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Picnic and Making it a Great Success
7/04/2008
County residents sitting on gas gold mine
| News that a vast natural gas source is below Steuben County led to a capacity crowd Tuesday night at the Campbell-Savona High School. The natural gas is trapped about a mile under ground in the Marcellus Shale, which extends from West Virginia through Pennsylvania and up to western New York and Canada. The range is estimated to contain 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, with reports that 10 percent production would heat every home in the U.S. for two years. But while the implications of the resource are growing nationally, nearly 1,000 people filled the Campbell school auditorium to find out what the Marcellus project means locally. "This is not the $1 or $2 (per acre) we've had in the past," said Lindsay Wickham, field adviser and local issues coordinator for the state Farm Bureau. Competition between gas companies is likely to mean higher signing bonuses and subsidies for landowners. "In Pennsylvania, (companies') rates started out at $5 to $50 an acre," he said. "Now they're $2,000, $3,000, and royalties are at 15, 16, 17 percent." (Click to read entire article) |
7/03/2008
When will Iberdrola take over the World? - From NVBHA
| Spain's energy giant Iberdrola filed an investors' day presentation with the Spanish market regulator, CNMV, on Wednesday, stating that it aims to splash out on investments and internationalize the group even further, Thomson Merger News reports. It is ready to spend €25 billion (US$39 billion) in total between now and 2010, to achieve its growth objectives, which involves expansion in Latin America, the US, Canada and the U.K. Click on link for entire article Ignacio Galan, chairman and chief executive of Scottish Power's parent firm Iberdrola, discussed the deal with Mr Salmond over the phone yesterday and met with finance secretary John Swinney. Click on link for entire article The Spanish renewable energy company offers €175 million for the remaining shares of the Greek wind developer. Just reading these headlines will turn your stomach! There are many more links - just do some interent searching yourself - Iberdrola is everywhere - they are not just blowing in the wind! ... coal, gas, electric, wind - what else? If we don't stop them soon, Iberdrola will own the World! Happy Independence Day to All! |
Subaru Unveils New Plug-in EV Concept
 Next week, Subaru will be looking to impress delegates at the G8 summit in Hokkaido Toyako by unveiling a prototype plug-in electric car.The company has provided five cars for use at the summit. Four of these will be used to transport officials and policy wonks around, while the other will go on display in the environmental showcase, as well as being available for test drives. The new prototype twins Subaru’s existing Stella model with the electric powertrain from the company’s earlier R1e concept, which has been undergoing testing for the last two years. Whereas the R1e is a tiny two-seater, the Stella is a more practical 5-door model, and will be used for the development and test-marketing of next-generation EVs in Japan in the coming years. The car, powered by a powerful Li-Ion battery, is capable of a top speed of around 60mph, with a range of 50 miles between charges - more than adequate for urban journeys. The battery can either be fully charged overnight at home, or topped up to 80% capacity in 15 minutes using a fast-charger. Charge time has been a major barrier to consumer acceptance of EVs and, although this still doesn’t match up to the speed of filling up with gas, it’s certainly getting there. |
Iberdrola Energy East - PSC July 3, 2008 Letter by CPA
| July 3, 2008 Hon. Jaclyn A. Brilling Secretary to the Commission New York State Public Service Commission Agency Building 3 Albany, NY 12223-1350 Dear Commissioners: The Citizen Power Alliance represents several environmental and energy groups who are deeply concern that the Iberdrola acquisition of Energy East will result in a diminishment of energy competition in New York State. You have heard from several of our member groups already and many members have submitted documents on this subject to the PSC. The degree of inordinate political pressure placed on the Public Service Commission to reverse the long established de-regulation policy of NYS is outrageous. In order that the public can continued to be protective from all the ills of an integrated energy cartel, the PSC must stand firm and accept the ruling of Judge Epstein. The Iberdrola deal is bad business for New York State. It would be a nightmare for ordinary residential ratepayers and small business. When the commissioners meet to decide and vote on this acquisition, the key point to remember is that control of our utility infrastructure is the issue. Claims of future investment are bogus diversions of the real impact of allowing a foreign global cartel to dictate electric pricing and distribution to our state. This is a homeland security concern. It is your responsibility to look through the false spin and phony carbon credit trading that is at the core of a scheme to control our electric energy system. Our members speak for scores of neighbors in their own communities. A reoccurring question from individuals is who will look out for the resident ratepayers if the PSC buckles under the pressure that fundamentally alter the long established de-regulation NYS policy. CPA urges the PSC commissioners to view the Iberdrola takeover of Energy East as a moral issue that demands rejection. It is not about fake job creation, bailing out wind developers, discount electric rates for special business customers or for pie in the sky alternative energy percentages. No, what it is about is a sellout of the citizens and taxpayers of New York State. Take the high road and make the correct decision. Reject the Iberdrola - Energy East approval. Regards, Citizen Power Alliance |
Solar Photovoltaic Rebate Program Introduced into Senate
 The world of solar energy has been tumultuous of late in the United States: the BLM essentially bans solar power projects on public lands, then reverses its decision because of public outcry. Not to mention the inaction in the Senate on one set of renewable energy legislation, and the action in the House on another. Here’s another twist in the road of clean energy promotion.Ten Million Solar Roofs In Ten Years U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has introduced a new bill into the Senate to help ease the cost for homeowners wanting to install solar panels. The 10 Million Solar Roofs Act of 2008 will offer rebates for up to half the installation costs of solar photovoltaic systems, and would be in place for the next ten years. In addition to private homes and businesses, non-profit organizations, and state and local governments would be eligible for the rebates. The bill, the text of which is available for download, will be formally filed when the Senate reconvenes on Monday. Co-sponsoring the bill are Senators John Kerry (D-MA), Ben Cardon (D-MD), Arlen Specter (R-PA), John Warner (R-VA), and Robert Menendez (D-NJ). |
Research: Wind power pricier, emits more CO2 than thought
| Fresh contenders have entered the UK wind power debate, as a turbines expert funded by the Renewable Energy Foundation publishes an investigation into a hotly-disputed subject - the variability in output to be expected of a large UK windfarm base. In a just-released article for the journal Energy Policy, titled Will British weather provide reliable electricity?, consulting engineer Jim Oswald and his co-authors model the output to be expected from a large, 25+ gigawatt UK windfarm collection of the type the government says it would like to see in service by 2020. Wind is generally seen as the renewable technology best suited to the UK climate, and so it forms the bulk of most renewables plans for Blighty. One of the most frequent criticisms levelled at wind power is variability. That is, when the wind drops (or blows too hard) the windmills stop spinning and you get no power. To begin with, Oswald simulates the output rises and falls that might result from a lot of windfarms distributed around the UK by using Met Office archived data from different points up and down the land. Many wind advocates have argued that with enough windfarms, widely enough distributed, you would get more reliable power output as some windmills would always have wind. Oswald's analysis says this isn't true, with calm conditions across pretty much all the UK being fairly regular events. Analysis from 1996 to 2005 shows similar results: large, rapid, and frequent changes of power output being common occurrences ... any national power system has to manage under the worst case conditions likely to occur ... These are not extreme cases, whose frequency is so low as to render the events negligible. Rather, these are representative ... (Click to read entire article) |
7/02/2008
Fortuna expanding gas exploration
| Flush with success from drilling into the Trenton-Black River rock formation, Fortuna Energy Co. in Big Flats is poised to explore natural gas deposits in Marcellus Shale in New York and Pennsylvania. The formation lies 300 to 6,000 feet underground and covers about 54,000 square miles, running from the Southern Tier of New York across Pennsylvania into Ohio and West Virginia. Researchers estimate the shale may contain enough natural gas to match the entire U.S. demand for two years. The company is already targeting the Marcellus Shale formations in northern Pennsylvania and has plans to drill six pilot wells in Bradford County, Pa., later this year. Four pilot wells into the same formation also have been drilled in Tioga County, N.Y., the company's president James O'Driscoll said Monday during an editorial board meeting at the Elmira Star-Gazette. More drilling will be scheduled for New York once Gov. David Paterson signs legislation that expands how many acres that drilling through the shale will require. For Trenton-Black River exploration, the wells are spaced about 640 acres apart and the drill bore is vertical. Because Marcellus Shale wells are drilled horizontally, the new law would allow horizontal drilling in several different directions over a 640-acre area, all from a single drill pad. (Click to read entire article) |
Can Water Really Power a Car?
Water can be used to fuel a car when used as a supplement to gasoline. In fact, very little water is needed! only one quart of water provides over 1800 gallons of HHO gas which can literally last for months and significantly increase your vehicle's fuel efficiently, improve emissions quality, and save you money. |
Power line plan unveiled
| AUGUSTA, Maine - Two utility companies unveiled plans Tuesday for a $1.9 billion overhaul of Maine’s electricity transmission lines aimed at bolstering reliability and encouraging large-scale wind power development in Aroostook County. Central Maine Power and Maine Public Service Co. filed applications on Tuesday with state regulators for two massive transmission line projects. If approved as proposed, the projects would likely be paid for by all New England energy consumers with Maine ratepayers accounting for about 8 percent of the cost, officials said. The first project would build an additional, 345-kilovolt transmission line along the existing CMP corridor, passing through nearly 80 communities from Orrington to Newington, N.H. The $1.4 billion expansion is part of a long-term plan to upgrade the state’s aging power infrastructure, which studies predict could encounter serious reliability problems as early as 2012 without major fixes. The second project would connect northern Maine communities to the New England power grid. While such a connection has been discussed for years, it was regarded as economically unfeasible until recently when Aroostook County became the hot spot for potential wind farm development in the state. (Click to read entire article) |
7/01/2008
PSC staff gives tepid support for Iberdrola's bid for Energy East
| Staff at the Public Service Commission now say Iberdrola could be permitted to own wind farms as part of its $4.5 million bid to buy Energy East Corp., provided each wind farm is approved by the state on a case-by-case basis. PSC staff still opposes Iberdrola owning wind farms or any power plants in the state as a condition of the merger. But, they say, if the commission approves the deal, the Spanish energy conglomerate should have each wind power project reviewed individually, according to a June 26 brief filed on behalf of PSC staff. The brief was in response to an administrative law judge's June 16 non-binding ruling that Iberdrola should not be permitted to build wind farms in the company's service territories. It is unlikely the PSC's five commissioners will make a decision at their July 16 meeting. The deadline for all parties to respond to the June 26 filings is Thursday and their review will take senior staff analysts several weeks, PSC spokesman James Denn said. It is also possible the parties could settle before the commission votes on the matter, Denn said. The company says it will invest at least $2 billion in wind-power generation in the state if it is permitted to acquire Energy East. Should the merger be approved, PSC staff want measures in place that would require the company to follow through on its promise. The staff has concerns that there are no guarantees that the investments would occur, the filing stated. As Iberdrola builds the plants, the $201 million dedicated to customer benefits could be reduced. Organizations have come out on both sides of the argument. The New York Consumer Protection Board and state Department of Environmental Conservation support the acquisition. Independent Power Producers of New York says Iberdrola, which is the second-largest wind energy operator in the country, should not be able to produce and provide power. The state prohibits "vertical market power," or the ability for power providers to also operate as power generators. The bid is supported by key members of the state Legislature, as well as U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, D-NY, and Gov. David Paterson. |
