Energy & Fuel

Despite Iran's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, some global oil prices fell. It turns out Iran's influence on the international oil market may be weak, and its threats more an effort to head off international sanctions that will harm its own weakened petroleum economy. Shipping lanes are just one of many major strategic factors affecting the global oil market. Iran has, however, offered spurious ammunition to U.S. politicians crowing for US acts of war against it. Right now, the news media are taking Iran's threats more seriously than the oil market is.

"After burning coal to light up Cincinnati for six decades, the Walter C. Beckjord Generating Station will go dark soon—a fate that will be shared by dozens of aging coal-fired power plants across the U.S. in coming years."

"BP has taken the axe to its solar power business, saying it 'can't make any money' from selling panels at a time when it continues to spend $20bn annually on oil and gas developments."

A conservative GOP freshman congressman from Ohio, Bill Johnson, has been attacking federal surface-mining regulation for costing jobs. It advances him politically. The only problem is that it does not seem to be true.

US energy independence -- for decades a seemingly unreachable strategic goal -- seems now tantalizingly almost within reach as hydrofracking and high oil prices bring into play oil and gas deposits once economically unfeasible. But the US will continue to import hydrocarbons from Canada and Mexico, and price corrections (much less depleting reserves) could snatch the boom from industry's hand. More to the point: should a nation whose political rhetoric uses "energy independence" to justify gifts to industry be preparing to export petroleum products and natural gas?

"In a sign that the Obama administration is willing to clear the regulatory decks for oil drilling in Alaska's remote Arctic waters, the Interior Department on Friday gave a conditional green light allowing Royal Dutch Shell PLC to explore for oil this summer in Alaska's Chukchi Sea."

Some building codes in Texas are forcing new homes to be more energy-efficient.

"A new discovery from a chemist at the University of Texas at Austin may allow photovoltaic solar cells to double their efficiency, thus providing loads more electrical power from regular sunlight."