The Associated Press -- LAS VEGAS — With clean-energy legislation trapped in a political deadlock, renewable-energy advocates called big business the new leader in the nation's green revolution during a national summit meeting Tuesday.

John Podesta, president of the Center for American Progress, said untapped potential in the sustainable energy market could revive the stalled economy and end the recession.

"The focus now has got to be on getting these worlds and mechanisms together to finance innovative, renewable technology," Podesta said.

The Center for American Progress Action Fund and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hosted the third in a series of national clean-energy summit meetings Tuesday at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. More than 40 people rallied outside the event, with some  (read more)

CNBC -- Oil fell for a third straight session on Wednesday, with the U.S. benchmark depressed by brimming petroleum stockpiles, as the dollar jumped and Asian equities declined on investor attempts to reduce risk exposure.



The dollar gained almost 1 percent against a basket of currencies while Japan's Nikkei average fell 2 percent on renewed concerns about European banks and the global economy, which pulled global stock markets down from one-month highs on Tuesday.

The euro was on the defensive as the latest scare over the euro zone banking system slapped it to lifetime lows against the Swiss franc and Australian dollar.

U.S. light, sweet crude [US@CL.1 73.71 -0.38 (-0.51%) ] for October fell 32 cents to $73.77 a barrel by 0013 GMT. The front-month contract pared losses on  (read more)

The Street -- Oil prices may trade lower this week on rising inventories. Last week, U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that crude oil stockpiles rose. Meanwhile, Baker Hughes(BHI) rig count stands at 977, up 4 from the penultimate week. Rising rig counts and higher refinery utilization shows an increase in production, leading to a decline in oil prices.

However, major economic releases are expected to be positive for the economy, which may improve oil prices to some extent later. Overall, oil prices are expected to end the week on a negative note.

Crude futures for October delivery declined 0.75% after hitting a low of $71.53 per barrel, and ended the week on a bearish note at $74.60. Crude is trading below the major trend line resistance and has a potential to fall further. Momentum ind  (read more)

CNBC -- U.S. crude oil pared losses and Brent crude turned positive after a deadly explosion ripped through a Mexican oil refinery, raising concerns that Mexico, a top U.S. crude supplier, would have to import more fuel.


AP
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U.S. product futures surged after news of the blast at the 275,000 barrel-per-day Cadereyta plant, Mexico's third biggest and most sophisticated refinery.

Mexico, which already relies on imports for more than 40 percent of domestic gasoline demand, could now be forced to boost fuel imports significantly.

"This should increase Mexico's demand for imports from the United States - one of the key things that will eventually drag down record U.S. oil product stocks is export demand  (read more)

Domestic Fuel -- Did you know that 60 cents of each gallon of E85 purchased stays in the state of Iowa? I didn’t know that until I participated in the Iowa Corn Fed Game Day pump rally at Riverside, Iowa to get people “pumped up” for the upcoming Iowa State versus Iowa football game. Another way to look at this is for each gallon of E85 you purchase, 85 cents stays in America; whereas if you purchase E10, only 10 cents stays in America while 90 cents heads out of our borders.

Here are two more interesting facts. Did you know that Iowa is ranked #9 in the country; yet non-ranked Iowa State has the most difficult schedule this year?  (read more)

GasBuddy Blog -- As summer comes to a close, so does the peak demand season for motor gasoline in the United States. Typically, gasoline prices weaken in the autumn months as demand for gasoline drops. Here are some supply and demand numbers from this summer and how this year compared to last year and years past.

We began summer 2010 (Memorial Day weekend) with nearly 219 million barrels of gasoline in inventories. This compared to 203 million in 2009, 209 million in 2008, 198 million in 2007, and 209 million in 2006.

We're finishing summer 2010 (Labor Day weekend) with 225.5 million barrels of gasoline available. This compares to 205 million in 2009, 194 million in 2008, 191 million in 2007, and 206 million in 2006.

Demand...  (read more)

Eco-Business -- Singapore, September 7 - Efforts to harness the sun’s energy are spreading in the heartland.

The Housing Board recently bought solar photovoltaic panels worth about $2.3 million for various residential estates. In total, the panels are expected to produce 170 megawatt-hours of energy each year which, said an HDB spokesman, would represent about $40,000 in savings a year per precinct.

The HDB began installing solar panels in the estates of Serangoon and Wellington in December 2008. Since then, the price of solar panels has dropped by more than half, from $5.17 a watt-peak to $2.33 a watt-peak.

While there are many options for renewable energy - hydropower, biofuel and wind among them - solar power could become a significant energy source in Singapore.

 (read more)

CSP News -- Nearly half (45%) of U.S. households are diligently seeking lower gas prices, The Nielsen Co. has found. The economy has consumers looking for cost savings across the board, even as they revert to some pre-recession habits, it said.

"Although gas prices are not as high as they were in mid-2008, they have been edging up for some time and continue to impact how consumers shop and buy," said Todd Hale, senior vice president, Consumer & Shopper Insights, Nielsen. "Even though gas prices are reasonable relative to recent years, consumers continue to employ money-saving strategies, such as using coupons and gas purchase incentives, as means to deal with gas costs given overall economic concerns."  (read more)

NY Times -- Germany extends the life spans of their 17 nuclear plants while alternative energy sources are developed.

New taxes levied on utility companies will be used to help develop renewable energy sources. Germany can not afford to get rid of nuclear power because “It is a bridge”.

German law, passed by a previous government in 2002, requires the last nuclear power plant to be shut by 2022. That decision, bitterly resented by the nuclear energy companies, was largely supported by the German public, which has a deep aversion to anything nuclear, a sentiment that intensified after the nuclear accident at Chernobyl.

A survey in July found that 81 percent of Germans said the country could not do entirely without nuclear power, up from 59 percent five years ago.
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Brand X Daily -- Eco-conscious travel is about to become a lot easier. Beginning as early as January, electric cars will be available at the nation's two largest auto rental companies. Enterprise Rent-A-Car, North America's largest car rental firm, unveiled plans last week to offer about 500 Nissan Leaf all-electric cars, initially at dealerships in Los Angeles, San Diego, Portland and Seattle.

The announcement came a few months after Hertz, the world's largest car rental company, said it planned to offer Nissan Leafs next year at a handful of locations in the U.S. and Europe, including New York, Washington and San Francisco. A fully charged Leaf has a range of about 100 miles.  (read more)

Honolulu Star Advertiser -- With a surge of renewable energy projects in the pipeline, Hawaii's electric utilities are working overtime to modernize their generation systems that for decades have relied on traditional oil-fired power plants.

Recent installations of photovoltaic panels in Kaunakaki, Molokai, mean an estimated 15 percent of electrical generation comes from the sun, pushing the circuit to the maximum level.

The issue is top priority with the goal of generating 40 percent from renewable sources by 2030.

The intermittent nature of renewable electricity, mainly solar & wind. That creates instability that, if not offset with generation from firm sources, could cause customers to lose power.

Plans proceed to bring 400 megawatts of electricity to the island via an undersea cable from wind farms.
 (read more)

Softpedia News -- Geothermal energy could be the solution to all our energy needs – present and future, experts say. The source is nearly inexhaustible, and is located just under our feet. We only need to reach out and take it.  (read more)

U.S.NEWS AND WORLD REPORT -- If you’ve been waiting for the Labor Day weekend to buy a new car, your wait may have paid off. The August sales numbers for new cars are in, and they aren’t good. According to analysts, new car sales were down three percent from July, and down twenty percent from August 2009. That means that dealers may be feeling pinched and hoping to use the holiday weekend to spur September sales.


Whether those sales will pick up is a mystery. Most car makers set their August deals and incentives – the same ones that didn’t manage to attract many buyers – to expire the Tuesday after Labor Day. Those discounts and incentives weren’t terrible. In fact, they were fairly typical  (read more)

Sacramento Bee -- It's certainly no secret that the oil industry remains deeply embedded in Louisiana culture. Not only does it employ tens of thousands of people, but it is also the economic engine state leaders depend on as they struggle to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Even so, it was something of a surprise earlier this summer when the first round of lawsuits over the BP oil spill reached a federal court in downtown New Orleans.

One of the judges on the court - the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana - recused herself because she owns stock in BP. Another bowed out because her husband holds stock in the firm. Several others stepped aside because they have family members who are involved in BP litigation.  (read more)

AFP -- The number of vehicles on China's roads will more than double to at least 200 million by 2020, a top official was quoted Monday as saying, further straining the nation's environment and energy supply.

China must make it a top priority to develop fuel-efficient and alternative energy cars, the China Securities Journal said, citing Wang Fuchang, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

China's auto sales hit 13.64 million units last year, overtaking the United States as the world's top car market, while sales this year are forecast to hit 15 million units.

The surging car use has brought mounting concerns over pollution, soaring energy demand, and traffic gridlock.  (read more)

San Diego Union Tribune -- A Washington State man who built his own fuel-efficient car 25 years ago repeated his feat of driving border-to-border on a single tank of diesel this week.

"I smashed my old record," Craig Henderson said shortly after arriving at an Otay Mesa parking lot just across the Mexican border Wednesday.

He said the aerodynamic car, which he calls Avion, averaged 119 mpg on its journey from Canada to San Diego. His old record was 103.

The key was an aerodynamic, lightweight design and tires with low rolling resistance from Goodyear, which sponsored the trip.

The car weighs 1,500 pounds and has an 18-gallon fuel tank. To achieve the high mileage, Henderson drove 55 to 60 mph.

 (read more)

THE NEW YORK TIMES -- If you're considering buying a new car, you may want to consider buying it this weekend.

According to Juan Flores, director of vehicle valuation for Kelley Blue Book, Labor Day is traditionally the best time to buy a car. That is because manufacturers offer generous incentives on current-year models to clear them out and make room on dealer lots for vehicles from the next model year, which traditionally start arriving this month.

"If you just isolated this calendar year, Labor Day is the best time to buy," he said.

So how do this year's Labor Day deals compare with past ones?
 (read more)

PressTV -- “Global dependence on the OPEC for oil will rise in the next five to 10 years as output by non-OPEC nations falls,” IEA Executive Director Nobuo Tanaka said.

"We have seen an increase in non-OPEC supplies. But in the mid-term, non-OPEC production will decline, so dependency on OPEC oil will increase.”

Tanaka noted that the global oil market is currently well supplied. It is anticipated that there will be no change to OPEC production quotas.

Iran is OPEC’s second-largest oil producer after Saudi Arabia.

In 2009, Iran's crude production stood at approximately at 3.8 million barrels per day.

OPEC's 12 members — Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Angola, Ecuador, and Venezuela — produce about 40 percent of the world's crude oil
 (read more)

The Washington Post -- When the United States went to war in Iraq, the price of oil was less than $25 a barrel, and futures markets expected it to remain around that level. With the war, prices started to soar, reaching $140 a barrel by 2008. We believe that the war and its impact on the Middle East, the largest supplier of oil in the world, were major factors. Not only was Iraqi production interrupted, but the instability the war brought to the Middle East dampened investment in the region.

In calculating our $3 trillion estimate two years ago, we blamed the war for a $5-per-barrel oil price increase. We now believe that a more realistic (if still conservative) estimate of the war's impact on prices works out to at least $10 per barrel. That would add at least $250 billion in direct costs to our original asses  (read more)

solar.calfinder.com -- Kids waiting at the bus stop in Wisconsin this year will be introduced to a new sort of school supply ..much bigger than their new back-to-school sneakers. Plug-in electric school buses are set to carry children in southeastern Wisconsin back to school..

The 11 hybrid electric-diesel buses heading out..in the Oconomowoc school district.. battery-driven electric motor will work in tandem with a conventional diesel motor to power the buses.

In addition to fuel and fuel cost savings, the buses should save money through less maintenance costs due to reduced wear and tear on their engines.

To avoid trading fossil-fueled driving emissions for fossil fuel power plant emissions (used when recharging the buses’ batteries), a solar-powered recharging station was installed at the fleet's gar  (read more)

New York TImes -- A new report from a University of Michigan researcher estimates that, even without going electric, U.S. cars and trucks could achieve an average efficiency of 74 miles per gallon by 2035. Compared to a federal 2005 Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) baseline, that’s a tripling of fuel economy.

Under the researcher’s fuel economy projections, the average car in 2035 would save 5,254 gallons over its lifetime compared to a similar 2005 vehicle, and would emit 47 tons less carbon dioxide.

The report, commissioned by the Energy Foundation, is by John DeCicco, a senior lecturer at the University of Michigan and a former auto policy expert at the Environmental Defense Fund.  (read more)

all cars electric . com -- Fear is a powerful motivator. It has been used in the past to start wars, persuade kids to study at school and of course, sell life insurance.

But now GM appears to be gearing up to use the fear of running out of electricity to give the extended-range 2011 Chevrolet Volt a competitive edge over purely electric cars.
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BTW - This is similar, not a repost.  (read more)

The Sydney Morning Herald -- Crude oil fell after service industries grew in August at the weakest pace in seven months, bolstering concern that the US economic rebound will slow.

Futures slipped after the Institute for Supply Management's index of non-manufacturing business, which covers about 90 per cent of the economy, fell to 51.5 in August from 54.3 the prior month. It was the smallest gain since January. Prices rose earlier when a government report showed companies in the US added more jobs in August than forecast.

"Prices are still pretty lofty, given supply and the economic backdrop," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital LLC, a New York-based hedge fund that focuses on energy. "The economic outlook is at best mixed."
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Crude oil for October delivery declined 42 US  (read more)

Pottstown Mercury -- In the past, diesel fuel was always considered dirtier than gasoline. But newer standards regulating sulfur content and improved technology in diesel engines have made diesel somewhat kinder to the environment.

Many eco-advocates now tout diesel as a viable and preferable alternative to regular unleaded gasoline.

Where diesel fuel really shines over gasoline is improved fuel economy thanks to its higher “energy density”: Diesel contains more power per liter than gasoline.

Today’s diesel engines have 20-40 percent better fuel economy than their gasoline counterparts, which some say more than makes up for the fact that they also produce about 15 percent more greenhouse gases.  (read more)

TBO.COM -- The R/V Weatherbird II is about to head back out into the Gulf of Mexico again for more research on possible effects of the gigantic BP oil gusher.

It will be the fourth such voyage for the ship, which is scheduled to leave port at 10 a.m. Saturday from the College of Marine Science at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg.

More than 172 million gallons of oil spewed into the Gulf for months after the April 20 explosion and collapse of a BP oil rig 40 miles off the Louisiana coastline.  (read more)