Promises

The total value of U.S. natural gas and oil and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the first three months of this year was up 69% from the same period a year ago and the rest of 2011 promises to be strong, according to a survey by PwC US.

The Obama administration opened up federal lands to alternative energy development this month in the first of what promises to be a series of similar announcements. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced the federal government’s willingness to put aside environmental criticism and allow two large-scale solar projects to be built on Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-controlled lands in Southern California.

In a billion-dollar case that promises to get more complicated in the wake of the San Bruno gas transmission pipeline explosion, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. signaled last Monday that a settlement may be near in its issue-laden general rate case at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

In a billion-dollar case that promises to get more complicated in the wake of the San Bruno transmission pipeline explosion, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. signaled Monday that a settlement may be near in its issue-laden general rate case at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

In a deal in which natural gas-fired generation promises to expand in the future, Calpine Corp. said Thursday is has completed its $1.63 billion acquisition of Conectiv Energy’s power plant fleet from Pepco Holdings Inc.

The start of a three-phase research and demonstration effort among major utilities and the oil and gas industry was unanimously approved Friday by California regulators. It promises to perfect a method of using refinery petroleum waste products in an integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) process with carbon capture and storage (CCS). The process would create hydrogen power that could back out natural gas-fueled power generation.

The start of a three-phase research and demonstration effort among major utilities and the oil and gas industry was unanimously approved Friday by California regulators. It promises to perfect a method of using refinery petroleum waste products in an integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) process with carbon capture and storage (CCS). The process would create hydrogen power that could back out natural gas-fueled power generation.

The Senate subcommittee on Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection last Wednesday held the first in what promises to be a whirlwind series of hearings on the America’s Climate Security Act.

The Senate subcommittee on Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection on Wednesday held the first in what promises to be a whirlwind series of hearings on the America’s Climate Security Act.