Category Archives: Uncategorized

UK offers Big Tax Breaks for Shale Gas Fracking

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Chancellor George Osborne has said that the Treasury will go ahead with the most generous tax regime for shale gas in the world.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

>In the North Sea oil and gas exploration has received tax breaks along the same lines. This has brought about a renewed interest in this field, which is both technically very difficult and rather expensive. The tax allowance will see a huge relief for fracking, with a portion of each production sites income taxation going to a level of 30% in place of the 62% currently levied.

The British Geological Society has said that shale gas in northern England alone could be as high as 1,300 trillion cubic feet and just 10% of that would meet Britain’s needs for more than 40 years.

Water UK, a representative of Britain’s biggest water suppliers has voiced fears that large quantities of water needed for fracking would stretch water supplies very thinly in the areas earmarked for fracking sites, and there is a concern of contamination of water supplies with chemical waste and methane gas. Water UK said that damage could be done to the existing water pipe infrastructure with resultant shortages for home and business use.

Fracking companies say that lengthy waiting periods for environmental permission to begin fracking are a major concern, and Ministers have said they will endeavour to minimise the waiting period from over three months to under two weeks. Public support for shale gas exploration is low.<

See on www.pcmswitch.co.uk

Atmospheric Gas Features – free slide submission, upload slide – weSRCH

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The features are satnding gas pilot and motorized stack damper. This burner type has high standby losses. Air can move through the boiler and up the stack 24/7…. , Atmospheric Gas Features – free slide submission, upload slide – weSRCH.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

Educational slideshow.

See on www.wesrch.com

Portfolio-wide Energy Management for Affordable Housing, Energy

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Portfolio-wide Energy Management for Affordable Housing – \94NESEA” is a Registered Provider with The American Institute of Architects Continuing Education Syst…, Portfolio-wide Energy Management for Affordable Housing, Energy.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

A slide show on Energy Management.

See on energy.wesrch.com

UK Energy Minister defends fracking comments

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Energy minister Michael Fallon defends comments about fracking, in which he appeared to suggest the process would affect those living near drilling sites.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

>Mr Fallon said fracking would only be allowed if “absolutely safe”.

In an exchange with the BBC Mr Fallon confirmed he had made the remarks but said the newspaper report had “completely misconstrued a light hearted remark”.

He said “no fracking will be allowed in the Weald unless it is absolutely safe and the environment is fully protected”.

[…]

But demonstrators from across the UK have gathered in the area saying they fear test drilling could lead to the search for shale gas and fracking at the site.

In a separate development, Cuadrilla chief executive Francis Egan revealed he had received an anonymous email saying the company would receive “pipe bombs delivered by express mail to its premises” unless the company ceased its activities in the UK.

“Fracking kills and so do we,” the message said.<

See on www.bbc.co.uk

A Republican Case for Climate Action

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By WILLIAM D. RUCKELSHAUS, LEE M. THOMAS, WILLIAM K. REILLY and CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN Published: August 1, 2013The United States must move now on substantive steps to curb climate change, at home and internationally.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

>Mr. Obama’s plan is just a start. More will be required. But we must continue efforts to reduce the climate-altering pollutants that threaten our planet. The only uncertainty about our warming world is how bad the changes will get, and how soon. What is most clear is that there is no time to waste.<

See on www.nytimes.com

Smart Grid: Utility sued due to Smart Meter opt-out program

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Smart Grid – BC Hydro offered customers who didn’t want to participate in its smart meter program the choice of opting out in mid-July. But that didn’t protect the utility from a lawsuit

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

>Just days after BC Hydro finally agreed to an opt-out program for smart meters, a customer is suing the utility for installing a smart meter last year even though she didn’t want one on her property. […]

The suit claims the installations caused the plaintiff “emotional distress,” because it “interfered with the quiet enjoyment of her property,” which she used to host yoga and meditation retreats. Opponents of smart meters believe the devices’ radio waves have health risks. The lawsuit further alleges that BC Hydro unlawfully leveraged its monopoly powers by imposing a smart meter on the plaintiff.

[…] The utility says that smart meters only broadcast several times a day, and that living next to a smart meter for 20 years would expose a resident to the same level of radiation as a 30-minute cell phone call.<

See on www.smartgridnews.com

Bakken Oil: North Dakota flaring burns 4 times Total National Consumption (2011 figure)

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil drillers in North Dakota’s Bakken shale fields are allowing nearly a third of the natural gas they drill to burn off into the air, with a value of more than $100 million per month,…

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

An alarming state of affairs.  As per the article the flared Natural gas in North Dakota is reported to be 266,000,000,000 cfd (cubic feet per day) flared methane or 2750 x 10(9) cu m/year.

According to Wiki the 2011 US annual consumption for natural gas was 689.9 x 10(9) cu m, so apparently Bakken is actually burning 4 times the total 2011 national requirements.

>Roughly 29 percent of natural gas extracted in North Dakota was flared in May, down from an all-time high of 36 percent in September 2011. But the volume of natural gas produced has nearly tripled in that timeframe to about 900,000 million cubic feet per day, boosting flaring in the state to roughly 266,000 million cubic feet per day, according to North Dakota state and Ceres data.<

See on www.reuters.com

Dept of Interior Holds Inaugral Lease Sale for Renewable Energy in Federal Waters

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – …Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Tommy P. Beaudreau today held the nation’s first-ever competitive lease sale for renewable energy in federal waters.  

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

>The provisional winner of today’s lease sale, which auctioned two leases for a Wind Energy Area of 164,750 acres offshore Rhode Island and Massachusetts for wind energy development, is Deepwater Wind New England, LLC. When built, these areas could generate enough combined energy to power more than one million homes.

“When you think about the enormous energy potential that Atlantic wind holds, this is a major milestone for our nation,” said Secretary Jewell. “A lot of collaboration and thoughtful planning went into getting to this point, and we’ll continue to employ that approach as we move forward up and down the coast to ensure that offshore wind energy is realized in the right way and in the right places. Offshore wind is an exciting new frontier that will help keep America competitive, and expand domestic energy production, all without increasing carbon pollution.”

The Wind Energy Area is located 9.2 nautical miles south of the Rhode Island coastline and has the potential to support 3,395 megawatts of wind generation. BOEM will hold its next competitive lease sale for offshore wind on Sept. 4, which will auction nearly 112,800 acres offshore Virginia, and is expected to announce additional auctions for Wind Energy Areas offshore Massachusetts, Maryland, and New Jersey later this year and in 2014.

Maps for these areas are available on BOEM’s website.<

See on www.doi.gov

Taking energy efficiency seriously

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Energy Efficiency on the rise.

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Despite the lack of attention paid to the issue during this year’s presidential campaign (at least, before Sandy came along), Barack Obama’s first term was a bit of a quiet revolution for climate change policy in America…

“More than 13 percent of the $700 billion American Recovery Act went to energy spending, most of it green. … the largest portion – $32 billion –went to energy efficiency and retrofitting projects. This was the biggest such investment in the history of history. It may even have finally heralded the arrival of a “Negawatt Revolution”….”

“Still, the right incentive structures to encourage the necessary investments in energy efficiency are not yet in place. Energy bills are still viewed by customers in terms of monthly costs that would go up because of short-term investments rather than yearly ones that…

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US Senators back new bill pushing Energy Efficiency Legislation

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By SEN. JEANNE SHAHEEN and SEN. ROB PORTMAN | 7/29/13 9:25 PM EDT

For the past three years, we have worked together to develop the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act, legislation that will go a long way toward making the United States more energy efficient and more economically competitive.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

According to the Sen. Shaheen & Portman:

>Our bill curbs inefficient energy practices that cost the U.S. economy billions of dollars and millions of jobs every year. According to a recent study by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, we waste an astonishing 86 percent of the energy we consume. Upgrading the energy efficiency of U.S. buildings alone could save $1 trillion over the next decade. Cutting down on energy waste represents an untapped resource that we have long ignored. Our legislation helps to change that.

Our bill promotes energy savings that Americans across the political spectrum can get behind. Energy efficiency has broad, bipartisan support from business, energy and environmental advocates alike, and the legislation we have developed helps to promote energy efficiency through a smart, pragmatic plan that can be implemented immediately.

There is one mandatory component to the bill: We are going to make Washington practice what it preaches. We’re going to make the federal government — the largest energy user in the country — adopt energy-saving techniques and best practices that make its operations more efficient. […]

These provisions will save money, make America more energy-independent and lower harmful emissions. For the private sector, the tools our bill deploys are entirely voluntary. This legislation will also not add to the deficit and its costs are fully offset.<

See on www.politico.com