Archive for May, 2008
Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 07 May 2008 | Tagged as: Natural Gas, Electric, Energy, Nuclear
WSJ via MarketWatch:
Power prices are being pushed up across the U.S., with increases sometimes soaring into double digits, due to costlier coal and natural gas, the fuels used to make 70% of the nation’s electricity.
It usually takes awhile for fuel-price swings to show up in electricity bills because utilities typically buy most of what they need under long-term arrangements. As older contracts expire, though, utilities are facing the reality of higher costs.
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Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 07 May 2008 | Tagged as: Telecommunications
AP via Forbes:
Consumers in parts of rural Missouri could see their telephone rates go up as a result of legislation passed Monday that essentially would end state price regulation of local phone service.
Supporters of the bill hope it will entice phone companies to spend the money necessary to expand high-speed Internet access in rural areas.
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Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 06 May 2008 | Tagged as: Water, Energy
Virginia Water Resource Research Center:
The conventional production of energy and power requires a huge amount of water. Without water, our energy and power generation systems will come to an abrupt stop. In the United States, for example, thermoelectric power plants consume 136 billion gallons/day of fresh water (Hutson et al. 2004; US DOE 2006), a number that translates to an average of 25 gallons of water to produce one kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity. Energy and power plants require water to scrub pollutants (generated from burning coal, for example), to cool and clean machinery (USDOE 2006) as well as to produce the steam necessary to turn huge turbines and generators. Production of other energy sources, such as oil and natural gas, often relies on re-injection of water into wells. Furthermore, some alternative energy sources, such as ethanol and hydrogen, require large volumes of water. As electricity demand rises, perhaps as much as 50% in the next twenty-five years (EIA 2006a; US DOE 2006) energy production will demand more water (Hightower et al. 2007).
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Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 05 May 2008 | Tagged as: Electric, Energy, Environment
AP via Google News:
For all the engineering genius behind the electric grid, that vast network ferrying energy from power plants through transmission lines isn’t particularly smart when it meets our homes. We flip a switch or plug something in and generally get as much power as we’re willing to pay for.
But these days the environmental consequences and unfriendly economics of energy appear unsustainable. As a result, power providers and technology companies are making the electric grid smarter.
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Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 02 May 2008 | Tagged as: Telecommunications, Electric
Dallas Morning News:
An ambitious plan for using power lines to deliver fast Internet service to 2 million Dallas-area homes collapsed Thursday, when Oncor agreed to buy the system.
Current Communications said it will sell its so-called smart grid of networking equipment to the utility for $90 million.
Current expects to close the deal in a few weeks.
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Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 02 May 2008 | Tagged as: General, Electric, Energy
Philadelphia Inquirer:
Peco’s parent, Exelon Corp., said today that it hoped to build a new power plant in the Philadelphia area to serve more than half a million households.
Exelon said its 600-megawatt plant, to be completed no sooner than 2012, would cost about $700 million. It will burn natural gas.
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Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 01 May 2008 | Tagged as: General
MarketWatch:
Several of the nation’s biggest electric utilities laid out first-quarter results Wednesday. The results were predictably mixed, but all felt the pinch of a slower economy and the hard-pressed housing market.
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Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 01 May 2008 | Tagged as: General, Electric, Energy, Nuclear
Harrisburg Patriot News:
A security officer at Three Mile Island was placed on suspension Tuesday for being inattentive, plant officials reported today.
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Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 01 May 2008 | Tagged as: Electric, Energy, Environment
AP via Boston.com:
It’s not always sunny in Philadelphia, but the city is getting a solar power plant.
Exelon Generation Co., a unit of Exelon Corp. in Chicago, is joining forces with Epuron LLC to build, operate and sell energy from the plant in South Philadelphia.
At a cost of $8 million to $12 million, the 1- to 1.4-megawatt solar power plant will be built on six to eight acres of brownfields — or idle, contaminated land. About 6,000 to 8,000 solar photovoltaic panels will generate enough juice to power 200 homes a year.
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Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 01 May 2008 | Tagged as: General, Electric, Energy
Central Penn Business Journal:
So-called “smart meters” promise electricity customers the ability to track their hourly energy usage and respond in ways that could save them money.
But for businesses, the promise may be hard to keep. They generally have less flexibility in curbing their energy use…
One goal of the technology is to allow customers to pay for electricity based on the time of day the energy is being used, potentially saving money. Electricity is often more expensive during the day, when demand is high.
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