STUFF

TOP STUFF

China fast-tracking their shale gas industry. Enviro rules not even existant yet.

Ice sheets in Greenland, Antarctica shrinking 3x faster than in '90's: report by world's top ice experts. (You know, if kids will ever listen to me, I tell them to become a world expert. On ANYthing.)

AAA urging regulators to halt sale of E15. "Damages engines."

ARPA-E awarding $130M to 66 projects. Transforming, breakthrough techs that show fundamental promise but too early for private sector investment. Total projects now 285 for $770M of awards. I'll go through winners this weekend (hopefully will get time).

Senate voted 54-41 (Dems) to clear Navy's path to affordable advanced biofuels capacity. (Sounds like a shuttle launch, huh. What's a shuttle, dad?)

OTHER STUFF

DOE establishing research hub for batts/E storage at Argonne Lab (IL). $120M over next 5 yrs. Chu has sought 8 "innovation hubs". Congress has given him 5. 3 now operating: E efficient bldg designs (Philly), artificial photosynthesis at Berkeley and CIT, improving light-water nuke reactors at Oak Ridge. It's only been 4 years, for goshshakes.

TSLA raising base price of S Model 4.35%.

Brain number: Grand Canyon formed by earlier river flowing in opposite direction, not Colorado. 70M years ago, not 5-6M. Catabol, anyone?

Sierra Club suing TVA over partial response on power plant plans.

BLM targeting Cal desert for new solar zone, geothermal expansion.

Duke CEO Rogers forced out.

DuPont broke ground on 30M gal/yr $200M cellulosic biorefinery in Nevada Iowa. Mid-'14 completion. Corn stover feedstock - 375K tons/yr. Adjacent Lincolnway Energy refinery of 100M gal/yr cap. Stover $50-60/ton.

14th E85 location opened in metro Atlanta.

DOE issued request for info to researchers in industry, academia, other biofuels stakeholders to ID key tech barriers in converting biomass via thermochem direct liquification pathways to trans fuels. Pathways include fast pyrolysis, in-situ and ex-situ catalytic pyrolysis, hydropyrolysis, hydrotherm (or solvent) liquification, followed by various combos of bio-oil stabilization and upgrading processes.

Egypt awarded 1st oil concessions since revolution to Shell, RWE, TransGlobe. $3B in arrears owed to foreign oil comps apparently not an issue. 11 of 15 blocks got bids. 18.3B bls proven reserves.

Libyan civil war vets shut down country's largest refinery. 120Kb/d. 2nd time this month refinery closed by protests.

Oil insiders predicting strong production growth in '13. Not stated if US or world. At least US.

Tax big oil like other industry: execs.

UK now has floating houses on Thames. Um. Water coming up?

Fort Worth generating $5.9M annual cost savings from E efficiency improvements in buildings since joining admin's "Better Buildings Challenge" in May. City expects to make goal of 20% more efficiency by '20.

EU carbon allowances for Dec down 5.8% to lowest close since '05 start. Member states opted not to cut supply through '15.

UK plans to build carbon capture/storage plants missed out on 1st phase of EC $2B program. Failed to secure govt funding guarantees. 1st phase $600M.

India's 3rd largest wind turbine maker - ReGen Powertech - investing $34M to start making turbine blades at plant that makes all the other parts.

Demand for Indian ren/en credits down 41% in Nov from Oct. Regulators failed to enforce clean E targets. Comps abstained from trading.

Onward and upward pards. Happy weekend, woo hoo.