Archive for July, 2008
Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 31 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Electric, Energy, Nuclear
AP via Yahoo! News:
State utility regulators were officially advised Wednesday about additional filings concerning a request by South Carolina Electric and Gas Co. to begin work on the site of two proposed nuclear reactors.
SCE&G, which is owned by Scana Corp., and state-owned utility Santee Cooper want to build and operate two additional reactors, estimated to cost about $10 billion, at their V.C. Summer Nuclear Station near Columbia to meet increased demand for power.
No Comments »
Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 30 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Telecommunications, Opinion
The New York Times:
Wired connections to the home — cable and telephone lines — are the major way that Americans move information. In the United States and in most of the world, a monopoly or duopoly controls the pipes that supply homes with information. These companies, primarily phone and cable companies, have a natural interest in controlling supply to maintain price levels and extract maximum profit from their investments — similar to how OPEC sets production quotas to guarantee high prices…
The solution is to relax the overregulation of the airwaves and allow use of the wasted spaces. Anyone, so long as he or she complies with a few basic rules to avoid interference, could try to build a better Wi-Fi and become a broadband billionaire. These wireless entrepreneurs could one day liberate us from wires, cables and rising prices.
No Comments »
Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 29 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Natural Gas, Energy
The New York Times:
A no-holds-barred, all-American gold rush for natural gas is under way in this forgotten corner of the South, and De Soto Parish, with its fat check from a large energy company this month, is only the latest and largest beneficiary. The county leaders and everyone around them, for mile after mile, over to Texas and up to Arkansas, in the down-at-the-heels city of Shreveport and in its struggling neighbors, suddenly find themselves sitting on what could prove to be the largest natural gas deposit in the continental United States.
Already, several dozen people who own parcels of land over the field are becoming instant millionaires as energy companies pay big money for the mineral rights to the gas, which like other energy sources is worth far more than it was last year. Jalopies are being traded in for Cadillacs, plans for swimming pools are being hatched in rusty trailers, and the old courthouse here is packed to the rafters day after day with oil company “landmen” (and women), whose job it is to frantically search the record books for the owners of the mineral rights to land that has become like gold.
No Comments »
Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 24 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Electric, Energy
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Wednesday approved the rate of return requested by Allegheny Energy Inc. on its proposed Trans-Allegheny Interstate power line.
As approved by the commission, the Greensburg-based energy company will be allowed a 12.7 percent profit on its investment.
No Comments »
Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 24 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Natural Gas, Water, Environment, Wastewater
Times Union (NY):
The gas in the Marcellus is held like bubbles in a brick of Swiss cheese. To extract it, a mixture of water, sand and chemicals is shot into the earth with such force it fractures the rock, releasing the bubbles to the surface. When the gas surfaces, so does the water - laden with natural toxins from the shale, including suspected cancer-causing compounds.
No Comments »
Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 23 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Telecommunications
The New York Times:
Analysts say consumers are dropping traditional landlines faster than expected…
All of the major telecommunications companies — AT&T, Verizon and Sprint Nextel — are figuring out how to make more money from customers as they spend more time sending text messages or browsing the Web on their wireless phones, rather than talking.
No Comments »
Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 22 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Electric, Energy
USAToday:
General Motors (GM) has joined with more than 30 utility companies across the U.S. to help work out electricity issues that will crop up when it rolls out new electric vehicles in a little more than two years.
The Detroit automaker said the partnership, which includes the Electric Vehicle Research Institute and large utilities such as Southern California Edison and Duke Energy (DUK), will deal with issues from tax incentives for the vehicles to where and when they can be plugged in for recharging.
No Comments »
Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 22 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Electric, Environment
Lancaster New Era:
The state has fined PPL for two fish kills at its Brunner Island power plant along the Susquehanna River in York County, across from Bainbridge.
Previous fish kills had occurred at Brunner Island in 2002, 2005 and 2006.
In addition to a $77,500 fine for the two fish kills in October 2007 and this past March, the state Department of Environmental Protection has ordered PPL to take actions to prevent future fish kills.
No Comments »
Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 22 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: Telecommunications
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
Besides life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, the government should guarantee everyone a high-speed Internet connection, according to a member of the Federal Communications Commission.
“No matter who you are, or where you live, or how much money you make … you will need, and you are entitled to have these tools (broadband Internet) available to you, I think, as a civil right,” said commissioner Michael Copps during a Monday appearance at Carnegie Mellon University.
No Comments »
Posted by Edward G. Lanza on 21 Jul 2008 | Tagged as: General, Electric, Energy
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
Allegheny Power won preliminary approval this week from the state Public Utility Commission for its plan to purchase electricity at lower rates following the expiration of caps on power rates in 2011…
The plan includes buying power using 12-, 17-, and 29-month contracts and through purchases on the spot market — all designed to help mitigate price spikes in a competitive power market.
No Comments »
