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Waste of Energy

July 5 The U.S. Senate last week passed a version of the energy bill that is superior to the House’s, but that is faint praise. Neither version requires improvements in auto fuel efficiency or limits on the greenhouse gases emitted by power companies or manufacturers. They are both head-in-the-sand packages that will leave the United States vulnerable to oil shortages and price spikes while doing little to curb the global threat of climate change. The Senate did approve a requirement that utilities get at least 10 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020. It also passed a nonbinding resolution that calls for mandatory controls on carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas. While this is hailed as a break from the Bush administration policy of ignoring the threat of global warming and denying the need for any CO2 limits, it is unclear if the resolution will serve as a strong enough signal to power company executives who are now making decisions on new generating units. These plants will operate for decades and produce CO2that stays in the atmosphere for more than 100 years. With natural gas prices shooting upward, those executives are going to be sorely tempted to build […]

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DOE Awards 38 States $26.5 Million for Energy Efficiency

Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman announced the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is providing 38 states with $26.5 million in State Energy Program (SEP) grants for Fiscal Year 2005. This is part of $44 million to be distributed to the fifty states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories in this fiscal year. SEP grants support and encourage state energy-saving and efficiency goals. State energy program funds have supported projects such as California’s “Energy Saving Traffic Lights;” Illinois’ Small Business $mart Energy Program; Indiana’s purchase of two compressed natural gas street sweepers; and Kentucky’s biodiesel infrastructureprogram, connecting biodiesel customers with biodiesel distributors across the state. SEP projects are managed by state energy offices with support from DOE’s six regional energy efficiency and renewable energy offices. Every $1 invested by SEP is matched by $3.54 by state and local governments and the private sector, and saves the American people $7.23. The State Energy Program saves an average 41.35 million British thermal units (Btu) per year, reducing energy bills by $256 million. DOE is distributing a total of $44 million in SEP grants this year to every state and U.S. territory, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A listing […]

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Senate Names Energy Bill Conferees

Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources, July 1, 2005 Majority Leader Frist and Democratic Leader Reid this afternoon named 14 conferees to the upcoming House-Senate energy bill conference. The conferees are drawn, in strict seniority, from two committees Senate Energy & Natural Resources (11) and Senate Finance Committee (3). They are: Senate Energy GOP: Pete Domenici (NM); Larry Craig (ID); Craig Thomas (WY); Lamar Alexander (TN); Lisa Murkowski (AK), and Richard Burr (NC). Senate Energy Dems: Jeff Bingaman (NM); Daniel Akaka (HI); Byron Dorgan (ND); Ron Wyden (OR), and Tim Johnson (SD). Senate Finance GOP: Charles Grassley (IA) and Orrin Hatch (UT). Senate Finance Dem: Max Baucus (MT). To our knowledge, the House has not yet appointed conferees. The date for the opening conference meeting has not been set. It is presumed that Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) will be chairing this conference. (The chair alternates between the two bodies, and the Senate chaired the last energy bill conference.) Website: [sorry this link is no longer available]     

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Fuel Ethanol Cannot Alleviate US Dependence on Petroleum

A new study of the carbon dioxide emissions, cropland area requirements, and other environmental consequences of growing corn and sugarcane to produce fuel ethanol indicates that the “direct and indirect environmental impacts of growing, harvesting, and converting biomass to ethanol far exceed any value in developing this energy resource on a large scale.” The study, published in the July 2005 issue of BioScience, the journal of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), uses the “ecological footprint” concept to assess needs for ethanol production from sugarcane, now widespread in Brazil, and from corn, which is increasing in the United States. In Brazil, ethanol from fermentation of sugarcane is used pure or blended with gasoline to yield gasohol, which contains 24 percent ethanol. In the United States, ethanol made from corn, production of which is heavily subsidized, is used in an 85 percent ethanol mixture called E85. In 2003, ethanol-blended gasoline accounted for more than 10 percent of gasoline sales in the United States. The authors of the study assessed the energy required to produce the crops and to manufacture and distribute the resulting fuels. In the United States, ethanol yielded only about 10 percent more energy than was required to […]

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Carmanah Completes Acquisition of Soltek

Carmanah Technologies Corporation (Vancouver:CMH.V) has acquired all the issued and outstanding shares of Soltek Powersource Ltd., a manufacturer/supplier of solar power systems for industrial, government, residential and retail applications. This acquisition joins two complementary companies — Carmanah with its self-contained solar packages and proprietary LED technology, and SPS with its large-scale solar power systems — to form a new company capable of providing solar products internationally. The solar industry grew by an unprecedented 62% in 2004 to $6.5 billion, and is predicted to grow 300% to $18.5 billion by 2010. Carmanah anticipates that a new range of solar/LED general illumination products will be developed, including security lighting, street lighting and sign lighting, for applications in all the markets the Company currently serves. An entirely new product line of standardized “plug-and-play” solar power sources will also be possible, which would capitalize on SPS’s existing range of “solar engines” and Carmanah’s world-leading energy management technology. Carmanah acquired SPS for $12 million. Subject to closing adjustments for working capital, $6 million was paid in cash from existing funds and $4 million equivalent in common shares at $2.66 per share. An additional contingent payment of up to $2 million worth of common shares at […]

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