News
There are at least two places, San Francisco and the mid-Hudson Valley in New York, where political activists are currently advocating for a public takeover of the local investor-owned utility. Pacific Gas and Electric is owned by utility holding company PG&E Corporation and the service territory of the former Central Hudson Gas & Electric Company is owned by Fortis Inc, a Canadian holding company with varied utility interests. We have no views on the respective merits of either municipalization movement. What we find interesting is that…
When we talk about energy storage today, lithium-ion batteries tend to dominate the conversation. They are sleek, compact, and have become the default image of the clean energy revolution. Yet behind the headlines, a quieter cast of characters has been doing the heavy lifting. Some of the most effective ways to store energy are not based on exotic chemistry at all, but on gravity, heat, air, and even sand. They are often strange, wonderfully simple, and surprisingly effective. If the world’s energy transition were a movie, lithium-ion batteries…
U.S. natural gas futures surged the most since late October as one energy trader warned that "winter isn't over," with another wave of cold air set to spill into the eastern half of the Lower 48 early next week. The upcoming cold blast arrives even as much of the U.S. enjoys a brief warm-up following an early-month polar vortex that plunged large parts of the U.S. East into Arctic-like conditions. "Winter isn't over yet. Here are forecast anomalies for this time next week showing a large area of unseasonably chilly temperatures across the major…
The total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States rose by 3 this week, according to new data that Baker Hughes published on Tuesday, bringing the total rig count in the US to 545 this week, down 44 from this same time last year. The number of active oil rigs rose by 3 in the reporting period, according to the data, after US drillers saw an 8-rig decline in the week prior. Oil rigs are now at 409, which is 74 below this same time last year. The number of gas rigs stayed the same at 127, which is 25 more than this…
Sweden’s power giant Vattenfall announced on Tuesday it is applying for state aid for an investment in small modular reactors (SMRs) as part of a plan by industrial giants to bet on new nuclear power in the country. Last month Sweden’s biggest industrial firms signed an agreement with Vattenfall to become shareholders in the power giant’s new company, Videberg Kraft AB, which plans to build SMRs in the country. One of Europe’s top electric utilities, Vattenfall, created Videberg Kraft AB in April this year as a separate…
