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Politics : Politics of Energy -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brumar89 who wrote (38067)	2/12/2013 3:50:28 PM
From: Land Shark	1 Recommendation Respond to of 86356

February 11 News: Battery Innovation Is Doubling Core Performance For Electric Cars Every Decade By Jeff Spross on Feb 11, 2013 at 9:49 am Battery innovation is improving around 5 to 8 percent per year, which can deliver a doubling in core performance metrics for electric cars every ten years. [ Gigaom] While battery innovation appears gradual, the incremental leaps add up over time. Battery innovation is improving around 5 to 8 percent per year, which can deliver a doubling in core performance metrics every ten years, which is ultimately really “revolutionary” said [Tesla’s CTO and co-founder J.B.] Straubel. Because of the large size and heavy physical weight of batteries involved with electric cars, the impact of battery innovation on the design of the car can be even more significant than Moore’s Law has on some computing products, added Straubel. For car design, “It’s almost as if the properties of steel were improving at a rate of 5 to 8 percent per year,” said Straubel. … the energy density of batteries goes up 15 percent every 18 months; the cost per kilowatt hour goes down 15 percent every 18 months; the life cycles of the batteries (how many times it can charge and recharge) goes up 15 percent every 18 months; and the cost per lifecycle-mile does down 50 percent every 18 months. Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday that a federal decision on the proposed Keystone XL oil sands pipeline should arrive in the “near term,” but did not define what “near term” means. [ The Hill] While solar is a far less polluting energy source than coal or natural gas, solar panel manufacturers are creating millions of pounds of polluted sludge and contaminated water each year. [ WaPo] Residential solar financing, the predominant business model in some of the largest residential markets in the U.S., is forecasted to rise from $1.3 billion in 2012 to $5.7 billion in 2016. [ GreenTech Media] The European Union will devote 20 percent of its 2014-2020 budget to climate-related spending, though other related funding has been cut. [ RTCC] According to the 2012 French Electricity Report, 1.022 gigawatts of solar energy were installed that year, increasing solar capacity in the country by 67 percent. [ Clean Technia] Wind power expanded globally by almost 20 percent in 2012, reaching a new peak of 282 gigawatts of total installed capacity. [ The Guardian]

To: Brumar89 who wrote (38067)	2/12/2013 5:34:03 PM
From: FJB	1 Recommendation Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 86356

US May Soon Be Energy Independent: Study By Patti Domm \| CNBC – 3 hours ago U.S. oil and gas production is evolving so rapidly-and demand is dropping so quickly-that in just five years the U.S. could no longer need to buy oil from any source but Canada, according to Citigroup's global head of commodities research. Citigroup's Edward Morse, in a new report, projects a dramatic reshaping of the global energy industry, where the U.S., in a matter of years, becomes an exporter of energy, instead of one of the biggest importers. The shift could sharply reduce the price of oil, and therefore limit the revenues of the producing nations of OPEC, as well as Russia and West Africa. Those nations face new challenges: not only are the U.S. and Canada increasing output, but Iraq increasingly is realizing its potential as an oil producer, adding 600,000 barrels a day of production annually for the next several years. "OPEC will find it challenging to survive another 60 years, let alone another decade," the report by Morse and other Citi analysts said. "But not all of the consequences are positive, for when it comes to the geopolitics of energy, the likely outcomes are asymmetric, with clear cut winner and losers." *(Read More: The World's 15 Biggest Oil Producers)* The U.S. is a winner in many ways. Its super power status could be prolonged because of this new growth in oil and shale gas production, made possible by "fracking" and other non-conventional drilling technologies. Continues... finance.yahoo.com