Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Glenn D. Rudolph who wrote (116607)	1/31/2001 4:35:16 PM
From: H James Morris	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

>The problem is no natural gas readily available to power additional plants there from what I can determine. There will be if you invest in Alaska. I've bought property right on the spot where the natural gas pipeline will come down. > ANCHORAGE -- For decades, Alaska's northern fringe has been intensively searched for large deposits of oil. Petroleum-industry crews are fanning across the North Slope again this winter, but this time some of them are looking for other riches: natural gas. During the next three months, dozens of surveyors, heavy-equipment operators and support staff will fire powerful volleys of sound into the ground - known as seismic testing - to learn the subsurface geology of the hilly, snow-covered tundra. Tight supplies and rapidly growing demand have focused new attention on Alaska's huge but geographically remote natural-gas reserves. The current market imbalance has dramatically raised gas prices, long seen as an impediment to development. In addition, equipment improvements and regulatory changes have suddenly made viable a pipeline project that would link Alaska to North America's gas infrastructure. The North Slope holds proven reserves of 35 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, but it's believed that vast amounts more remain to be found. The United States currently consumes about 21.5 trillion cubic feet of gas per year, with demand expected to grow by about 2 percent annually for the next two decades. Alaska's three major oil producers - BP, Phillips Petroleum and Exxon Mobil - control nearly all of the known gas reserves. They are working together on a $75 million study of the gas-development project. Gov. Tony Knowles and other Alaska political leaders are pushing a $10 billion, 2,000-mile route that would start at Prudhoe Bay and run along highways in Alaska and northwestern Canada to Alberta, where it would tie into an existing pipeline network linked to the Lower 48. A rival route would extend east from Prudhoe Bay into Canada along the Arctic Ocean coast before heading south along the Mackenzie River. The Arctic-coast route would be about 300 miles shorter and an estimated $2 billion cheaper than the Alaska route, and it could be used to transport some of the 9 trillion cubic feet of known natural gas in far northern Canada. A gas line isn't the only project that could tap North Slope gas. Several companies, including Phillips and BP, have been studying how to convert the gas to a waxy liquid fuel that could be sold domestically or overseas. Another project calls for liquefying the natural gas and sending it by tanker to Asia or the Lower 48. Also still to be decided is ownership of any gas line. Three communities along one of the prospective pipeline routes have formed a port authority - they say public ownership of the line would be exempt from federal taxes, which could cut billions of dollars from the project cost. BP, Phillips and Exxon Mobil have assembled a team of about 50 engineers and regulatory experts to sort through the various issues, with a decision on a route expected later this year. If all goes smoothly, a gas line could be completed by 2007, said Joe Marushack, vice president of gas commercialization at Phillips Alaska. While the recent high natural-gas prices may have raised interest in an Alaska gas line, developers say they are not counting on prices to remain at current levels. Natural gas is selling for about $7.70 per thousand cubic feet. That's down from more than $10 last month, but more than three times higher than the price a year ago. "We have to have a pipeline project that is as low-cost as possible so that it will weather not just the good times, but the low gas-price times as well," Marushack said.

To: Glenn D. Rudolph who wrote (116607)	1/31/2001 5:02:46 PM
From: H James Morris	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

>Capstone May Get Microturbine Orders Worth Up To $60M By Pat Maio Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LOS ANGELES (Dow Jones)--Capstone Turbine Corp. (CPST) may have landed its biggest microturbine order to date from a consortium of public agency water suppliers in California - valued at up to $60 million, according to sources. The Association of California Water Agencies, which is made up of 440 members who supply water to 90% of California's farms and cities, has signed a deal with an energy consulting firm that is working to secure up to 2,000 microturbine unit orders for Capstone over the next two years. ACWA uses up to 7% of the state's electricity on pumping stations needed to irrigate farms, and many of its members have been hit hard financially by the energy crisis. Under the agreement, privately held Harza Energy LLC will buy the microturbines from Capstone, based in Chatsworth, Calif., and install them for ACWA's member water agencies. "For Harza, this will end up being our largest order ever," Steve Chippas, president of the Chicago engineering and energy consulting firm, said in a phone interview. Capstone marketing vice president Mark Kuntz, confirmed that his company has had discussions with ACWA regarding the potential to sell up to 2,000 microturbines. The 30-kilowatt units would cost up to $30,000 each - making the total deal worth up to $60 million. "We have every expectation that this will result in a large order," Kuntz said. "We have made this a high priority to secure a large number of orders" with the ACWA agencies. Representatives of about 30 of those agencies will visit Capstone on Thursday to get a firsthand look at how a microturbine works, he added. Capstone said it had produced about 1,000 microturbines through last November, its last publicly disclosed production number. Dan Smith, director of regulatory affairs for ACWA, said public water supply agencies are being devastated financially by California's energy crisis. "I've been here almost 26 years, and I've seen droughts, but I've never seen so much aggravation and concern as this problem has caused," Smith said. He pointed to one San Diego-area agency, the Valley Center Municipal Water District, that plans to increase its water rates 25% on Feb. 1, and another 25% on April 1. The district mainly supplies water to avocado growers, some of whom are saying them may be forced out of business because of the rate increases, Smith said. ACWA also is looking at reducing power costs to its members by picking a new wholesale supplier of electricity to replace AES Corp. (AES). Finalists are said to include Enron Corp. (ENE) and a joint consortium of Coral Energy, a unit of Royal Dutch/Shell (RD) and New West, an energy service supplier owned by Salt River Project, one of the nation's largest publicly owned energy businesses. Microturbines are primarily fueled by natural gas and can generate from 25 kilowatts to 600 kilowatts of electricity a day. They also run on propane, diesel fuel, kerosene, landfill gas and waste and water treatment gases. Microturbines use just one moving part - a shaft on which a compressor turbine and permanent magnet generator are seated. Microturbines also use airfoil bearing technology, which eliminates the need for oil bearings. This is why microturbines cost less to maintain than other power sources and produce less pollution and noise. Microturbines can be turned on during the middle of the day when power prices are most expensive or during blackouts caused by interruptible contracts with electric utilities. Interruptible contracts give utilities the legal authority to turn off electricity when shortages are imminent. In return, customers get discounted power bills. Shares of Capstone closed Wednesday at $41, up 69 cents, or 1.7%, on Nasdaq volume of more than 1 million shares, compared with average daily volume of 913,800. -By Pat Maio, Dow Jones Newswires; 323-658-3776; patrick.maio@dowjones.com

To: Glenn D. Rudolph who wrote (116607)	1/31/2001 10:05:46 PM
From: Victor Lazlo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

<<There are a lot of stories coming out of the CA area that make no sense to me. >> Our media are headquartered in Calif and Manhattan. Whatever affects those two spots affects the media's national presentation by a factor of ten. If it happens in Iowa or Kansas City it doesn't matter. And if you check the record, the last couple of recessions have hit mainly Calif and New York. The rest of the country was not nearly as affected. But I'm sure this time with their genius elec policies, and rolling brown-outs, Calif will fare just fine! yuk yuk ! <<The most current is Baja (SP), Mexico becoming a net exporter of electricity although currently they need to import. The problem is no natural gas readily available to power additional plants there from what I can determine. Nice new state of the art gas powered plants do not work without the gas. Go figure??? >> Mexico is a major oil producer although they are not a an OPEC member. They are not a major nat gas producer as far as I know. So pipeline capacity may be a factor. Mexico City is the most badly polluted city in the world re air quality. So perhaps their newer plants are nat gas plants- just a guess; I do not not know for a fact. I bought NRG Energy in late Spring 2000 at $18 and sold it later in the year in the low $30's. Great company. But these nutzo politicians will do anything to look good to the ratepayers so I am too sissy to buy back in. Even though it is the nutzo politicians and their polital appointees who create these problems in the first place. Victor