The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) is considering a proposal for a stimulus package that would allocate ¥93 billion (about $779 million) to support installations of energy storage systems by industrial, commercial, and residential customers, as well as a variety of energy efficiency measures, according to a report in Bloomberg. The METI […]

Continuing a drive to reduce its energy intensity 16% between 2010 and 2015, China’s State Council announced on Jan. 20 that the country had managed a 4.8% reduction in 2014, beating the target of 3.9%. Energy intensity is a measure of a nation’s efficiency in using energy to drive growth in gross domestic product (GDP). […]

The 550-MW Desert Sunlight solar photovoltaic (PV) plant near Riverside, Calif., which matches MidAmerican’s Topaz Solar project for the largest solar plant in the world, began commercial operations in December, according to the California Independent System Operator. Developed and built by First Solar, and owned by NextEra, GE Energy Financial Services, and Sumitomo, Desert Sunlight […]

The dramatic collapse in the price of oil—currently flirting with sub-$40/barrel levels—has naturally produced an explosion of commentary on its short- and long-term effects. One curious, though predictable, narrative is starting to emerge from the environmental left: The price collapse is the death knell to shale oil, and the U.S. oil boom—which was never a […]

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The Obama administration announced on Jan. 14 that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will propose new regulations to cut emissions of methane from the oil and gas industry, as well as other measures, with a goal of reducing total U.S. methane emissions 40% to 45% by 2025. The proposed rule is expected this summer. Emissions […]

The nuclear renaissance has turned into a nuclear retirement party. As recently as 2012, the U.S. had 104 operating nuclear reactors. With the retirement of Entergy’s Vermont Yankee plant at the end of December, that number has now fallen under 100 for the first time since the 1970s.  Yet as rapid as that pullback has […]

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The U.S. could get nearly 50% of its generation from renewable sources by 2030 with existing technologies and the right policies and investments, according to a report released by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) on Jan. 12. The report is one of the first in IRENA’s Remap 2030 series, which explores how to double […]

Moving natural gas through long-distance pipelines requires substantial energy, and much of that energy is lost when the gas must be reduced in pressure before it reaches end users. But a new project may demonstrate a way for gas transmission companies to recapture some of that energy and improve the efficiency of the letdown process, […]