Alteration Earth Share Discussion Threads

[don muang] 30/12/2006 09:31

Scientists have discovered that an enormous ice shelf broke off an island in the Canadian Arctic last year, in what could be sign of global warming.
It is said to be the largest break in 25 years, casting an ice floe with an area of 66 sq km (25 square miles)....

[energyi] 15/12/2006 10:00

Protonex Technology Corporation - July 2006

Advised US fuel cell company Protonex Technology Corporation on its placing and admission to AIM. Protonex is a leading provider of advanced fuel cell power solutions for sub-kilowatt portable, remote and mobile applications. Canaccord Adams Limited is the nominated adviser to protonex, and was broker to the placing, which raised £8,797,500

[energyi] 21/10/2006 07:57

Ethanol Stocks: Bouncing Back
Posted on Oct 16th, 2006 with stocks: ADM, AVR, GPRE, MGPI, PEIX, VSE, XNL

Konrad Imielinski submits: The current status of the ethanol sector may not be sizzling, but it sure isn't dead. So far, ethanol stocks this week have performed reminiscent of the good old days. The cumulative affect of Pacific Ethanol Inc.'s (PEIX) first plant being complete, and OPEC's decision (though still undecided) to cut output of 1 million barrels a day, have given the ethanol sector a strong push. As a result, the majority of the ethanol stocks are up big, and volume has significantly increased. It is obligatory, though, to carefully track the decline in crude oil prices (sold today near its 2006 low of $58 a barrel), as it can quickly turn ethanol's optimism to pessimism.

There is some reassurance due to OPEC's proposition. As Gordon Kwan of CLSA puts it, "If [crude oil] prices remain at this level, there's still not much motivation to cut, but if prices keep falling rapidly they will want to pre-empt that." OPEC will help investors by essentially price flooring crude oil. So how much will OPEC's reduction raise the price of crude oil? Can ethanol companies systematically publish optimistic news? Both of these questions will be deciding factors in ethanol's sustainability.


@:

[energyi] 21/10/2006 07:54

Ethanol IPO Hype is Gone
Posted on Sep 20th, 2006 with stocks: AVR, HWY, USBE, VSE

Evelyn Rubin submits: Excerpt from our One Page Annotated Wall Street Journal Summary (receive it by email every morning by signing up here):

Ethanol Producers Find Tough IPO Environment

Summary: Hawkeye Holdings (HWY), one of this week's eight scheduled IPOs, announced that it has delayed the offering due to market conditions.

According to Dealogic, this is the 33rd potential IPO this year to postpone its offering for this reason. Two additional ethanol producers have recently filed for IPOs: Dallas-based ASAlliances Biofuels filed a preliminary prospectus last Friday, and US BioEnergy (USBE) filed for a $300 million IPO in August. The three companies have very short operating histories: Hawkeye began production in November 2004, and ASAlliances is pre-revenue stage having been formed less than two years ago. Both are owned by private equity firms. US BioEnergy was formed in 2004 as well. The two "successful" ethanol IPOs of the year--VeraSun (VSE) and Aventine (AVR)--are trading below their IPO prices.

Related links:
Seeking Alpha coverage of the ethanol sector:


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on Oct 16th, 2006 in Energy Stocks by Konrad Imielinski with stocks: ADM, AVR, GPRE, MGPI, PEIX, VSE, XNL

[don muang] 02/10/2006 18:14

for those interested in beer and solar power then here's a story:

[energyi] 27/4/2006 05:19

How far can you drive on a bushel of corn?
Crunching the numbers on alternative fuels.

BY MIKE ALLEN ... Popular Mechanics

Ethanol, king of the challengers to petroleum, is already found blended with gasoline at pumps across the country, and production is continuing to ramp up. Ethanol is probably the main fuel President Bush had in mind both in February, when he announced the Advanced Energy Initiative, and last summer, when he signed new energy rules into law. That legislation established a renewable-fuels standard that will require the use of 7.5 billion gal. of ethanol and biodiesel annually by 2012--a nearly 90 percent increase over today's usage--and extended tax benefits that favor both fuels.

In the lab, many gasoline alternatives look good. Out on the road, automotive engineers have a lot of work to do, and energy companies have new infrastructure to build, before very many people can drive off into a petroleum-free future. And, there's the issue of money. Too often, discussions of alternative energy take place in an alternative universe where prices do not matter.

For this special report, PM crunched the numbers on the actual costs and performance of each major alternative fuel. Before we can debate national energy policy--or even decide which petroleum substitutes might make sense for our personal vehicles--we need to know how these things stack up in the real world.

The Great Alt-Fuel Debate: It takes five barrels of crude oil to produce enough gasoline (nearly 97 gal.) to power a Honda Civic from New York to California. So how do the alternative fuels that may gradually reduce America's dependence on foreign oil stack up against the mileage and convenience of the filling-station stalwart? Download our comparison chart and find out.

...MORE:

[Abuse team] 20/3/2006 18:46

Post removed by ADVFN

[energyi] 20/3/2006 18:45

the stocks in the Header look as if they may be breaking down.

This is happening as PBW weakens, and the SPX comes off its 1310 high

[energyi] 14/3/2006 18:27

OLD ARTICLE - still relevant?

Green energy funds: risky, but here to stay
04.11.2005


Best of the Day Article
Why rising interest rates won't save the US dollar
The US relies on China and Japan to keep interest rates low and the dollar high. But both countries look like they are set to stop buying dollars and start investing in their own economies. That means...
For fund investors, there are now a number of specialist funds to choose from, including Impax Environmental Markets, Jupiter Ecology and the Merrill Lynch New Energy Technology investment trust. Triodos Group, a Dutch ethical bank which has been financing energy projects for 25 years, recently launched Triodos Renewables, a fund for private investors focused on the UK renewables sector, which is highly concentrated on wind technology.

While the ethics of these companies and funds may be appealing, the risk/reward ratio may not be. The small, entrepreneurial companies that populate this sector are by their nature highly vulnerable to setbacks because they are often developing new technologies in untried markets.

Merrill Lynch¡¦s fund, which has risen by more than 86% in the past year, but collapsed in value just two years ago, demonstrates this volatility. Impax Environmental Markets, an investment trust that invests in small and mid-cap firms, has outperformed the FTSE All-Share index since its launch in 2002, but this performance may not last. As Ian Simm, managing director of Impax Asset Management, points out, the investment trust tries to balance alternative energy with more established water and waste management technologies to mitigate the risk.

On a positive note, it looks as though the sector is very much here to stay. The spate of recent Aim listings shows the choice for investors is widening and Government legislation is looking favourable. And, says Charles Batchelor in the FT, even some of the genuinely alternative technologies are becoming more mainstream ¡V such as wind farms.

These can be an excellent investment, says Bernard Lambilliotte, chief investment officer at Ecofin, the financial group that runs Econfin Water and Power Opportunities, an investment trust whose shares have more than doubled over the past 12 months. There are risks when you have bought the land and are seeking a licence to operate, but once it¡¦s built and you are plugged into a grid, it¡¦s low risk, and should provide a rate of return in the low to mid-teens.

@:
Author: Hohler, Emily
More articles by this author...

[blessings] 12/3/2006 18:31

Many tipsters positive on this green co.......

and this little beauty.

[energyi] 04/3/2006 13:59

as mentioned on financial sense :


Interviews, Information,

example of links:
The Economics of Gas to Liquids Compared to Liquefied Natural Gas
by Michael J. Economides
Professor,Cullen College of Engineering, University of Houston
Liquefied natural gas (LNG) and gas to liquids (GTL) are two options that help bring to market stranded gas supplies worldwide. Each technology offers its advantages, and the author makes economic comparisons based on such factors as product distribution, capital costs and transportation costs.

...MORE:

[energyi] 22/2/2006 20:50

Bush Turns To Green And Yellow Pastures For Energy Alternatives

President Bush has raised the bar on alternative energy sources as corruption and sectarianism rise in Iraq, attacks against oil installations rage in Nigeria, and Iran continues to develop its controversial nuclear program.

According to AP: "Saying the nation is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that would "startle" most Americans, President Bush on Monday outlined his energy proposals to help wean the country off foreign oil."

Calling the global energy situation "a national security issue," President Bush described the current situation as one in which the U.S. is "held hostage for energy by foreign nations that may not like us."

Without providing any mass production examples, Bush, nevertheless made the following statement: "Our nation is on the threshold of new energy technology that I think will startle the American people. We're on the edge of some amazing breakthroughs - breakthroughs all aimed at enhancing our national security and our economic security and the quality of life of the folks who live here in the United States."

Difficulties In Iraq

Aside from the Nigerian rebel attacks on foreign oil installations, there are major problems in Iraq, as sectarian politics have cut into that country's oil exports.

According to the Wall Street Journal: "Iraqi oil production has fallen sharply in recent months amid a series of bureaucratic and political tussles in Baghdad, raising questions about the country's ability to keep its petroleum industry from spiraling further into disrepair."

The report comes on the heels of disclosures made earlier this month, of corruption in the Iraqi oil ministry leading to the diversion of oil revenues to fund the insurgency (

The Journal, on 2-21, reported: "Iraqi oil officials are now complaining about new problems, including political infighting at the oil ministry and escalating conflicts between officials in Baghdad and those in Iraq's main oil-producing regions. Essential equipment has been held up as Iraqi and U.S. officials butt heads over whether it can be safely brought into the country."

Iraqi oil production is down significantly. "In the last three months of 2005, Iraq produced 1.66 million barrels a day, down from 1.96 million a day in the previous quarter, according to the International Energy Agency, the Paris energy watchdog. In January, production sank to 1.5 million barrels a day."

Infighting, The Big Threat

The inability to rise above age long sectarian differences has led to a warning by the U.S. of the removal of support for the current Iraqi government.

According to the Wall Street Journal: "Rifts have opened up among several political factions vying for control of the Ministry of Oil, slowing strategic planning and freezing progress on new drilling and repair projects. Former Iraq Oil Minister Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum resigned last month amid a dispute with political opponents in the government who reduced fuel subsidies long used to keep Iraqi gasoline cheap. The portfolio is up for grabs as politicians in Baghdad negotiate over the formation of a government."

Money earmarked for improvements and upgrades of infrastructure is not being spent, while the infighting rages. Some $1.4 billion has been slated for these projects by the U.S., but according to reports half of it has yet to be spent, as it is caught in the bureaucratic snafu.

As we reported on 2-6, the contribution to the current situation by internal corruption is quite high, estimated by Iraqi officials to be costing the Iraqi government as much as 40-50% of all oil revenues.

Conclusion

One Democratic source told us that Bush's turn toward alternative energy is "political misdirection."

And only someone extremely naive would argue that Mr. Bush's turnabout is not at least slightly politically motivated.

But, the fact remains that, politically motivated or otherwise, the U.S. finds itself in a difficult position.

It took Brazil twenty years to develop a viable ethanol program. It is taking decades to produce longer lasting, easy to charge, and easy to mass market batteries.

And we don't see any SUV's on the road that get 100 miles per gallon.

In other words, unless Mr. Bush knows something that we don't, and he may, the "verge of technological breakthroughs" touted by the President, is not likely to be revealed tomorrow.

Still, we are watching a startling and likely irreversible new set of terms being injected into the political mainstream by Mr. Bush.

That means that as the mid-term election approaches, and the 2008 presidential election, alternative energy sources will likely be a major campaign issue.

And that, in and of itself, is likely to be a source of volatility for the markets.

(Joe Duarte)

[energyi] 14/2/2006 15:08

New publication released by the International Energy Agency:

Renewable Energy: RD&D Priorities
Insights from IEA Technology Programmes

In order to substantially enhance the share of renewable energy technologies in the energy portfolio, it is imperative to accelerate technological advancement and subsequently reduce costs, in combination with novel applications and deployment. This outcome can be significantly supported by a range of RD&D initiatives, if properly designed and implemented.

This publication reviews the current status of the renewable energy technologies portfolio and provides guidance on their mid- and long-term development. The study explores the options for the RD&D to achieve breakthroughs that will lead to large-scale markets and identifies what activities should take priority. It also looks at the benefits of increased RD&D funding in terms of technological advancement and cost improvement. It covers renewable energy technologies in the early research stage through to those that have reached a level of maturity. It also lists national renewable energy RD&D trends in IEA member countries.

Now available from the IEA Online Bookshop: