STUFF

Roen Financial Report closely covers almost 30 clean/renewable energy mutual funds, ETFs. Several had good to great returns last 3 months. GAAEX up 25%, KWT up over 38%.

Alliance to Save Energy's Commission on National Energy Policy included financing as 1 of central recommendations in recent report - "Energy 2030: Doubling US Energy Productivity". Want to unleash hundreds of billions to support trillions of potential energy savings. Recommends
1) creating secondary market for efficiency loans
2) state, local programs to resell loans to investors in secondary markets
3) initiating on-bill repay, on-bill financing programs
4) improving fed regs to support financing efficiency through property taxes, trusts
5) attaching energy efficiency incentives to mortgages
6) setting up tax policies that encourage industrial investment in efficiency
7) increasing real estate buyers' awareness through ratings and info
8) providing customers with their energy use data.

Brit Columbia gave go-ahead to BC Hydro to replace 126Mw hydropower plant.

Study: ethanol driving push to convert grassland to cropland.

Oil, food groups urging Supreme Court to take up E15 challenge.

FERC rejected Duke's pitch to plan regional transmission.

Brazil dropped criminal charges against Chevron.

Sandia partnering with startup on low-cost solar demo.

Boeing to pitch new batt design as Dreamliner probe found wiring flaw.

DC mayor offering plan for "healthiest, greenest" US city.

Estonia installed 1st nationwide EV charger system.

Romania regulator plans to lower clean/ren subsidies.

Good idea: instead of trying to feed world, let's help it feed itself.

Ft Collins banned fracking in city.

Latest monthly EIA data: US bought 2.1Mb/d from Mideast. ~25% of total imports.

World energy consumption more than doubled since '70's energy crisis. Over 80% fossil fuels. Forecast to grow 44% more next 25 yrs (US 7%). Fossil fuels to still be over 80%,

US shale gas production now near 40% of NG production. 80% of shale gas comes from 5 plays, several in production decline. $42B/y to drill over 7K wells. Value of NG produced in '12 was $32.5B.

US tight (shale) oil production now ~20% of total. Over 80% from 2 plays - Bakken and Eagle Ford. 19 other plays. High decline rates. 6K wells - cost $35B/yr - required to maintain production. 1.5K new wells/yr - cost $14B - needed to offset declines. Production expected to peak at 2.3Mb/d in '17. Will come back to today's level by '19. By '25, falls to 700Kb/d.

"Shale and Wall Street" conclusions (Deb Rogers)
1) Wall St promoted shale gas drilling frenzy. Resulted in prices lower than costs of production. But Wall St profited big from M&A, transaction fees
2) US shale gas/oil reserves overestimated by 100-500% by operators
3) shale gas/oil wells steep decline rates, poor recovery efficiency
4) NG price driven down from severe overproduction to meet debt service
5) Due to extreme debt, stated reserves (PUDs) may not have complied with SEC rules because of threat of collateral default for operators
6) Reticence in further shale development, abondonment of pipeline projects, IPOs, JVs.

Biodiesel production started at Greenleaf 10M gal/y plant in CT. Waste cooking oil from NYC to Boston.

Mich State U researchers warning against domesticating wild plants for biofuels. Probs with viruses.

Electrawinds (Belgium) started up animal waste rendering plant in Serbia to make feedstock for biodiesel. 150K metric tons/y.

Up to 20% of Brazil's smaller mills could be idled, sold next few yrs. ~60. Market forces. Up to 10 won't even crush coming FY. Finance probs.

FL bill to repeal ethanol blending passed out of House committee by 1 vote.

Rosneft considering sending more oil to China. 300Kb/d now piped there. LNG prospects.

China econ est. to expand 8.1% this yr. 7.8% last yr.

USGS est. 70% of world's undiscovered oil resources, 30% of undiscovered NG may be beneath Arctic Ocean. UN: up to $100M planned next few yrs for Arctic exploration.

Is global warming from us or sun? Mars warmer? Moon? Venus?

Falkland self-determination referendum next month. 1.4B bls oil. Argentina says will be theirs in 20 yrs. French owned the islands 1st in mid-1700's. Maybe they should claim.

US high gasoline prices: Mexico pays less. Malaysia pays $2.62. Nigeria $2.34. Iran $2.15. UAE $1.77. Ecuador $1.47. Egypt $1.14. Kuwait (whom we liberated - who remembers?) 81 cents. Sauds 45 cents. And the king - Venezuela - at 6 cents.

Pollution laws have shut down oldest, dirtiest coal power plants in Britain. Little excess generating capacity. Few new large projects. Threat of energy crisis. More reliant on foreign NG.

BP goes to court next week v. US. Billions more in balance.

1 of 1st comps - Resident Power - to offer lower el rates in NH suspended by New England grid. Grid and PUC declined comment.

Metso Oyv (Finland) $33M contract to supply Swede power plant with bark, wood chips for cogen. 7Mw power, 26Mw heat. Construction start end of '14.

Hg Capital shifting focus of 2nd clean energy fund - $716M - to wind power in Scandinavia. Targeting markets with low subsidies. Norway, Sweden began common green certificate market a yr ago. Hg goal 300-400Mw wind in Sweden, Norway. 200-300Mw in Ireland. Sweden wants 1/2 clean/ren energy by '20. 47% now. Norway 67%.

Euro solar importers defending Chinese in anti-dumping case.

EU Parliament approving plan to bolster carbon trading.

Halliburton may avoid blame in BP GOM disaster.