By Martin Jetté, OSIsoft Canada -- Plant Engineering, 8/15/2008

The new environmental regulations impose numerous constraints on companies and have significant implications for their financial health. The energy-saving and greenhouse gas emission (GGE) reduction programs proposed by various authorities present major challenges for many organizations. The Kyoto protocol targets a 6% reduction in GGE below 1990 levels by 2012. In addition, the Canadian government plans to implement a program aiming to reduce GGE by 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.

And that is only the beginning. Energy costs have increased steadily over the past 30 years. According to the U.S. Government's Energy Information Administration (EIA), the bills for oil, natural gas, coal and electricity have increased significantly in recent years.

State has seen strong shift, with wind power gaining acceptance

When Colorado voters were deciding whether to require that 10 percent of the state's electricity come from renewable fuels, the state's largest utility fought the proposal, warning that any shift from coal and natural gas would be costly, uncertain and unwise.

Then a funny thing happened. The ballot initiative passed, and Xcel energy met the requirement eight years ahead of schedule. And at the government's urging, its executives quickly agreed to double the target, to 20 percent.

August 18, 2008

High oil prices can be remedied by conservation, exploration and innovation. Not one of these options is without fault but each is necessary: The United States is increasing its dependence on foreign oil and all this at a time when its own production is down sharply for the previous two decades by 40 percent.

To battle those elements, the big oil companies along with private developers are working on a series of technologies that turn coal into liquids. The idea is to take an abundant resource such as coal and gasify it -- a process that cleanses it of its impurities. That byproduct can then supplement the use of crude oil, which would lessen the country's dependence on foreign oil supplies and help ease prices. In fact, developers of the technology say that a barrel of coal-to-liquids is about $50 compared to a barrel of crude oil that now stands at roughly $120 a barrel.

August 15, 2008

A major transmission proposal has traversed some rough terrain. The $1.1 billion line that is to stretch 240 miles through the states of Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia has overcome attacks and won over a key regulatory body.

After months of discussion, the West Virginia Public Service Commission has sided with Allegheny Energy, which has said that the 500-kilovolt project is necessary to increase the reliable flow of electricity across the eastern United States. Despite the decision, environmental groups say they will not stop fighting to prevent construction of the line. West Virginia's Sierra Club says that the plan is nothing more than an oversized extension cord that will devastate the state so that wealthier areas of the country can have power.

August 13, 2008

Natural gas may once again become a preferred fuel, but only if the confluence of events surrounding it convinces a majority of U.S. lawmakers to give producers more access to federal areas now forbidden.

Concerns over climate change in combination with escalating energy prices are forcing policymakers to take a harder look at issues once considered off-limits. The Bush administration in July lifted the executive ban on oil and gas leasing operations on the Outer Continental Shelf. It then subsequently moved to jumpstart further development by asking the U.S. Department of the Interior to analyze the nation's future energy needs.