Vehicle

The federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Aug. 20 that government motor vehicle fleets need to be powered by clean energy sources, such as natural gas and alternative fuels. The rules apply to fleets of 15 vehicles or more, the appellate court said.

The Gas Technology Institute (GTI), in collaboration with the Department of Energy and Brookhaven National Labs, successfully completed testing of a new small-scale natural gas liquefier that could be used to provide liquefied natural gas (LNG) for vehicles, utility peak shaving applications, remote gas recovery, and liquefaction of renewable resources such as digester or landfill gas.

The Gas Technology Institute (GTI), in collaboration with the Department of Energy and Brookhaven National Labs, successfully completed testing of a new small-scale natural gas liquefier that could be used to provide liquefied natural gas (LNG) for vehicles, utility peak shaving applications, remote gas recovery, and liquefaction of renewable resources such as digester or landfill gas.

In what is becoming a popular investment vehicle for its Canadian operations, San Jose, CA-based Calpine Corp. announced recently that it is pricing an initial sale of 18.4 million trust units at C$10/unit as part of a sale of the Calpine Natural Gas Trust (CNG Trust), which will acquire selected Calpine Canadian oil/gas properties. It is expected to close Wednesday and make its first cash distribution Dec. 15.

In what is becoming a popular investment vehicle for its Canadian operations, San Jose, CA-based Calpine Corp. announced Friday that it is pricing an initial sale of 18.4 million trust units at Cdn$10/unit as part of a sale of the Calpine Natural Gas Trust (CNG Trust), which will acquire selected Calpine Canadian oil/gas properties. It is expected to close Oct. 15, and make its first cash distribution Dec. 15, 2003.

With several lawmakers from both sides of Capitol Hill calling for FERC to slow down its implementation of a proposed standard market design (SMD) for U.S. wholesale electricity markets, a Capitol Hill aide on Friday cast doubt on whether moves to rein in the federal agency’s SMD proposal will occur as part of the ongoing Congressional efforts to craft a comprehensive energy bill.

Convertible securities are becoming a popular vehicle among energy companies as a quick fix for Wall Street’s cash flow concerns in the wake of Enron’s bankruptcy. Williams announced its own program Friday, saying it plans this week to offer $1 billion in securities automatically convertible into company stock, as part of a previously announced plan to maintain the company’s investment-grade credit ratings.

In order to force a vote on energy this year, Sen Frank Murkowski (R-AK) said he and other Republican proponents will attempt to attach the House energy bill, H.R. 4, to either the economic-stimulus, railroad retirement or farm reauthorization bills that are due to come before the Senate in the remaining days of the session.

Senate Energy Chairman Frank Murkowski (R-AK) last weekintroduced his National Energy Security Act of 2000, S. 2557, asan amendment to the Labor, Health and Human Services appropriationmeasure now before the Senate. He did so at the urging of MajorityLeader Trent Lott (R-MS), who supports the energy measure.