Renewables

Even though California utilities have been spending billions of dollars pushing renewables and energy efficiency while preparing for stringent greenhouse gas (GHG) emission restrictions that start in 2012, a host of legislative proposals dealing with all of those issues and more were kicked around in an all-day meeting of the state Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee last Tuesday. Most of the 34 items passed.

Even though California utilities have been spending billions of dollars pushing renewables and energy efficiency while preparing for stringent greenhouse gas (GHG) emission restrictions that start in 2012, a host of legislative proposals dealing with all of those energy issues and more were kicked around in an all-day meeting Tuesday of the state Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee. Most of the proposals among an agenda packed with 34 items were passed after being amended with agreement from their authors.

In a forum stressing renewables at the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) annual meeting last Monday in Park City, UT, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu said the view of natural gas in the energy mix is becoming more bullish for the next 10 years, given the breakthrough in obtaining economic supplies from shale. North American power generators are rethinking the role of gas over the next decade, Chu told the governors group, which issued a new policy resolution on renewable development in the West.

In a forum stressing renewables at the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) annual meeting Monday in Park City, UT, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu said the view of natural gas in the energy mix is becoming more bullish for the next 10 years, given the breakthrough in obtaining economic supplies from shale. North American power generators are rethinking gas’s role over the next decade, Chu told the governors group, which issued a new policy resolution on renewable development in the West.

Natural gas is not just a bridge to renewables but rather is the fuel of the future in an era when beating global warming tops agendas in Washington, DC, and gas producers have stoked supplies with unconventional drilling success, a leading utility executive said last Wednesday.

Natural gas is not just a bridge to renewables but rather is the fuel of the future in an era when beating global warming tops agendas in Washington, DC, and gas producers have stoked supplies with unconventional drilling success, a leading utility executive said Wednesday.

New regulations to push the marketplace toward the use of more natural gas and renewables could unshackle the United States from oil imports, U.S. Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) said last week. He spoke to a standing room only crowd on the first day of Cambridge Energy Research Associates’ CERAWeek conference in Houston.

New regulations to push the marketplace toward the use of more natural gas and renewables could unshackle the United States from oil imports, U.S. Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) said Monday. He spoke to a standing room only crowd on the first day of Cambridge Energy Research Associates’ CERAWeek conference in Houston.

Iberdrola Renewables’ U.S. energy business, PPM Energy, announced that its subsidiary, Enstor Inc., completed the acquisition of ownership interests in the Freebird Gas Storage facility in Lamar County, AL from Houston-based Multifuels LP and Denham Capital. The transaction is valued at $164 million subject to adjustments. RBC Capital Markets advised on the sale. The natural gas storage facility has an existing working capacity of 7.6 Bcf with the potential to be expanded up to 11.4 Bcf. The Freebird facility is located on the Tennessee 500 line. The Northwest Alabama Gas District is a co-owner of the facility.