STUFF

PNNL Lab to test using solar to increase energy content of NG 20%. $4.5M project funded from stimulus. Sunlight, catalyst change NG and water into CO and H. Synthesis gas. Only now with solar.

Genel Energy (headed by Tony "I want my life back" Hayward) made significant oil find in Kurdistan Iraq. Est. 300M bls. Genel 60% stake. They're already largest producer in Kurd-I. Avg ~45Kb/d last yr. Could be much higher with pipelines. Genel also exploring Somaliland, Malta, Morocco, Ivory Coast.

Alaska officials attacking DOI over Conoco canceling Arctic plans for '14 for "regulatory uncertainty".

3 TX bills to try tackling water use in fracking.

Report: "stark lack of clarity" on Cal fracking regs.

Study: fracking rarely causes earthquakes.

Monterey Shale (Cal) may not be fracked. Yet. Formation - 1,750 sq mi - disjointed from earthquakes. Too unpredictable to make fracking economic without advance in tech.

Sandia Lab developing better monitoring, diagnostics to tackle algae pond crash prob. Algae prone to attack from fungi, rotifers, viruses, other.

2 bills to improve conditions for hydropower development passed US House with great majorities.

Energy efficient motors, super-insulated and electrochromic windows, solar day lighting, LEDs, higher-insulated bldgs, combined heat and power (waste heat) could save or meet over 20% of US energy needs. Solar heating and cooling, geo heat pumps, wood pellets and biofuels, trombe walls and other passive solar bldg features could add at least 10% more.

Goldman Sachs: US crude production not increasing as fast as expected. Up 30Kb/d last week to 7.18M. US gasoline prices 33 cents/gal lower than last year at this time.

El Nino creates windshear that tears up Atlantic hurricanes. Predicted not as strong this year as in past.

US NG stocks below 5-yr avg for time of yr. 32% under '12.

OPEC, EIA lowered forecasts for oil consumption growth for '13 and '14. EIA: 1Mb/d this yr, 1.3M next.

Versalis and Genomatica (both in Italy) forming JV to develop batadiene from non-food biomass. Will license process across Europe, Asia, Africa. $20M funding to Geno to develop process.

65M gal/y ethanol facility in ND expected construction start this summer. Late '14 finish. To use 23B bushels corn/y. (Bushel of corn, anyone? That's over 3 bushels for every person on Earth. Seen price of ear of corn in stores lately? A starch, anyway. Can live without.) $1.4B fertilizer plant to be co-located, online '16.

UC Davis found several compounds to boost algae oil production up to 85%. Compounds found in green tea, food preservative. Screened 83 compounds. After oil extracted, algae can be processed for animal feed, other.

Petrojam (Jamaica) to dehydrate 32M gal of ethanol this yr, but at a loss. (Jommin, mon.)

Brazil govt setting up new purchase option feature for biodiesel stocks. Buyers (Petrobras) can contract right to take product when needed. Plants required to conclude biz at agreed price.

France has banned oil fracking. But now planning to OK geothermal fracking. Slight differences. Oil industry: "wait just a minute".

Australia looks to raise LNG production by ~30%.

World NG consumption over 100TCF in '09. ~20% global energy production. N Am, Europe, Eurasia ~67% of consumption. Est. to rise to 156TCF by '35.

Microbes to increase oil recovery from old wells. 60-70% of oil remains in old wells (drilling stopped when pressure failed to bring oil to surface). Microbes can get 10% more. Low capital investment, low operating costs, low enviro impact. $10B worth of oil in US, $165B worldwide.

Exxon ordered to pay $286M to New Hampshire for contaminating groundwater with MTBE.

DC's Union Station now 100% wind powered from Washington Gas Energy Services. 3-yr contract.

Bright Source Energy suspended ap to build $2.7B solar thermal plant in Cal. "Need to redesign ... delay will lead to financial uncertainty." Considering adding energy storage to 500Mw plant. Would trigger more engineering, enviro analyses. "Changing dynamics in Cal energy marts."

End of '16, Fed solar energy PTC falls to 10% from 30% now.

N Am Development Bank, Sun Ed closed $35M loan for 16Mw solar park at Davis-Monthan AFB (AZ). MEMC solar modules. Single-axis tracking. Online late this yr. 144 acres. 9 acres/Mw.

Uzbekistan to modernize 2 hydropower plants. $166M. 30Mw elgen increase. $100M finance from Islamic Development Bank. Uzbek power system 12.4Gw. 10 major power plants.

Suez (France) unit to build $216M waste-to-energy plant in England after yrs of local fight. 240K tons of waste/yr. 16Mw. Online '16. Europe Investment Bank, others finance.

Half of last 8 summers in cold regions - 45-85 latitude - have been warmest since 1400: Harvard study. '05, '07, '10, '11 hottest. Avg temps last 20 yrs in those regions rose 2 Farenheit.

Duke bought 2 Solarworld (Germany) Cal solar projects. 21Mw to be combined. S Cal Ed 2-yr PPA. Duke's largest solar farm.

NRC staff: no danger to restart San Onofre (Cal nuke).

Appeals court orders NM gov's panel to reconsider efficiency standards.

Fukushima tanks sprung another leak.

Onward and upward, pards.