Just within a few years of its founding, the ARPA-E has done an incredible job of identifying critical innovation gaps and funding a number of creative ideas with the potential of delivering disruptive breakthroughs. We can now add speed and timeliness to the organization’s credit. The continued slump in natural gas prices underlines the commodity’s […]
No fracking way?
I’ve always loved a good debate especially when it is conducted in the classical sense with two podiums, open microphones, relevant topics, and informed advocates. National Public Radio recently aired such a debate on hydraulic fracturing, which is the core operation behind the shale gas revolution in North America. Fracking is what industry hands call […]
Renewable energy is growing and spreading but still challenging
Popular and media interest in renewable energy has waned in recent months but two reports issued this month show that the industry is growing in capacity and investment, spreading geographically, and delivering energy at increasingly cheaper prices. REN21’s Global Status Report is a mammoth, 170-page document but is written and produced well making it easy […]
Simple and innovative cleantech
Time magazine recently profiled BigBelly Solar and their simple but innovative solar-powered trash bins that collect and compact trash simultaneously. The product allows for a wide range of energy efficiency improvements and has been adopted by several cities. It’s a great example of how cleantech does not necessarily need capital-intensive investments.
The return of the refiner?
Refiners have seen cause for growing optimism in the past few months, especially those in the U.S. Gulf Coast, Rockies, and the Midwest. Three factors are driving prospects of a renewal after nearly five difficult years: 1. Supply rationalization: Nearly 4.5 million barrels per day of refining capacity has disappeared in the past five years. […]
Advancing the next generation of geothermal energy technologies
Geothermal energy doesn’t quite have the glamor of wind, solar, or biomass and thus receives little media or popular interest. Even so, the resource has a number of advantages, including the reliability of base load power, low operating costs, and virtually no greenhouse gas emissions. More importantly, geothermal energy is immensely promising if new technologies […]
A SURGE of energy entrepreneurship
My colleague asked excitedly, “Are you here yet?”, but I was still looking for parking. She declared “This is a party, not a conference” before urging me to come and find a seat quickly. SURGE is a Houston-based start-up accelerator focused on companies developing software for the energy industry. After putting their inaugural portfolio of […]
Replicating the shale gas story globally
The North American success story has motivated a number of foreign countries and companies to initiate efforts toward developing their local shale gas resources. The potential is very promising: a study commissioned by the EIA concluded that nearly 6,000 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas reserves are available in 32 countries — far more than […]
Corporate social responsibility in the oil and gas industry
Two interesting articles that appeared last week highlighted for me a project that ADI Analytics recently completed on benchmarking corporate social responsibility (CSR) in oil and gas companies. The first was in the Economist and talked about how CSR is now more constructive and better ingrained with core business operations and goals. The second is a […]
The “make vs. buy” lesson for Delta and Chesapeake
Ford Motor Company apparently owned the land that fed the sheep whose wool was used to make its car seats. While this is, in fact, an urban legend it brings up a very valuable point. What is more beneficial − make or buy? In other words, should a company invest in owning and operating all […]
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