(Tue, 13 Sep 2016) Since the accident at Fukushima Daiichi in March 2011 and the subsequent shutdown of nuclear reactors in Japan, five reactors have received approval to restart operations under the new safety standards imposed by Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA). Only three of those reactors are currently operating.
(Mon, 12 Sep 2016) Interruptions in electricity service vary by frequency and duration throughout the country across the many electric distribution systems that serve roughly 145 million customers throughout the United States. While some distribution customers have backup generators to provide auxiliary power, most customers are simply without electricity when outages occur.
(Fri, 09 Sep 2016) As Japan's electricity generation mix shifted away from nuclear energy toward the increased use of coal and natural gas after the Fukushima accident, Japan became increasingly reliant on generating electricity using imported coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
(Thu, 08 Sep 2016) Earnings per barrel of crude oil and other inputs processed by refiners that operate mainly in North America were lower in the second quarter of 2016 compared with the same time last year and are now close to per-barrel earnings by refiners operating elsewhere. North American refiners, which for years were consistently more profitable than other refiners, were less profitable than European refiners and the global average, based on the four-quarter moving average of profits.
The measure includes $280 million to address the crisis over contaminated drinking water in Flint and funding to combat the algae problem in southeastern Florida.
Hongmei Li on her attendance at BHP Billiton's formal launch of its Prospects blog on September 1.
(Wed, 07 Sep 2016) The California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the entity responsible for maintaining the balance between supply and demand for electricity throughout most of the state, operates in a setting where demand peaks in the late afternoon or early evening on summer days.
The UK is unlikely to have the appetite to subsidize both new nuclear and CCS, but CCS has failed on a commercial level in the UK.
(Tue, 06 Sep 2016) The mix of energy sources used for power generation in California this summer changed from last summer, as renewables and imported electricity offset lower natural gas use. During summer 2016 (June, July, and August) thermal generation (almost all from natural gas) in the area serviced by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) was down 20% from the previous summer, while generation from hydroelectricity, other renewables, and electricity imports was higher than the same period last year.
Skimming along the surface of Japan’s crude import numbers gives an impression that the pendulum has swung back in favor of Middle Eastern crudes.
