February 19, 2010

Advanced drilling and completion techniques are the critical means by which natural gas developers now hope to probe vast amounts of shale gas, considered by many to be able to fuel much of the country's electric generation for decades to come. But before that aspiration can be achieved, producers must solve the environmental complexities.

At issue is how to retrieve such vast resources without harming water quality. The problem is that the shale is a sedimentary rock that holds natural gas 2,000-12,000 feet deep in the earth. To get it out, developers use a process known as hydraulic fracturing whereby millions of gallons of water and chemicals are pumped into the ground, allowing the natural gas to flow to the wellbore.

Below are a few letters received at EnergyBiz Insider on topics that appeared in the past few weeks. They capture the essence of how many readers say they feel.
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January 29, 2010

The ultimate fate of carbon policies may be up in the air. But utilities and industrial enterprises are still under pressure to report their climate-related activities to investors.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has voted 3-2 along party lines to force companies to consider their potential exposure to climate change when it comes to filing their financial statements. While the position is one that the Obama administration has advocated, its genesis formed a few years earlier as investor and environmental groups joined hands to petition the body for uniform rules.

February 17, 2010 
 
Defense contractors aren't exactly shooting for the stars. But they are aiming for a greater share of the ever-changing energy business. Their scientific and technical expertise coupled with their well capitalized businesses is giving them an inside track into the world of intelligent utilities, green energy and emissions reductions.

Most of those spacecraft and weapons makers have long had their fingers into energy-related businesses, although they reason that that market is now ready to expand. And while those contractors certainly have the money and brains to make a go of it, they are mindful that a lack of commitment has caused some past forays to remain dormant.

February 15, 2010

A critical clean coal project could kick in early this year. FutureGen, which got its start in 2003 but which lost steam late in the Bush administration, purports to be a near zero-emissions power plant that seeks to capture and bury carbon dioxide.

While the Obama administration has been warm to the idea, the facility's odds of getting built are a lot greater now that the president has given it an official thumb's up in his state-of-the-union speech. The central drawback -- the one that caused the previous administration to pull the plug -- is the potential costs. That facet along with setting the criteria to evaluate performance is presently under discussion.