Friday, August 28, 2009

Bloomberg Oil Prices 28 Aug 2009

Bloomberg Oil Prices 28 August 2009

Energy Prices
PETROLEUM ($/bbl)

PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Nymex Crude Future
72.74 .25 .34 08/28

Dated Brent Spot
72.39 .10 .14 08/28

WTI Cushing Spot
72.74 .25 .34 08/28

PETROLEUM (¢/gal)

PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Nymex Heating Oil Future
186.03 .11 .06 08/28

Nymex RBOB Gasoline Future
206.18 3.04 1.50 08/28

NATURAL GAS ($/MMBtu)

PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Nymex Henry Hub Future
3.03 -.17 -5.40 08/28

Henry Hub Spot
2.50 -.25 -9.09 08/28

New York City Gate Spot
2.64 -.33 -11.11 08/28

ELECTRICITY ($/megawatt hour)

PRICE* CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Mid-Columbia, firm on-peak, spot
38.31 1.56 4.24 08/28

Palo Verde, firm on-peak, spot
32.31 -1.13 -3.38 08/28

BLOOMBERG, FIRM ON-PEAK, DAY AHEAD SPOT/ERCOT HOUSTON
28.63 -2.06 -6.71 08/28

*Commodity futures and energy prices are in U.S. dollars.

From: http://www.bloomberg.com


Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/

Thursday, August 27, 2009

U.S. grants $300 million for alternative fuel vehicles

U.S. grants $300 million for alternative fuel vehicles


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department will award nearly $300 million to a clean cities program to help communities buy alternative-fuel vehicles, Vice President Joe Biden and Energy Secretary Steven Chu said on Wednesday.
The funding from the U.S. government's economic stimulus package is designed to encourage states and cities to reduce dependence on oil by helping pay for more than 9,000 alternative-fuel and energy-efficient vehicles, the Energy Department said.
It will also establish 542 fueling and recharging stations for the vehicles, the department said.
One project will complete a 700-mile regional liquid natural gas (LNG) fueling corridor connecting infrastructure in Southern California and LNG fuel stations being developed in Utah. The corridor will be along one of the nation's busiest trucking routes.
Overall, the department estimated the funding will help the clean cities program save about 38 million gallons of petroleum annually.
Chu said the vehicles will mostly be American made, providing a boost to the lagging U.S. auto and manufacturing industries.
"By changing how we drive, we are actually driving economic recovery," he said.
Ethanol groups have called for greater use of so-called "flex fuel" vehicles that can use special fuel blends of up to 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.
President Barack Obama has said he would like to see more electric vehicles in the United States by 2015.
For more details about the projects chosen, please click: here
(Reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by David Gregorio)

Funding for alternative fuel vehicles in the US

Funding for alternative-fuel vehicles in the US
Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Wednesday presented a $300 million program to simultaneously boost green transport and the lagging US auto industry.
Michael von Bülow 27/08/2009 01:15The US Energy Department on Wednesday presented a $300 million program to help communities buy alternative-fuel vehicles.The funding is intended to pay for more than 9,000 alternative-fuel and energy-efficient vehicles. The establishment of 542 fueling and recharging stations is also part of the program.Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the vehicles will mostly be American made, providing a boost to the lagging US auto and manufacturing industries."By changing how we drive, we are actually driving economic recovery," he said.The funding is provided by the US government’s economic stimulus package.
Read more
Reuters: U.S. grants $300 million for alternative fuel vehicles

Backyard Organic Gardening

To help reduce the need for more petroleum based fertilizers, why not grow an organic garden in your back yard? It can be as large or small as you want.

The taste of organic food can't be matched. It's picked at the peak on ripeness. It's food the way Mother Nature intended.
I grow organic food in my back yard. I have a compost pile in the far corner of the yard. It supplies all the compost my garden needs. The local organic markets can provide the food you can't grow in your garden. Some plants are large and take up alot of space.

If you don't have a backyard organic garden, why not try growing one next summer. It's easy. Just a little work at first. Then sit back and watch the food ripen.
There are many good websites that can help you get started. We will post some of the links here.

Good Luck with your garden.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Southern California Edison Makes Big Solar Power Deal


latimes.com
Southern California Edison makes big solar power deal
The utility agrees to buy enough electricity to supply up to 170,000 homes from two solar projects to be built in Riverside and San Bernardino counties by Arizona company First Solar.
By Tiffany Hsu
August 19, 2009
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Southern California Edison will pair with Arizona company First Solar Inc. on two large solar power projects in Riverside and San Bernardino counties that will be able to supply electricity to as many as to 170,000 homes, the companies said Tuesday.The installations operating at full power can produce up to 550 megawatts of photovoltaic electricity. By comparison, an average natural-gas-fueled power plant produces roughly 1,000 megawatts.First Solar will begin building the 250-megawatt Desert Sunlight facility near Desert Center in Riverside County in 2012 and the 300-megawatt Stateline project in northeastern San Bernardino County in 2013. Both installations, to built mostly on public land, are expected to be finished in 2015 and to create hundreds of construction jobs.Financial terms of the deal and the anticipated cost of the electricity weren't disclosed. Edison will buy the power from the facilities, which First Solar plans to sell to investors by the time construction is complete.First Solar, which has manufacturing facilities in Ohio, France, Germany and Malaysia, will use thin-film cadmium telluride panels for the projects, known as solar farms.The projects, which are expected to produce up to 1.2 billion kilowatt-hours of energy each year, will help Edison inch closer to the state goal of deriving 20% of all electricity from renewable sources by 2010. The California Legislature is considering bumping up the state target to 33% by 2020.Last year, 16% of Edison's energy portfolio fit the bill. In the same period, the company delivered more than 65% of the solar energy produced in the country to its customers.The Rosemead utility has been busy building up its solar infrastructure. In February, the company struck a deal with BrightSource Energy of Oakland to build seven solar farms, the first of which could be operating in 2013 in Ivanpah, Calif. With a production capacity of 1,300 megawatts, the project could end up powering nearly 845,000 homes.The utility also agreed in June to buy power from two projects with German company Solar Millennium for a potential 726 megawatts. The projects, to be located in Blythe and Ridgecrest, Calif., would start up in 2013 and 2014.But with the prolonged timeline and strict regulations on how to direct the energy to consumers, utilities may miss the state's goal, Edison spokeswoman Vanessa McGrady said."By 2010, we will meet or exceed the necessary contracts, but the hurdle is transmission," she said. "Due to policy constraints we will probably not be delivering the full 20% by that date."First Solar, meanwhile, is at the forefront of photovoltaic companies, experts said.A note to investors from Pacific Crest Securities said First Solar had a "substantial backlog" of long-term contracts and had been able to "lower manufacturing costs faster than its competitors."The Edison projects could bring First Solar as much as $1.3 billion in revenue, analysts said.First Solar already has a 21-megawatt solar farm with power slated for Edison under construction in Blythe, and a 550-megawatt project with Pacific Gas & Electric Co. in San Luis Obispo County.In an estimated $400-million deal in March, the company bought the unfinished projects and land rights of OptiSolar, a start-up competitor. The Edison proposal was among them."These are pretty massive projects," said John Carrington, First Solar's executive vice president of marketing and business development. "This is a big deal."The company's revenue has boomed from $1.3 billion in 2008 to an estimated $2.1 billion in 2009. First Solar shares fell $1.31 to $133.12 on Tuesday. Shares for Southern California Edison's parent company, Edison International in Rosemead, rose 35 cents to $32.03.tiffany.hsu@latimes.com
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
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Saturday, August 22, 2009

Germany Wants Million Electric Cars by 2020


Germany wants a million electric cars by 2020
Officials are using incentives to promote battery and recharging station research, in hopes of competing with Asian firms.
By Agence France-Presse
Tue, Aug 18 2009 at 8:00 PM EST
Read more: ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION, CARS, FOSSIL FUELS

BATTERIES NOT INCLUDED: German giant BMW has joined a collaborative effort to supply lithium batteries for futute electric cars. (Photo: ZUMA Press)
The German government unveiled plans Wednesday to get one million electric cars zipping around the country by 2020, offering sweeteners to jump-start national giants like BMW and Volkswagen into action.

It is the federal government's aim that by 2020, there will be a million electric cars on Germany's streets," said Berlin's "national electro-mobility plan" which was approved by the cabinet.

"In 2030, this could be over five million. By 2050, traffic in towns and cities could be predominantly without fossil fuels," the proposals added.

Berlin plans to spark development in electric cars by offering incentives for research in area such as batteries and recharging systems, as it battles to catch up with Asian firms which have zoomed ahead of their German rivals.

"We are very confident that we in Germany can provide enough of an impulse to compete with the United States and Asia," Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee told reporters.

"The Japanese are strong in hybrid technology but ... the big markets in Europe, the United States and Asia are still open," he added.

He said the goal of the plan was to "bring electro-mobility as quickly as possible into everyday life."

The plan added that Berlin is "examining an incentive programme for the purchase of 100,000 electric cars," but it nevertheless drew fire from green groups.

Environmentalists had called for a subsidy of around 5,000 euros (7,050 dollars) for consumers to buy electric cars along the lines of Berlin's five-billion-euro "cash-for-clunkers" scheme to support the traditional auto industry rolled out in January.

"The government has introduced a subsidy to sell an old technology but has not put in place incentives to buy the new electric vehicles," Renate Kuenast, parliamentary group leader of the Green Party, told the Weser-Kurier regional daily.

The motorists club of Germany (VCD) was also sharply critical of the proposals. "Electric cars are not going to save the climate in the foreseeable future," the group said in a statement.

"The government says there could be a million electric cars on the road by 2020, but this is in comparison to 50 million petrol and diesel vehicles," said Werner Korn from the VCD.

However, the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM), welcomed the plans, describing them as a "milestone towards improving the sustainability of road traffic."

German luxury car maker BMW has already teamed up with auto parts maker Bosch and its Korean partner Samsung to supply lithium-ion batteries for a future electric city car.

Volkswagen hopes to turn out its first all-electric car in 2013, VW head Martin Winterkorn said in July.

Meanwhile, Daimler launched its first hybrid model earlier in June, almost 10 years after the market leader, Japan's Toyota.

Copyright 2009 AFP Global Edition

Bloomberg Oil Prices 21 Aug 2009

Bloomberg Oil Prices 21 Aug 2009

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Bloomberg Oil Prices For 13 August 2009

Bloomberg Oil Prices for 13 August 2009

Energy Prices
PETROLEUM ($/bbl)

PRICE*
CHANGE
% CHANGE
TIME
Nymex Crude Future
71.20
1.04
1.48
13:38
Dated Brent Spot
73.26
.19
.26
14:08
WTI Cushing Spot
71.43
1.27
1.81
12:06

PETROLEUM (¢/gal)

PRICE*
CHANGE
% CHANGE
TIME
Nymex Heating Oil Future
191.61
2.40
1.27
13:38
Nymex RBOB Gasoline Future
203.54
1.01
.50
13:38

NATURAL GAS ($/MMBtu)

PRICE*
CHANGE
% CHANGE
TIME
Nymex Henry Hub Future
3.39
-.09
-2.47
13:38
Henry Hub Spot
3.36
-.18
-5.08
08/12
New York City Gate Spot
3.59
-.18
-4.77
08/12

ELECTRICITY ($/megawatt hour)

PRICE*
CHANGE
% CHANGE
TIME
Mid-Columbia, firm on-peak, spot
40.70
-1.30
-3.10
08/12
Palo Verde, firm on-peak, spot
35.39
-6.08
-14.66
08/12
BLOOMBERG, FIRM ON-PEAK, DAY AHEAD SPOT/ERCOT HOUSTON
38.67
-3.79
-8.93
08/12

*Commodity futures and energy prices are in U.S. dollars.

Pickens seeks stimulus to retrofit trucks for CNG

Pickens seeks stimulus to retrofit trucks to run on natural gas according to a upi.com article.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Energy entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens says he is seeking federal economic stimulus money to retrofit heavy trucks to run on natural gas.
Pickens told The Dallas Morning News he met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other congressional leaders Tuesday to make his pitch for as much as $28 billion to convert around 350,000 trucks from diesel to cleaner-burning gas.
"They, of course, didn't jump up and give me a standing ovation," Pickens said. "But we talked about the subject. And I think they are thinking about all of this very seriously."
The newspaper said Wednesday Pickens estimated the conversion would also trim U.S. oil imports more than 5 percent.
Pickens has been at the forefront of a campaign to spur the growth in the use of natural gas and electricity to power motor vehicles in the United States.
Voters in cash-strapped California last fall defeated a Pickens-backed ballot initiative that would have subsidized purchases of gas-powered vehicles by companies and individual consumers.

Here is link to article:

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/01/14/Pickens-eyes-stimulus-to-retrofit-trucks/UPI-39411231960533/

Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Chevy electric car

GM: CEO touts Chevy electric car as a viable competitor despite hefty price tagBy Daniel PyeE-mail DanLockport Union-Sun & Journal
General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson Tuesday unveiled details about the Chevrolet Volt — an electric car the company hopes will position it as a leader once again.The sales pitch is compelling on its surface. Using a new formula specifically created for this type of electric/gasoline vehicle, GM estimates the Volt will get the equivalent of 230 miles per gallon. Lithium ion batteries, charged overnight, power the car for up to 40 miles. After that, a small gasoline-powered engine provides the power.But the Environmental Protection Agency, which evaluates the miles-per-gallon ratings for vehicles, hasn’t tested a Volt and thus couldn’t confirm GM’s estimates. And while representatives of the company explained that the equation they used spreads the mileage over the cost of fuel per mile driven after combining electric- and gasoline-powered miles, they didn’t make that equation available for review.Regardless, mileage half as good as what GM is touting would be a major improvement over even the most economical cars on the market. Toyota’s Prius gas-electric hybrid, the most efficient car now sold in the U.S., gets 48 mpg. But with a late 2010 estimate for the Volt landing in showrooms, a rumored $40,000 price tag could stop prospective buyers in their tracks.Henderson acknowledged that problem as a valid concern for the product’s success, but worked to offset it in his overview. A $7,500 tax credit will come along with the vehicle, and he said a selling price hasn’t actually been decided at this stage of development. And even though the new technology comes at a price, Henderson is confident the eye-catching fuel economy will make up for much of the related costs the consumer will be asked to bear upfront.“Having a car that gets triple-digit fuel economy we believe can and will be a game-changer for us,” Henderson said.While the company does have a lead, GM isn’t the only one in the plug-and-drive game. Chrysler Group, Ford Motor Co. and Daimler AG are all developing plug-ins and electric cars, and Toyota Motor Corp. is working on a plug-in version of its gas-electric hybrid system. Nissan Motor Co. announced last month that it would begin selling an electric vehicle in Japan and the U.S. next year. All of these vehicles will likely come at a higher cost, and whether they will sell in areas surrounding Buffalo — the third poorest city in the nation — remains to be seen.The list of concerns over the cars doesn’t end with the price, either. For commuters with a garage that contains a readily-available power outlet, they could be a viable option. For apartment residents or those whose homes offer only on-street parking, finding a way to plug the car in at night is a much trickier proposition.Henderson said he has discussed the issue with a handful of entrepreneurs interested in developing a new type of fueling station, where people can fill up with gas, diesel, ethanol, hydrogen and other types of fuel all in one location. While that idea could support the development of hydrogen fuel cell and ethanol-powered vehicles, the hours required to charge the electric car would make taking it to a filling station for electricity impossible.“If you’re going to park on the street, I don’t know what to do actually,” Henderson admitted. “It’s a problem that we and others have to fix.”Other concerns about the battery’s performance in extreme temperatures also surfaced during the question and answer session. Frank Weber, the executive handling the Volt, said the company is running tests in various climates and that while the fuel economy estimates may vary due to temperature, the car won’t be rendered inoperable even in very cold temperatures.“There is no temperature when the vehicle is not running,” Weber said.Only about 40 of the cars exist right now, but GM is hoping to have the Volt available in showrooms by the fourth quarter of 2010. Once they’re available to the public, emphasis must shift from producing the car to marketing it. GM is already working on that, pushing a viral marketing campaign with the phrase “What is 230?” that generated a confused buzz in a public that finally received an answer to the question Tuesday. The public will now have more than a year to mull the notion. Other innovations, like a partnership with eBay that will let customers negotiate for and purchase vehicles securely from home, are aimed at appealing to a new generation of car buyers. And even though the company has a fairly loyal customer base, GM’s continued survival will depend heavily on its ability to appeal to consumers outside that group. While he is optimistic that brand names like Chevrolet and Cadillac haven’t received the same tarnish that the GM name now bears, Henderson has no illusions that building more efficient cars is the end of the battle since overseas manufactures have a giant head start in the marketing of fuel economy.“We not only need to do it, we need to convince people that we have it,” Henderson said.The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/

Volt electric car price out of reach for many

Who will be the Henry Ford of Electric cars?

Who will produce an electric car that we all can afford?

We are all waiting.


Links to more volt electric car articles ....

http://www.lockportjournal.com/local/local_story_224005013.html

Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/
Slideshow
2 of 3

General Motors President and CEO Fritz Henderson announces the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle is expected to achieve a city fuel economy of at least 230 miles per gallon based on development testing using a draft EPA federal fuel economy methodology for labeling of plug-in electric vehicles. The announcement was made at a press conference Tuesday, August 11, 2009 in Warren, Michigan. UPI/Steve Fecht/GM Enlarge


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DETROIT, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- The Chevrolet Volt electric car may earn a fuel-efficiency rating of 230 miles per gallon for city driving, U.S. automaker General Motors Co. said Tuesday.
GM has been working with the Environmental Protection Agency for several years on how to rate the mileage of the Volt, which runs on electricity, but includes a gas-powered engine that generates extra electricity for trips longer than 40 miles, CNNMoney.com reported.
Essentially, the Volt will drive the first 40 miles on an electric charge alone. After that, the gas-powered motor kicks in.
Longer trips would change the equation. A 300-mile trip would reduce fuel efficiency to 62.5 miles per gallon.
Nevertheless, GM Chief Executive Officer Fritz Henderson called the Volt a potential "game-changer for us."
GM is currently producing 10 Volts a month, but plans to have the car reach showrooms in late 2010.

Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/

VOLT CAR GETS 230 MPG

The news keeps getting better...

Link to articles on volt car ....


http://www.upi.com/Business_News/2009/08/11/Volt-electric-car-may-earn-230-mpg-rating/UPI-80451250012782/


Link to: http://www.usaalternativeenergynow.blogspot.com/