Building the Rogun Dam in Tajikistan to its maximum projected height and specifications would be an economic disaster for Central Asia’s poorest nation, and an environmental nightmare for the entire region, according to a newly published expert report. The advent of new technologies for electricity generation means that Tajikistan’s already …
Read More »Lower Chinese LNG Imports could Ease Europe’s Energy Woes
The world’s top LNG importer, China, has hit the brakes on spot LNG purchases in recent weeks as Asian prices have hit the highest level for the year. After several months of stocking up on cheaper LNG supply, Chinese natural gas inventories are now estimated to be high enough to …
Read More »Chevron and Exxon Target Data Centers with Reliable Gas Power
The supermajors are moving into power generation, tempted by forecasts of a looming surge in demand. Yet there is a twist: the temptation is natural gas generation. Wind and solar—typically described as green or clean power—are turning into a fiasco for Big Oil. Chevron and Exxon both recently said they …
Read More »Can Coal Ash Solve the Rare Earth Supply Chain Crisis?
Coal ash is currently a hot topic in United States politics. Just yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled to allow the Biden administration to move forward with a plan to address toxic coal ash, in the latest update in a drawn-out legal battle over monitoring and remediation of the toxic substance. …
Read More »Europe’s Wind Power Boom Faces New Challenges
Europe is starting to reach its limit when it comes to wind power. Countries like Denmark and Sweden, once leaders in expanding offshore wind capacity, are now hitting obstacles as power prices and incentives fall too low to support new projects, according to Bloomberg. A recent Danish auction for offshore …
Read More »Massive LNG Expansion Expected Worldwide despite Green Transition
Since 2022, several countries worldwide have announced plans to expand their natural gas production capacity over the next decade, with multiple new large-scale projects coming online over the last three years. This was largely driven by the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions on Russian energy, which led …
Read More »Rising Metal Prices Cast Shadow on U.S. Construction Industry
The Construction MMI (Monthly Metals Index) held its sideways trend, dropping by a slight 1.09%. Despite a torrent of construction news, the index didn’t budge much month-over-month and had a minimal reaction to recent interest rate drops. The Fed will likely need to drop interest rates more aggressively for the …
Read More »CNPC: China Reaches Refined Oil Demand Peak
China, the world’s heavyweight oil consumer, has officially hit its peak. According to CNPC’s Economics & Technology Research Institute, the country’s refined oil consumption maxed out in 2023 at 399 million metric tons (roughly 8 million barrels per day) and is set to decline by 1.3% in 2024. For an …
Read More »IEA: Fracking could Play a Crucial Role in Advancing Geothermal Energy
Fracking techniques perfected in the U.S. shale patch could help drill for deeper and hotter geothermal energy resources and slash geothermal costs to make this low-carbon energy source competitive to other clean energy solutions, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday. Recent advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, …
Read More »China Looks to Build the Largest Human-Made Object in Space
Two months ago, we reported that Baiju Bhatt, one of the co-founders of the investing app Robinhood, debuted space solar power company Aetherflux. The startup plans to build a constellation of Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites that will use infrared lasers to transmit power to small ground stations on Earth. The …
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