November 19, 2008

Good ole ingenuity will eventually lift the world economy. It's the same entrepreneurial spirit that will also advance the work being done to diversify transportation fuels.

Any material that contains the critical chemical compounds can be converted to motor fuel. The technologies are promising and can use agricultural, municipal or industrial waste as well as coal or natural gas. But the key unknowns are what the actual costs of such endeavors will be along with where commodity prices will head over time.

by Elizabeth Shaw | The Flint Journal
Tuesday November 11, 2008

GENESEE TOWNSHIP, Michigan -- There are lots of toxic hazards to guard against in the stuff that ends up at recycling centers and landfills.

Until this past summer, a radioactive cheese grater wasn't one of them.

According to the state Department of Environmental Quality, the common kitchen utensil with an uncommon past set off the alarms at Genesee Recycling in August, sending ripples all the way to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Environmental Protection Agency.

"We know it was manufactured in China but at this point we are still unsure what the source of the material is or was, or where it possibly entered the system," said Thor Strong, the state DEQ's chief of radiological protection.

November 17, 2008

While T. Boone Pickens has garnered much attention in recent months with his well-publicized plan to create a massive infrastructure for wind energy production in America's heartland, offshore wind energy is getting more attention in the heavily populated Northeast.

For its part, the Pickens Plan would require billions in transmission lines needed to bring electricity from the wind-rich regions of the central United States to population centers nearer to the coasts. As for offshore wind -- while by no means cheap -- it would eliminate the need to build transmission lines over hundreds, if not thousands of miles inland.

November 14, 2008

Exelon Corp. is eyeing NRG Energy. But NRG is playing hard to get and may be waiting for a more attractive suitor. Exelon, though, is determined and now says that it will take its $6.2 billion directly to the merchant power generator's shareholders, adding that it will sue NRG's management because it allegedly did not give the bid proper consideration.

A down economy generally leads to greater consolidation across the business spectrum. The utility industry is no different. During such times, those with the financial resources are well-positioned to make strategic acquisitions. Chicago-based Exelon, however, has been jilted before. Essentially, it likes Princeton, N.J.-based NRG because it owns a fleet of productive and unregulated generation assets that it says can immediately add shareholder value -- in a way that can avert a jaundiced look from state regulators.

November 12, 2008

Liquefied natural gas is now taking a back seat to other fuels, and especially since the global credit crisis has taken hold. But over the next decade and as the demand for power resumes, it could assume a notable role in the country's overall energy plan.

Despite growing energy demand from the four corners of the world, the United States will be able to attract LNG supplies from foreign suppliers. Even though other nations will pay higher prices for such natural gas in the near term, this nation will become a lucrative market for LNG providers because of its sustained energy demand, its strong infrastructure and its reliability as a partner.