Energy Stocks Blog

Strategizing for the Ethanol Industry

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:01:21 +0000

Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog A reader recently sent me a link to the following story: D.C. Discussions Advance Corn Issues Extension of the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) – This blender’s tax credit provides $.45 for each gallon of ethanol blended with gasoline and expires at the end of this year. The credit provides thousands of [...]

Book Review: Big Coal

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:46:40 +0000

Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog One of the triumphs of modern life is our ability to distance ourselves from the simple facts of our own existence. - Jeff Goodell Big Coal by Jeff Goodell is a book I have had on my reading list for a long time, but I only got around to reading it during [...]

Why Summer Gasoline Means Higher Prices

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:42:16 +0000

Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog Spring is approaching, and gasoline prices are once again climbing. But you may not know that this ritual of climbing prices happens almost every year about this time. If you check the history of gasoline prices at the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) website you can see that gasoline prices almost always [...]

Will Solar Prices Fall into Grid Parity?

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:04:43 +0000

Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog The following is a guest post written by Dan Harding. Dan has written numerous articles on the solar industry, and is a regular contributing author to CalFinder. ———————————- Will Solar Prices Fall into Grid Parity? By Dan Harding The Holy Grail…in solar-speak, it translates roughly to Grid Parity. It is a goal either mythical or [...]

Range Responds

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:51:50 +0000

Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog I just became aware that BiofuelsDigest wrote a story on my recent blog on Range Fuels, and got some comments back from Range Fuels’ CEO David Aldous: Battle of the Falling Timbers Aldous said pretty much what I would expect the CEO of Range Fuels to say. He defended his company, and complained [...]

A Day Late on the Bloom Box

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:49:55 +0000

Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog I wasn’t going to write anything on the Bloom Box, but people keep writing to ask what I think. My initial reactions were “What a lot of hype” and “I have seen this all before.” I also wondered why it is that people keep falling for these kinds of stories. But fuel [...]

What’s the Stock Play in Wake of the Over-hyped Story About Fuel Cell Developer Bloom Energy?

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:30:21 +0000

Submitted by EnergyTechStocks.com Having been a Wall Street Journal energy and environment reporter, one of the first experts I would have called before running a story on privately-held solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) developer Bloom Energy would have been Neal Dikeman, who in addition to being a prominent alternative energy investor and the writer of an authoritative [...]

Broken Promises from Range Fuels

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:41:20 +0000

Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog When I first began my career, a wise old-timer gave me a piece of advice that I took to heart. He said “When you are planning and executing a project, it is important for you to do what you say you are going to do. People are going to make investment [...]

Keep Your Eye on DME

admin — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:26:42 +0000

Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog Di-methyl-ether (DME) is a fuel that I have been talking about since at least 2006. I have blogged about it, and I have classified it in several of my presentations as a “Sustainable Contender” (including in a slide at last year’s ASPO conference). I want to use this post to explore [...]

Platts Survey of Top Energy Stories of 2009

admin — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:25:30 +0000

Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog As I compile my year end list of the biggest energy stories of the year, I have just gotten an e-mail from Platts that is very helpful. As they have done in previous years, they have a survey up so readers can rank the top stories: Platts wants to know: the biggest [...]

Biomass Is Not Crazy Logic

admin — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:24:14 +0000

Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog I saw a story about a week ago that I flagged to comment on when I got caught up. I suppose I am caught up enough now to do so. The story is: Burn a Tree to Save the Planet? The Crazy Logic Behind Biomass The author is listed as Joshua Frank, described [...]

Osmotic Power

admin — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:22:58 +0000

Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog Did you ever wonder why the skin on your hands sometimes shrivels when you have them in water for too long? The underlying reason is called osmosis (a simple explanation in more detail below), and the same driving force is now being utilized as a power source. Occasionally I encounter an energy [...]

The DOE Funding Recipients

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:10:25 +0000

Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog I am so far behind on the things that I have been intending to write. It is hard to believe that it has already been over a week since the most recent US DOE biorefinery grants were announced. I have been meaning to list them and comment, but I have finally [...]

Copenhagen Suggests Climate Issue Not Going Away

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:06:32 +0000

Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog I have mentioned that I think ClimateGate will end up being one of the top stories of 2009. A number of people have commented or e-mailed me and said that the story will soon be forgotten. I don’t think so. I don’t think they realize the energy this gives to those [...]

Hidden Gems? Why Green Investors Should Look at Daewoo Shipbuilding And Ener1 (Pt. 2 of 2)

admin — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:58:14 +0000

Submitted by EnergyTechStocks.com Neither Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd., which trades OTC under the symbol DWOTF, nor Ener1 Inc., which trades on NASDAQ under the symbol HEV, is an obvious candidate for having hidden potential. Heck, Daewoo isn’t even a green energy stock. Or is it? Lost in the hubbub of Copenhagen and Congress, there’s been [...]

The Questions I Didn’t Ask

admin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:06:35 +0000

Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog I have been asked to submit a video question on ethanol policy that will be potentially answered in a video blog by someone who is very well-known in the energy business. I will keep the details quiet for now, including the question I did submit. (I thought I would be able [...]

The Questions I Didn’t Ask

admin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:06:35 +0000

The Questions I Didn’t Ask

admin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:05:35 +0000

The Questions I Didn’t Ask

admin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:04:31 +0000

Hidden Gems? Why Green Investors Should Look at PFB, Vodafone And Telefonica (Pt. 1 of 2)

admin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:02:00 +0000

Submitted by EnergyTechStocks.com Looking for alternative energy stocks with undiscovered potential? Who isn’t? Here are three possibilities (with three more to come next week). You can decide for yourself whether they are worth further investigation. First up: PFB Corporation, which trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol PFB. Calgary-based PFB is an energy efficiency play. The company [...]

Catching Up

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:05:28 +0000

Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog Back home now, just trying to catch up on the energy news of note. Four stories that I want to highlight. First was POET’s announcement on their progress on cellulosic ethanol: Poet hits ‘long shot,’ cuts cellulosic ethanol costs WASHINGTON - The head of the world’s largest ethanol producer, Sioux Falls-based Poet, said [...]

Thinking of Itron, EnerNOC and MYR Group as Possible Takeover Candidates

admin — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:14:50 +0000

Submitted by EnergyTechStocks.com Last week Warren Buffett bought the rest of Burlington Northern Santa Fe (Symbol BNI) in part because of railroads’ inherent ability to transport goods more energy efficiently than trucks. Meanwhile, for a still-to-be-published magazine article, I interviewed a noted information technology consultant who said there will be a number of mergers and acquisitions [...]

Interview With an Algae CEO

admin — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:30:35 +0000

Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog So I am finally back home for the next 10 days, and slowly catching up. I had a good trip to Panama and then to Stanford. I had my luggage sniffed by dogs when I connected in El Salvador, and then when connecting in LAX Gwen Stefani and her husband walked [...]

Interview With an Algae CEO

admin — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:25:51 +0000

Catching Up

admin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:50:51 +0000

Submitted by R-Squared Energy Blog Folks, I know it has been almost a week since I posted anything new, and it will still be a couple more days. I have had a productive trip to Central America, and am at Stanford this morning to give a talk on sustainability. It will be the first time I [...]