STUFF

TOP STUFF

Sandy's cost est. jumped up to $50B.

7 NJ refineries closed before the storm hit. Suffered little damage. Should be back on in days.

S Africa approved $5.4B investment in new clean energy projects. ~85% of its 41Gw elgen now from coal-fired plants.To build 28 solar, wind and geothermal projects for 1.4Gw. Part of program to add 3.7Gw of clean energy by '16. 2nd round to cost $3.3B for 1Gw.

China unveiled NG policy designed to spur transport sector's use, particularly of LNG. They want to triple NG use to meet ~10% of total energy demand by '20, cut coal and vehicle emissions, dependence on oil imports.

OTHER STUFF

Southern Comp, KBR to help drive global adoption of coal gasification tech. DOE sponsorship. Emissions comparable to NG. > 1/2 of world coal reserves low-rank: lignite, sub-bituminous.

Valero to idle ethanol plants in Ind, Neb until prices become viable again. They reported $73M loss in biofuels biz in Q3.

INEOS Bio FL facility now producing power, making cellulosic ethanol. Local yard, vegetative and ag wastes feedstock. 8M gal, 6Mw per year at full production. Plans to use muni solid waste after initial start up. 1st large scale project to receive EPA registrations for using non-food feedstock for cellulosic eth.

U of Mich researchers "pressure cook" algae for as little as a minute to transform up to 65% of it into biocrude.

China comp - Haimo Oil & Gas - to buy 14% stake in Houston's Carrizo's shale oil and gas assets in Colo for < $28M. Gives China a source for fracking tech transfer. Still has to be approved. Prices for fracking services expected to drop 14% this year, 8% next year. So, developers welcoming new investment. China or not.

4 licenses for offshore NG exploration issued by Cyprus. Proximity to significant reserves already found  (5-8TCF) where Noble Energy (US) has drill concession.

QBotix using robots for dual-axis solar arrays to reduce use of steel 50%. Cuts costs 15%.

Shell wrapped up its Arctic Ocean exploration for the year. 2 preliminary holes drilled.

Walmart 1Mw wind turbine now operating at Cal distribution center. Will provide up to 20% of center's el needs. GE turbine. Foundation Windpower installed, owns, selling the power to Walmart. $5.5M. Seems high for wind power, usually ~$2/w. So, what's up with that is what's up with that.