year. Rising gasoline prices are turning skeptics into believers. From April to July the average price of a gallon of gasoline jumped by 22%, to $2.46, while the price of compressed natural gas for cars rose just 6%, to the equivalent of around $1.73. "When the price of gas rises at the pump by a cent and you're buying about 80 million gallons of fuel a year, it gets pretty expensive," says Jerome Webber, AT&T's vice-president for fleet operations. The company is betting the new vehicles will save it 49 million gallons of gasoline over the next decade. Transportation giant UPS, meanwhile, deployed 300 new natural gas vehicles in February alongside 800 already on the road.

The market for natural gas vehicles is limited by the dearth of fill-up stations in the U.S. Just 1,100 of the country's 162,000 stations sell natural gas, according to Natural Gas Vehicles for America. But that number is growing. Clean Energy (CDNX:http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=lne.v">LNE.V - http://finance.yahoo.com/q/h?s=lne.v">News), a Seal Beach (Calif.)-based company backed by T. Boone Pickens, has installed 184 natural gas stations in North America and plans to add up to 80 more in the next two years. Utah's Questar Gas has built 20 along that state's I-15 corridor and plans six more over the next 18 months.

Of course, the CEOs of natural gas outfits understand that such inroads don't amount to much compared with the massive reserves still sitting underground. They've descended on Washington in recent months to persuade lawmakers to create incentives for gas use in a climate-change bill moving through Congress. By boosting demand over the long term they hope to strengthen their position vs. Big Coal and Big Oil.

Whether or not they succeed in D.C., the shift away from coal and toward natural gas seems likely to continue, at least for a while, as the price and policy dynamics point in its favor. Says PSEG's Izzo: "We're building gas turbines because...there's no other option in the near term."

With Brian Burnsed in Washington

Print Story: Natural gas tumbles with most ever in storage - Yahoo! News

Natural gas tumbles with most ever in storage

By CHRIS KAHN, Associated Press Writer Chris Kahn, Associated Press Writer 35 mins ago

NEW YORK – Natural gas prices tumbled nearly 8 percent Thursday after the government reported consumption has dropped so low that the U.S. is now storing more than at any other time on record.

The report was welcome news for homeowners who heat their homes and cook their meals with natural gas. Suppliers already have cut rates in many parts of the country as stockpiles ballooned above the five-year average, and a continued drop in natural gas prices should convince others to cut prices as well.

Natural gas for November delivery lost 37.5 cents to settle at $4.466 per 1,000 cubic feet on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Energy Information Administration reported Thursday that underground aquifers and caverns in the lower 48 states stored 3.589 trillion cubic feet of natural gas last week, topping the previous all-time high of 3.545 trillion cubic feet set on Nov. 2, 2007. Government records go back to 1975.

Analyst Steven Schork said supplies have grown so much that the U.S. is nearing its storage capacity for natural gas. If that happens, producers could dump more of it on the open market, dropping prices even more.

But Peter Beutel at Cameron Hanover said prices have dropped so low this summer that they'll likely spring back as winter approaches.

"We'll start drawing down those supplies," Beutel said "especially if it's cold and the economy starts to pick back up."

Elsewhere, oil prices ticked higher as the dollar strengthened and traders mulled a mixed bag of economic reports that suggested the country wouldn't enjoy a swift economic recovery.

Benchmark crude for November delivery added 21 cents to settle at $70.82 on the Nymex. In London, Brent crude lost 12 cents to settle at $69.19 on the ICE Futures exchange.

Reports by the Commerce and Labor departments said that while consumer and construction spending grew in August, the number of people claiming first-time unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week.

Although the Institute for Supply Management's index of manufacturing activity showed a second straight month of growth in September, the reading was well below what analysts expected.

The mixed economic news helped equities markets start the fourth quarter on a sour note. The Dow Jones industrial average lost about 147 points, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index gave up 21, down about 2 percent.

At the pump, retail gas prices fell by a penny overnight to a new national average of $2.469 a gallon, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. A gallon of regular gas is 13.8 cents cheaper than last month and $1.15 cheaper than the same time last year.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline for November delivery added less than a penny to settle at $1.7579 a gallon, and heating oil lost a half cent to settle at $1.8274 a gallon.

___

Associated Press writers Pablo Gorondi in Budapest, Hungary and Alex Kennedy in Singapore contributed to this report.

Zero-Emission Cars: A Battle Among Technologies -- Printout -- TIME

Tuesday, Sep. 01, 2009

Zero-Emission Cars: A Battle Among Technologies

Q'Orianka Kilcher has never pumped a gallon of gasoline into her car. Never. Then again, she's never owned a car that needed gasoline. You could say she is at ground zero of the ZE, or zero-emission, vehicle future.

A 19-year-old actress living in Santa Monica, Calif. (she played Pocahontas in the 2005 movie The New World), Q'Orianka (pronounced Quor-ee-anka) is on her second hydrogen-fuel-cell car, a Honda FCX Clarity, a four-door with a 200-mile range. "I don't think I will ever buy a gas car," she says. "I can go everywhere I want to go with this. Plus, it's a guy magnet." (See the history of the electric car.)

Auto-marketing gurus take note: the brave new world of ZE cars is here, ready or not, and please make them sexy.

"ZEs are an entirely different paradigm," says Stephen Ellis, manager of fuel-cell-vehicle marketing for American Honda Motor Co. in Torrance, Calif. Ellis manages the rare $600-a-month leases (including free hydrogen fill-ups) for the FCX Clarity. "Knowing how to integrate these new technologies into existing lifestyles and then building new infrastructures to make it work is the trick," says Ellis. "It took a hundred years to create the gasoline infrastructure; this will be much faster."

There are three types of zero, or near zero, emission cars: electric plug-ins, hybrid plug-ins and hydrogen fuel cells (which create power by having oxygen and hydrogen pass over electricity-generating electrodes). But each major automaker has its own take on which advanced technology will win 10 years down the road. (See the video "Charge Your Car for 60 Cents.")

Nissan, for example, is pedal-to-the-metal with pure electric cars, having skipped fuel-cell technology altogether. It considers "interim hybrid technology," like Toyota's successful Prius, a mere passing phase. "The market-share winner will be the one that offers affordable, mass-market, zero-emission vehicles with a zero payback period for premium technologies," says Mark Perry, director of the product planning and strategy group for Nissan North America.

The automaker's first electric, the Nissan Leaf, was launched last month and is touted as the world's first affordable ZE. No price has been announced (the Leaf is still 14 months away from being available), but it's estimated to come in under $30,000. It seats five adults, goes 100 miles on a charge with V6 performance, offers advanced electronics and will reach 90 m.p.h. Nissan says it will produce 50,000 electric cars globally by 2010, and it's scaling up plants. At full capacity, its Tennessee plant will produce 150,000 ZE vehicles and 200,000 battery packs. But like all new technologies, the Leaf will have some marketing challenges, not all of which have been test-driven, according to Perry. (See "Aptera Electric Car in Best Inventions of 2008.")

"It's a very different sales process, especially with the inherent infrastructure challenges, like electric charging stations and in-home charging," he says. "It will be more of a consultative sale at the dealer level, and for some people, it may not be the right purchase."

"You'd never think of training consumers on how to fill up a gasoline-powered car," says Honda's Ellis. "But it's the very first thing we show them."

See the 50 worst cars of all time.

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Dealers will ask prospective buyers some strange questions too, such as "Do you own a garage, for in-home refueling?" If the answer is no, an old-school, fuel-efficient Civic might be a better choice. And if your commute is more than 40 miles, well, you might want to kick the tires on a nifty hybrid. If, like Q'Orianka, you want a fuel-cell car, but you're not living in the Southern California hydrogen-fueling cluster, sorry. Only a dozen hydrogen-fueling stations exist, all in a 60-mile stretch between Newport Beach and Santa Monica.

According to Ellis, such customer research is necessary "to filter out customers so the experience is a positive one." Ellis has only 10 people on fuel-cell leases but is hoping for 200 next year.

In contrast to Nissan, Honda has passed up pure electrics, preferring instead to bank on lower-cost hybrids (Civic and Insight) and hydrogen fuel cells. Ellis, however, claims no distinction should be made between "FCs" and electrics, since a fuel-cell car is basically an electric car powered by hydrogen-created electricity.

Then there is Toyota, the 800-pound hybrid gorilla. Toyota has yet a third route to success: muscling up on its hybrid strength.

"We believe in not being first to market but being best to market," says Mary Nickerson, who is in charge of advanced-vehicle marketing at Toyota Motor Sales, also in Torrance. Last year, Toyota reached the 1 million sales mark with its Prius hybrid (gas-powered with fuel-saving electric technology).

"Our strategy is to be the hybrid masters, no pure electrics, and to explore fuel-cell technology," says Nickerson. "We feel it's going to take a lot more than one technology to make this new market work." Toyota began testing fuel cells in 2002. (Read "The Chevy Volt: GM's Huge Bet on the Electric Car.")

Toyota is investing heavily in its hybrid platform, offering more models, both larger and smaller. In 2010 it will start a demo program for plug-in hybrids with an "eco mode," or a downtown-use option, in which the vehicle will run for 20 miles on electricity before the gas engine kicks in.

Toyota's intrepid Prius customers are ripe for the next big thing, says Nickerson, noting research shows that a high percentage of Prius owners are likely to consider pure electrics or hybrid plug-ins. "Prius owners are people very comfortable trying new technologies because of their positive experience with Prius," she says. (Read "Nissan's New Leaf: An Electric Car and Charging Stations Too.")

But this same internal research shows some big inconveniences too. Some 21% of consumers will not consider a pure electric car because of the need to plug-in at home, according Nickerson. "We believe that 10 years out, the winners will be all new technologies, but hybrids will be the largest winner of them all."

Then again, as Honda's Ellis says, "It all depends on the price of gas."

Solving the Climate Change Puzzle; Natural Gas- Clean, Abundant, Efficient, American | True Blue Natural Gas - An Energy Blog from the American Gas Association AGA

Solving the Climate Change Puzzle; Natural Gas- Clean, Abundant, Efficient, American

August 26, 2009 by Lauren Blosse · Leave a comment
Filed under: energy, environment 

The answers to many of the questions our association receives may seem like second nature to our staff, but are unknown or unclear to the general public, such as: what are the chemical elements of natural gas? Where does it come from and how does it get to our homes and businesses? How can it help us reach our environmental goals as a nation?

Recently, the four groups that comprise the Natural Gas Council (AGA, the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, the Natural Gas Supply Association, and the Independent Petroleum Association of America) set out to create a blueprint of the natural gas industry as a whole- from the burner tip in our kitchens back to the wellhead where the gas is produced.  The result is a comprehensive booklet, “Solving the Climate Change Puzzle;  Natural Gas- Clean, Abundant, Efficient, American,” which is now available to the public.

As our lawmakers try to secure America’s energy future by promoting clean, domestic energy, natural gas is both an immediate and long-term piece of that solution.

Be sure to let us know what you think.

ksl.com - $15 million coming to Utah for alternative fuels

$15 million coming to Utah for alternative fuels
August 27th, 2009 @ 7:56am

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Nearly $15 million in federal funds will help upgrade and expand Utah's network of compressed natural gas stations and increase the number of cars, trucks and buses that run on cleaner-burning fuel.

The money is part of $300 million in federal stimulus funds being distributed by the U.S. Department of Energy to expand the nation's fleet of alternative fuel and energy-efficient vehicles.

Robin Erickson, director of the Utah Clean Cities Coalition, says the money will help pay for 16 new compressed natural gas fueling stations scattered throughout the state and upgrades to the state's 24 existing fueling stations.

Some of the money will also pay for a portion of three new biofuel stations in Salt Lake City, Provo and Plymouth.

Ephren Taylor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ephren Taylor

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Ephren W. Taylor II is the CEO of a publicly-traded company in the United States[1].

[edit] Early life

Ephren W. Taylor II was born July 17, 1982 in Carlisle,[disambiguation needed] Mississippi, a town with a population of around 300 people. After his father completed college, his job took the family to several other areas of the country, eventually settling in Overland Park Kansas, outside of Kansas City Missouri.

Learning computer programming at the local library after school, Taylor started his first business venture at age 12, when he began making 3D videogames and selling them to his friends in school for $10 a copy. He sold over 100 copies of the game.

Recently, Taylor was named by The Michigan Chronicle as one of 2007’s ten people making a global difference. Taylor has been described as “walking history” by popular radio show host Tom Joyner.

In 2007, at City Capital Corporation, Taylor started the Goshen Energy initiative; which focuses on producing alternative energy specializing in biofuels. Taylor’s commitment to green energy is part of his concept of empowering local communities with both profitable and socially-conscious investing and development. Through his action on green energy and philanthropy, Taylor is leading a new wave of CEO’s focusing on corporate social responsibility.

Taylor’s diverse business portfolio is quickly transforming him into a household name. He appears weekly on FOX News and has been featured on network shows such as ABC’s 20/20 and Montel Williams show. He also has regular appearances in print and radio media including PBS, Black Enterprise, and the Miami Herald.

Beyond his unprecedented accomplishments at an early age in business, Taylor is an author, inspirational speaker, and real estate mastermind. His first book, “Creating Success from the Inside Out”, is published by the world’s number one business publisher, Wiley and is an Amazon and CEO Read best seller. The book serves as an expose of the mindset of today’s multi-millionaires while defining success as not only attaining wealth, but how to utilize it.

In celebration of their 170th anniversary, Taylor completed a specialized curriculum for high school-aged aspiring entrepreneurs at Cheyney University, America’s oldest historically black college and university. After providing a donation to get the program started, The Ephren Taylor Entrepreneur Academy opened in July 2007.

[edit] Business Dealings

Ephren Taylor became CEO of City Capital Corporation (traded under CTCC) in 2006. City Capital Corporation's interests include large-scale real estate developments in several states, as well as producing oil and natural gas wells. The company has a focused, socially-conscious mission, returning a significant amount of its profits to the local communities it partners with.

City Capital Corporation http://www.citycapitalcorp.net/ Personal web site for his book http://www.createthesuccess.com

[edit] References

The Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Bozeman Montana

Aug 6, 1:49 PM EDT

Tribal leaders mark entry in natural gas business

HARDIN, Mont. (AP) -- The Crow Tribe is officially in the natural gas business.

Tribal leaders joined executives from Ursa Major, an Oklahoma-based energy company, on Wednesday to celebrate the start of natural gas production at the new Venne-Old Elk compressor station near Hardin.

The station is named to honor former tribal Chairman Carl Venne and Secretary Andrew Old Elk, two deceased leaders who helped get the tribe involved in the natural gas project.

Production from seven wells drilled by Ursa Major officially began Friday.

Tribal leaders say getting the project up and running is a milestone for the tribe, and the first step in working with companies to develop the reservation's rich supply of energy resources.

"The Creator has blessed us and put us in the right place in terms of all the natural resources we have," said Cedric Black Eagle, tribal chairman. "We also thank Ursa Major for taking the risk with us to achieve this milestone."

Jason Frankenberg, vice president and general counsel for Ursa Major, praised the insight of Venne and Old Elk, as well as the continued support of Black Eagle, the other leaders and the tribe's Oil and Gas Committee.

"Nobody said it would be easy," Frankenberg said. "Many said it couldn't be done. Once a vision is shared, it's unstoppable. And today, natural gas is flowing from the Crow Reservation."

Ursa Major began talks with the tribe's executive branch in 2006 and started drilling exploratory wells in December 2007. By the fall of 2008, Frankenberg said the company decided to fully develop the project.

The company intends to drill seven or eight more wells by the end of the year and continue adding wells over time. Frankenberg said within five years, the goal is to have 100 wells.

Over the course of the natural gas partnership, the tribe could receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties. The tribe's first royalty check, for about $10,000, will probably come in about 45 days, Frankenberg said.

The reservation is along the northern edge of the Powder River Basin, which produces nearly half of the nation's coal annually.

Legislation to Promote Natural Gas Vehicles | True Blue Natural Gas - An Energy Blog from the American Gas Association AGA

Legislation to Promote Natural Gas Vehicles

July 27, 2009 by Dan Gibson · Leave a comment
Filed under: Natural Gas 

As I’m making my daily rounds on the web, there are few subjects that come across my news feed more often than natural gas vehicles (NGV). The messages about the positive benefits surrounding NGV’s are abundant. In fact, those benefits are so positive that a bill, H.R. 1622, written by Rep. John Sullivan (R-OK), passed last week by an overwhelming 393-35 vote.

H.R. 1622 authorizes the Department of Energy to spend $30 million annually for a five-year period on research and development for natural gas vehicles.

Some highlights from our press release on H.R. 1622 and the benefits of NGV’s include:

  • Natural gas vehicles reduce carbon monoxide emissions by 70 percent and nitrogen oxide by nearly 90 percent when compared to most gasoline-powered vehicles.
  • Natural gas is available in extremely large quantities in the United States, with 100 years of supply of natural gas available today and new technologies coming online that have the power to unearth enough gas to supply the country for much longer. Video from the Potential Gas Committee press event here.
  • Natural gas costs one-third less than conventional gasoline at the pump.

You can read the full release about the legislation promoting natural gas vehicles here. You can also visit our friends at Natural Gas Vehicles for America.

If you have an NGV, feel free to leave a comment below on your experience.

Boosting Energy Efficiency Could Save U.S. $1.2 Trillion

Boosting Energy Efficiency Could Save U.S. $1.2 Trillion

mckinsey-report
McKinsey & Co. have released another report about climate change, but this time they're putting it in motivating terms:  money, money, money.  The consulting firm has calculated the amount of cash the country could save over the next decade if we fully commit to becoming more energy efficient, and the amount is huge:  $1.2 trillion.

Of course, this savings can only be accomplished through a large investment in weatherizing homes, retrofitting buildings, efficiency education and government initiatives, etc. - costing about $520 billion over that same decade.  So, you're actually looking at a net savings of $700 billion, but that's still a nice big incentive to cut our energy consumption and help the planet at the same time.

The firm states that homes and businesses could trim 28 percent off their current energy bills and industries could trim 20 percent.  The report doesn't factor in transportation, just "stationary" uses of energy, but the study shows that through that large investment in efficiency, the country could slash 23 percent of its energy demand by 2020 and prevent the emissions of 1.1 gigatons of greenhouse gases yearly, the equivalent of taking the U.S. passenger fleet off the road.

As ecogeeks already know, a large portion of wasted energy is consumed by vampire power loads.  The study revealed that efficiency standards that prevent our electronics from sucking energy while not in use could lead to energy savings equal to the yearly electricity consumption of the Netherlands.

Click here to read the full report.