I’ve been sharing the slow reduction of US oil output as oil drilling counts fall during the last few months. Now production has finally fallen below last year’s level. While petroleum fuel inventories remain very high, lower output should tighten them in the months ahead. Even so, I expect oil output to be higher than 2008 on average due to the (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘fossil fuels’
Weekly US oil output falls below last year’s level
Monday, August 3rd, 2009Solar quickly approaching grid parity
Monday, July 6th, 2009
Solar module prices are falling so fast that solar may be able to cost-effectively compete with fossil fuels within a matter of months. The latest bit of news confirming astounding price drops was from China’s LDK Solar. LDK is a producer of the main component of solar modules (wafers). While their second quarter guidance showed a boost in shipments, it also lowered their revenue expectations, translating into a cost per watt of (more…)
The Human Toll of Fossil Fuel Use
Tuesday, June 30th, 2009
Most of my posts have focused on the environmental and public health impacts of burning fossil fuels due to their greenhouse gas emissions. But the 16 deaths from a liquefied petroleum gas explosion on an Italian train today are an important reminder that reduced emissions are not the only benefit from efficiency and (more…)
Oil prices rise, but supply still high
Thursday, June 18th, 2009
Pump prices are about to hit $2.70 per gallon nationwide, and oil has remained above $70 per barrel for several days. Most of the increase has come on expectations of economic recovery – like today’s increase in projection for China’s 2009 growth to 7.2% rather than 6.5% by the World Bank. But even more positive economic news will struggle to increase prices much more unless fuel inventories fall from (more…)
NY moves to become offshore wind power leader
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
Denmark offshore, photo by Jim Hodson of Greenpeace
SET’s home state of New York is moving to become a leader in offshore wind power. Both the New York Power Authority (NYPA) and the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) have offshore wind farms they are pursuing. The NYPA project would be the first major freshwater wind farm in (more…)
MIT Research Shows Probability of a Hot World Growing
Monday, February 23rd, 2009
Our friends in meteorology over in DC just posted an important update on climate change predictions via the Washington Post. MIT researchers have a roulette wheel that represents the probability that the Earth will get extremely hot by 2100. And unfortunately, their 2009 numbers are a lot worse than their 2002 findings. (more…)
Solar price stable while fossil fuels trend up
Tuesday, August 12th, 2008One important point I try to remind folks is that while the price of fossil fuels has risen dramatically these past seven years, the price of wind and solar is significantly lower. The question is, when might the cost curves converge?
Wind is already converging with electricity from fuel oil and is close to electricity from natural gas at times. But a wide gap remains between wind and (more…)