STUFF

Lockheed to build prototype 10Mw Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) plant off China coast. Uses heat differences between deep water and surface to drive turbine. To provide power for new luxury resort.

Europe Parliament rejected raising cost of carbon emissions. After vote, price of carbon allowances fell to just above 3Euros/ton from ~4.50E. Analysts say price of 30E needed to influence comps' behavior.

Alaska legislature granted oil comps est. $750M annual tax relief to help increase their investment in North Slope. Repeals tax system put in by Palin in '07. New effective tax rate as low as 14%.

Wind, other clean energy developers will be able to claim PTC as long as they spend at least 5% of project's cost by yearend: IRS.

Fed gasoline tax not raised since '93. Highway fund revenues down with fuel economy increases.

Vilsack: renewable jet fuel key to compliance with Europe's GHG rules.

LDK Solar partially defaulted on bond payments.

Exxon building 22-mile pipeline in Alaska to add liquid NG condensates to Trans-Alaska Pipe system.

Louisiana PSC votes tomorrow whether to save or dismantle net metering in state.

Sun Run: local permitting, inspection adds ~50 cents/w - ~$2,500 per residential install - to US solar installs. Adds nearly month of delay. LBNL: Cal cities with most favorable permitting have avg residential solar install prices 27-77 cents/w lower than cities with most onerous.

MN high school student found how cellulosic ethanol production costs could be cut up to 20 cents/gal by combining hydrolysis and anaerobic fermentation. Used corn stover, several microorganisms.

Gran Bio (Brazil) bought  25% stake in American Process. GB gains access to proprietary biomass pretreatment tech to cost-effectively develop cellulosic sugars as feedstock for range of biofuels, biochems. 1st commercial-scale plant in '15 in Brazil followed by one in US.

Total, CNOOC to build oil refinery in Uganda. Initial capacity 30Kb/d. Will probably build pipeline to Kenya coast for export. Uganda has est. 3.5B bls oil reserves.

2 new power plants add total 1.5Gw to Oman power capacity. Oman Power single off-taker of elgen. NG-fired combined-cycle gas turbines. Siemens equipment. Oman current elgen cap ~4.5Gw.

Walmart wants to increase its clean/renewable energy production 6x by '20. Also wants to increase energy efficiency with LED lighting, hi-efficiency HVAC, refrig, control systems. Also asking supplying bakers to raise sustainability.

Japan added 1.39Gw of clean energy cap, mostly solar, from last April to this Feb.

SunPower (SPWR) began constructing 2 projects in Cal, 5.8Mw total. Online later this year.

World businesses costing global econ ~$7.3T/y in GHG emissions, loss of natural resources, other factors.

Duke Energy paid no fed tax in '12.