Coal

More Americans continue to view alternative energy development as a higher priority than increased production of natural gas, oil and coal, but the gap has narrowed “considerably” over the past year, according to a poll released on Monday by the Pew Research Center.

Billing its transformation away from coal-fired generation to more natural gas-fired power as a “21st Century model,” Rapid City, SD-based Black Hills Corp. said Wednesday its utility operations in Colorado would start the new year by firing up commercial operations of two new baseload gas-fired generation plants near the Pueblo, CO, airport.

Historically dependent on water and coal for its sources of energy, Idaho now is looking for more balance that includes natural gas and renewable resources, according to a recent opinion poll of the Pacific Northwest and the hopes of the fledgling Idaho Petroleum Council (IPC).

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) by 2040 may replace coal as the second largest global energy source, ExxonMobil Corp. CEO Rex Tillerson said in Qatar this week.

As the natural gas industry pushes for a standardized drilling ordinance in Pennsylvania, it doesn’t expect the regulations to be easy, just predictable, a pair of executives told an audience in Pittsburgh.

With nuclear power generation being phased out and coal considered too inflexible, natural gas as a source of electricity generation is drawing increased interest in Germany to balance its national grid, which is rapidly moving toward total reliance on renewable sources for power generation.

ConocoPhillips on Wednesday said it intended to file required paperwork in early November to spin off its downstream unit from its exploration and production (E&P) business, which when completed would create the biggest pure-play independent in North America.

With nuclear power generation being phased out, coal considered too inflexible and the potential for shale gas to overcome current negative connotations in parts of Europe, natural gas as a source of electricity generation is drawing increased interest in Germany, which is rapidly moving toward total reliance on renewable sources for power generation.

With nuclear power generation being phased out and coal considered too inflexible, natural gas as a source of electricity generation is drawing increased interest in Germany to balance its national grid, which is rapidly moving toward total reliance on renewable sources for power generation.