Local Community Banding Together to Harness the Power of the Sun

Although solar heating can dramatically slash home utility bills and has tremendous environmental benefits, converting to solar is often too cost-prohibitive for many home owners. A group of homeowners in Mt. Pleasant, a suburb outside of Washington D.C., have realized though that there is strength, and more importantly, savings, in numbers. Seventy-five... 

Tags: dramatic results, electrical bills, energy future, Energy Suppliers, environmental benefits, federal tax credit, Fossil fuel, government programs, home utility bills, hurdles, mxenergy, solar energy conversion, solar heating, solar panel

New and Existing Shell $aver Card Holders Can Now Save Even More!

Now, all motorists can save even more on fuel with two Shell $aver Card(SM) offers. New cardholders will be rewarded for activating now with savings of 10 cents per gallon through April 30, 2011. Meanwhile, all cardholders will have a chance to save 22 cents per gallon throughout the year as part of a special racing promotion — “WINsdays... 

Tags: comparing prices, everyday savings, federal reserve bank, fuel purchases, motorists, shell oil products, Shell Oil Products US

Gas leak at Texas oil refinery prompts evacuation

No injuries were reported due to a gas leak at a Texas City, Texas, refinery that forced the evacuation of nearby homes on Saturday, a city official said. Production at Marathon Petroleum Corp’s 76,000-barrel-per-day capacity Texas City oil refinery, located about 50 miles south of Houston, was unaffected by the leak, said Marathon spokesman Robert... 

Tags: emergency management director, flange, fuel gas, gas leak, Gasoline, local time, marathon, texas oil refinery, Texas refinery

Rising Costs Threaten Utility Sector’s Large Dividends

To combat rising costs, companies in the Electric Utilities Sector have been looking to mergers and acquisitions to keep profits steady and maintain their healthy dividends. Stricter environmental regulations require that any new power plants built that are large enough to produce 75,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year must use the best available control... 

Tags: best available control technology, Duke Energy, electric utilities industry, fuel costs, market updates, mergers and acquisitions, operational costs, power plants, Progress Energy, progress energy inc, transmission infrastructure

Piper Jaffray Hosts Sixth Annual Clean Technology and Renewables Conference

Piper Jaffray will host its sixth annual Clean Technology & Renewables Conference on Jan. 12 in New York. Industry participants and investors will hear from more than 80 of the fastest growing public and private companies in the solar, wind, smart grid, energy storage, LED, biofuels, water, automotive efficiency, and other clean technology sectors. “Piper... 

Tags: Active Power Inc., ascent solar technologies, ASCENT SOLAR TECHNOLOGIES INC, bridgelux inc, China Sunergy Co. Ltd., Comverge Inc., Energy Recovery Inc., fuelcell energy inc, global supply chain, Green Plains Renewable Energy Inc., piper jaffray companies, traditional energy sources

Flint Hills Resources to Acquire Two Iowa Ethanol Plants

Flint Hills Resources announced plans today to acquire ethanol plants in Iowa Falls and Fairbank, Iowa. Flint Hills Resources signed an agreement yesterday to purchase the plants from Hawkeye Renewables. The deal is expected to close early in the first quarter of 2011. The purchase price will not be disclosed. “We’re very pleased to add the Fairbank... 

Tags: 100 million, 50 million, asphalt plants, biodiesel feedstock, flint hills resources, hawkeye renewables, quality plants, shell rock iowa, supplier networks, top priorities, transportation fuels, workforces

TuV SuD Certifies Esterel Technologies’ SCADE Display 6.2 KCG Code Generator to SIL 3/4 under EN 50128 and SIL 3 under IEC 61508 Standards

Esterel Technologies, the leading worldwide provider of critical system and software development solutions, today announced that TÜV SÜD Rail GmbH has certified the latest version of its SCADE Display® KCG® Code Generator to safety integrity level (SIL) 3/4 under EN 50128 and SIL 3 under IEC 61508. TÜV SÜD is a leading global testing and inspection... 

Tags: certification authorities, code generator, design simulation, esterel technologies, flexible graphics, generation users, human machine interfaces, iec 61508, industrial customers, interactive objects, nuclear power plants, safety integrity level, software development solutions, target, verification and validation, worldwide provider

Can CA Economy Afford Climate Policies?

As political pressure mounts to delay California’s ambitious global warming policies, a new report from University of California researchers examines the economic impacts of putting the Governor’s climate program on hold. Energy Prices and California’s Economic Security, a project sponsored by Next 10, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization,... 

Tags: crude oil prices, David Roland-Holst, economy-wide forecasting tool, Efficient energy use, Electricity, electricity costs, energy, energy development, energy economics, Energy Efficiency, energy efficiency trends, energy markets, energy mix, energy policy, energy price, Environment, F. Noel Perry, Fossil fuel, fossil fuel energy prices, higher energy prices, official fossil fuel energy price, renewable energy, Renewable energy commercialization, renewable energy development, state energy mix, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Energy's AEO, UC Berkeley, University of California

Syntec to Develop Catalysts to Produce Butanol and Propanol From Biomass and MSW

Syntec Biofuel Inc. announced it is launching a research program to develop catalysts and processes to produce Bio-butanol and Bio-propanol from biomass. This new R&D initiative is projected to be a 3 year program and will run in parallel with Syntec’s catalyst development. The company will be seeking strategic financial partners to support... 

Tags: biofuels, chemical intermediate, consumer products, Michael Jackson, natural products, Paint, plastics, Syntec Biofuel Inc., thermo-chemical biofuel, thermo-chemical biofuel technology

Energy Saving Equipment Sales Continue to Benefit from Rapid Growth Momentum

SmartHeat Inc., a market leader in China’s “green” technology, environmentally friendly energy savings industry, today announced record financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2008. SmartHeat generated revenue of $20.7 million in the quarter compared to $3.01 million in the same period in 2007, an increase of approximately... 

Tags: brand quality products, China, China Heating Association, Earnings Announcement, energy efficient products, energy saving programs, friendly energy saving equipment, friendly energy savings industry, heat transfer, James Jun Wang, plate heat exchangers, residential and industrial applications, SmartHeat Inc., technology heat energy saving industry, United States