Gas
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Gas
Cheap Oil Won’t Kill Shale
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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Coal
Agreements Solve Power Problem in Michigan, Move Wisconsin Energy’s Acquisition of Integrys Forward
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder announced a series of deals designed to eliminate a costly utility rate payment in the state’s Upper Peninsula (UP), while providing long-term, cost-effective energy reliability for the region. The solution was developed through four principle agreements. In one, the electric utility businesses now owned by We Energies and Integrys (doing business […]
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Legal & Regulatory
U.S. Will Seek to Cut Upstream Methane Emissions Up to 45% by 2025
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 […]
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Coal
E.ON Agrees to Sell Italian Coal and Gas Power Generation Assets
Düsseldorf, Germany–based energy supplier E.ON announced on Jan. 12 that it would sell its Italian coal and gas generation assets to Energetický a Průmyslový Holding (EPH), a Czech energy company. E.ON has been looking for a suitor for the Italian operations since at least Nov. 30 when it announced it was embarking on a new […]
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Gas
Using Fuel Cells for Distributed CHP in Gas Transmission
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, […]
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Gas
U.S. Gas Production Still at Record Highs Despite Collapse in Oil Market
The breathtaking collapse in crude oil prices this past fall, which has seen benchmark prices drop from over $110 a barrel last year to under $50 this past week, has had little effect on U.S. natural gas production, which continues to set records. According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. dry natural […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Mexico’s Electricity Sector Reform in Perspective
Much has been made recently of Mexico’s energy sector reforms, and because those reforms are still in being implemented, it can be useful to compare their progress with the outcome of previous reforms in Latin America. (A condensed version of this material appears in the January 2015 print issue of POWER: “Can Mexico’s Electricity Reform […]
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Coal
Fuel Economics Will Drive 2015 U.S. Power Markets
Energy market dynamics in the U.S. continue to evolve. Regulatory developments, advancements in power plant technology, and fuel dynamics are transforming the industry. Although the outcome of these
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Commentary
Power Industry Sees Pigs Fly
“When pigs fly” is a figure of speech used to express disbelief that a particular situation will ever come to pass. For the power industry, several recent and emerging developments are the equivalent of