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Politics : Rat's Nest - Chronicles of Collapse -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (9402)	8/12/2009 12:55:38 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24225

"Lost" Solar House Reborn as 3 Megawatt Air Force Solar Installation Mon Aug 10, 2009 4:28pm EDT By Tina Casey In the 1970's, the U.S Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs hosted a comprehensive research project on home solar retrofits. The idea was to improve energy efficiency in Air Force housing, which at the time numbered over 150,000 units. The lessons learned from the model solar home were soon buried when popular tastes turned to energy-hogging McMansions. But now, 30 years later, solar power has come full circle. The Academy is set to build a 3MW solar installation that will dwarf the earlier pilot project, providing solar energy not just for one home but for up to 7% of the entire educational complex. That Was Then: The U.S. Air Force Academy Solar Test House When the Air Force Academy was created in 1954, the benefit to faculty and students of an in-house research mission soon became apparent. The Academy established the Frank J. Seiler Laboratory in 1962. When the prolific lab closed in 1995 it was replaced by eight research centers. Among its numerous projects was the U.S. Air Force Adademy Solar Test House. A series of reports starting in 1976 detail how the project began as a response to the energy crisis of the time, partly to address rising costs, and partly to achieve a guaranteed energy supply for the armed forces. The project involved solar powered HVAC and water heating retrofits in a typical military family housing unit. By 1980, the researchers had made detailed studies of an array of solar technologies relating to conservation, insulation, solar collectors, thermal storage in the form of a 2,500 gallon underground tank, and control systems. Researchers made a large number of recommendations regarding the conversion to solar technology that never made it to those other 150,000 Air Force housing units, let alone into the civilian market - until now, that is. This is Now: 3 MW of Solar Power at U.S. Air Force Academy Flash forward almost 30 years, and the picture is totally different. The Air Force places among the U.S. EPA's top twenty green energy users. Among its rapidly growing list of sustainable energy installations is the mammoth 15 MW solar farm at Nellis Air Force Base, and it is even experimenting with solar powered drones. According to a report in Defense Industry Daily, the Air Force has contracted with Colorado Springs Utilities to build an $18.3 million solar farm with a capacity of up to 3MW. Funding for the project will come from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It's part of $1.4 billion that the Air Force is set to receive for base improvements focused mainly on sustainable energy as part of the administration's efforts to build the market for green jobs. After 30 years of wandering, it looks like the "lost" solar house has finally found a home. Image: cliff1066 on flickr.com Reprinted with permission from CleanTechnica reuters.com

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (9402)	8/13/2009 9:52:17 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24225

Mexican Oil Output May Fall to 2.6 Million Barrels (Update2) By Andres R. Martinez and Jose Enrique Arrioja Aug. 12 (Bloomberg) -- Mexico may pump as little as 2.6 million barrels a day of oil this year amid declines at the country’s largest field, Energy Minister Georgina Kessel said. Production will be between 2.6 million barrels and 2.7 million barrels, Kessel said today in an interview in Mexico City. State-owned producer Petroleos Mexicanos on July 30 cut its production forecast to 2.65 million barrels a day for this year, from an earlier estimate of as much as 2.8 million. Mexico’s output is slumping as production at Cantarell, the company’s largest field, drops at a rate twice as fast as forecast by Pemex, as the company is known. Last year, production slumped at the fastest rate since 1942. The drop may cost the Mexican government 300 billion pesos ($23.1 billion) in lost sales this year and could lead the country to have a budget deficit in 2010, Finance Minister Agustin Carstens said yesterday. Oil above $70 a barrel is enough to support the exploration projects Pemex has planned to boost output, according to Kessel. “Pemex needs to maintain its current levels of investment to develop its reserves,” Kessel said. “Prices above $70 to $75 a barrel are appropriate to help develop those projects.” Crude oil for September delivery rose 68 cents, or 1 percent, to $70.13 a barrel at the 2:30 p.m. close of floor trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Mexico faces the greatest “fiscal shock” in 30 years as output may fall to 2.5 million barrels a day next year, creating a budget deficit, Carstens said. Oil Funding Oil revenue funded about 38 percent of the government’s budget last year. Prices have fallen more than 50 percent since a record high last year of $147.27 a barrel. Kessel will meet with Brazilian Energy Minister Edison Lobao this weekend and visit a technology center run by Petroleo Brasileiro SA to discuss ethanol projects and deepwater oil exploration, she said today. Mexico has said that it holds 30 billion barrels of oil equivalent under water deeper than 500 meters (1,640.5 feet). Pemex wants to partner with companies such as Petrobras, Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. to develop its deepwater reserves. So far, the company has drilled 10 wells in deepwater on its side of the Gulf of Mexico. Pemex expects to produce its first deepwater natural gas by 2013 and oil by 2015. To contact the reporter on this story: Andres R. Martinez in Mexico City at amartinez28@bloomberg.net; Jose Enrique Arrioja in Mexico City at jarrioja@bloomberg.net Last Updated: August 12, 2009 16:26 EDT bloomberg.com