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Exxon Could Pay $1 Billion for Sabotage of Texas Oil Wells
by Josh Garrett, editor of The HEAT Zone
It’s easy to make villains of Big Oil. They take home record profits while we struggle to pay for that extra gallon of gas or heating oil. But realistically, oil companies are just doing what all companies do—chasing profits. So it’s not really fair to single out oil [...]
Inadequate Electrical Grid Forces Pickens to Indefinitely Delay Massive Wind Project
Forbes reported last Wednesday that Texas oilman, T. Boone Pickens, has announced that he will delay, or perhaps cancel, plans for a giant wind energy project in the Texas panhandle.
Pickens’ project was supposed to be the largest wind power field in the world at a rated generating capacity of 1,000 megawatts per hour — about [...]
Under Pending Climate Bill, Handful of States Could be Biggest Winners
As the debate over the pending climate and energy bill heats up, one criticism of the legislation that has been levied extensively by Republicans and politicians from Southern and Western states is that the bill will transfer wealth from rural areas to more urban areas, or from the heartland to the coasts. For example, Michele [...]
Read More »FutureGen “Clean Coal” Plant Loses Two Investors
Will the FutureGen clean coal project ever get off the ground?
Last month, as reported here on The HEAT Zone, the federal government has allocated $1 billion in stimulus package funds towards the creation of FutureGen, a proposed coal-fired power plant with carbon sequestration technology in Illinois. A conglomeration of energy and coal companies have also [...]
Fuel of the Future: Smaller, Safer Nuclear Power
All life on Earth depends on nuclear power. The Sun is a giant fusion furnace, and what energy on Earth doesn’t come in one way or another from the Sun comes from radioactive decay at Earth’s core. If it wasn’t for nuclear reactions, Earth would be a cold, lifeless rock. Long decried as unsafe or [...]
Read More »Study: Health Costs Outweigh Economic Benefits of Coal in Appalachia
In asking the true price of energy, are we actually asking the price of human life? That’s what West Virginia University researcher Michael Hendryx believes, the Charleston Gazette reported on June 20th. Hendryx has published studies claiming that coal costs Appalachia five times more in early deaths than it gains from jobs, taxes, and all [...]
Read More »New Maine Law Governing Heating Oil Tanks Takes Effect This Week
Starting on Wednesday, Maine heating oil users will face new regulations when purchasing a new or replacing an old heating oil tank, the Bangor Daily News reported today.
Last year, Maine’s legislature passed a law requiring residents who live within 1,000 feet of a community drinking well to use a double-walled tank when installing a new [...]
Court Rules in Favor of Federal Power Regulators in NE; Preview of Jurisdiction Fight Over Electrical Grid?
A U.S. Appeals Court ruled that New England states cannot determine the pricing their own citizens pay for electricity, Forbes reported last week. The electrical rates for Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Maine are set according to estimates of their near-future power needs—the higher the estimated need, the greater the price, in [...]
Read More »Federal Stimulus Funds for Weatherizing Arrive in Long Island
Out with the good air, in with the bad air…wait, that’s not right.
No, it’s not. However, it’s exactly what happens in many homes, especially older, more poorly insulated ones: warm air escapes in winter, drawing in cold air and raising heating bills. In the summer, the opposite happens. In either case, the homeowner spends more [...]
Connecticut Heating Oil Customers Will Get Refunds From Unfair Price-Cap Contracts with HOP Dealers
Around November of last year, heating oil customers who had entered into price-lock contracts felt the sting of a hard luck as oil prices plummeted but their locked-in prices stayed the same. In most cases, the customers’ financial losses were a result of just that—an unlucky guess about where prices would go in the future.
But [...]
Water Scarcity Major Obstacle to Oil Shale Development in the West
Water has long a valuable treasure in the American West: everyone wants it, and there’s never enough. The history of the West has been shaped by water’s availability, from the drought-related collapse of the Anasazi Indian civilization before the first Europeans came to the Americas, to the current tension between western states over water for [...]
Read More »Heating Oil Dealer Vows to End His Company’s Dependence on Unfriendly Oil
Our soil, our oil—that’s the slogan of a Northeast heating oil dealer who has stopped selling foreign oil. As of May 31st, the company’s 25,000 customers only receive home heating oil produced in North America, the news site lancasteronline reported. The same pledge applies to the other fuels they also sell—diesel and biodiesel immediately, [...]
Read More »Unintended Consequence of an Energy Policy: Black Liquor, the Paper Industry’s Profitable Cocktail
The alternative fuel mixture credit was intended to spur development of new, cleaner, and greener energy sources by providing a tax credit for alternative fuels, including ones incorporating traditional fossil fuels into their mix. It was not intended to subsidize an activity the paper and forest products industry were doing anyway—but that’s become one of [...]
Read More »More Green Energy Blowin’ in the Winds of the Midwest
When you think of game-changing technology—especially green technology—you usually think of the Pacific Northwest, particularly the Seattle area. But when it comes to green-energy technology, you should be thinking of the American heartland, especially Iowa.
Green energy technology—biofuels? No. The hot “new” energy source in the heartland is one of mankind’s first sources of mechanical energy, [...]
Maine Weatherization Bill Passes House Without Heating Oil Surchage
By the year 2030, every house in Maine and at least 50 percent of businesses will be fully weatherized.
So say the backers of an energy bill that the Maine House of Representatives passed last Friday. This bill will spend $79 million of federal stimulus money over the next two years on various energy conservation programs. [...]
CT Commissioner Wants Bill of Rights for Heating Oil Users
Last week, the Connecticut state legislature failed to pass legislation that would offer protection to heating oil and propane gas users.
However, Connecticut’s Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell, Jr. is not giving up the fight. Last Thursday, Farrell introduced a “bill of rights” for propane gas and heating oil consumers. For heating oil consumers, the most [...]
NY State Assembly Considering Three Heating Oil Bills
Several pieces of legislation related to heating oil are currently floating around the New York State Assembly. And, if any pass, New York heating oil users could see some changes in the industry.
Assemblyman David McDonough, a Republican from Nassau County, has proposed legislation that would give tax incentives to heating oil users to move to [...]
Sen. Sanders of VT Pushes for Stricter Regulation of Energy Markets
Once again, oil speculators are at the center of controversy. During the past few months, the price of oil has once again climbed. This has come despite a drop in oil demand and a massive supply surplus. As a result, fingers are once again being pointed at oil speculators.
Speculators invest in commodities such as oil [...]
CT Heating Fuel Tax: Still a Bad Idea
A proposed Connecticut tax on home heating oil, propane, and natural gas has failed to make it out of the General Assembly for now. There’s no reason why the tax couldn’t be considered again next year—but many reasons why it shouldn’t be.
Industry expert Craig Snyder, a member of the board of directors of both the [...]
CT Congressman Leads Effort to Extend Federal Energy Benefits to Heating Oil Users
Energy reform and climate change have become priorities for both President Barack Obama and Congress. Headlines constantly tout the positive impact that going green and building alternative energy sources will have on the environment and the economy.
However, some feel that heating oil has been lost in the shuffle, including Connecticut Congressman Chris Murphy. Murphy wants [...]
