SBI Energy: Market Insights, Opportunities &Trends

Countries around the globe are reevaluating core nuclear power assets and their role in national energy portfolios as crisis builds at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility. China, for example, has announced plans to temporarily freeze approvals for new nuclear plants, while Germany and Switzerland have shut down multiple reactors and numerous other countries, including the U.S., have ordered comprehensive inspections and reviews of their nuclear infrastructure.

Experts at the market research firm SBI Energy anticipate greater investment in alternative baseload energy and fuel resources in light of the events in Japan. Ongoing recovery and loss of nuclear generation will heighten Japanese demand for energy resources that include natural gas and petroleum fuels.  Accompanying global energy market shifts draw attention to industry developments in liquefied natural gas, shale gas exploitation, coal power development and other energy infrastructure.

Insights Include:

Liquefied Natural Gas Market Worldwide assesses the key technologies including liquefaction, shipping, and regasification being leveraged in the LNG supply-chain. This report provides a detailed overview of the LNG market structure, mechanisms, investments and key participants, recent and planned investments in LNG liquefaction capacity are examined. Further, historic and forecast global energy demand 2005 to 2015 and energy demand drivers and trends are reviewed while world energy supply sources 2005 to 2015 are discussed and the linkage between domestic natural gas production, import dependence, and LNG trading are outlined.

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Clean Coal Energy Technologies: Markets and Trends Worldwide examines the market for clean coal technologies for coal-fired electricity generation with a special focus on carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), a prime component in development to reduce the environmental impact of coal utilized in electricity production. The report quantifies the demand for coal, electricity, and clean coal-fired electricity and forecasts industry growth, along with the key factors influencing this growth. The report evaluates the competitor profiles of 14 companies active in clean coal.

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Global Shale Gas Technologies and Markets covers geology and characteristics of shale gas resources, location and estimates of global shale gas reserve potential, and key technologies including exploration, horizontal drilling, and hydraulic fracturing. A special feature of this report includes occupations in the oil and gas industry, US industry employment, and projects US shale gas employment to 2020. Recent and planned investments in shale gas exploration and development are examined while historic and forecast global shale gas production and market value are provided 2006 to 2020.

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Geothermal Energy Markets: Technologies and Products Worldwide includes both a macro and micro review of the global geothermal power systems and geothermal heat pump (GHP) markets. The report includes emerging technologies, demand in each geothermal market segment as well as growth projections. An in-depth analysis of key players in the geothermal industry reveals the strategies of Calpine, Chevron, ClimateMaster, Davenport Power, ECONAR GeoSystems, Enel North America. Florida Heat Pump, Fuji Electric Systems, Geothermal Development Associates, MidAmerican Energy Holdings, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nevada Geothermal Power, Northern California Power Agency, Nuovo Pignone, Ormat Technologies, Sierra Geothermal Power, Terra-Gen Power, and WaterFurnace International.

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EOR Enhanced Oil Recovery Worldwide examines all the methods associated with the EOR market including gas/CO2 injection, thermal recovery, chemical injection, microbial, and seismic. The report methodically discusses established and prospective regulations placed on EOR projects and the regulatory arena’s impact on this market. This market study dissects the global EOR markets and analyses market size and growth, industry advantages and hurdles, current technological advances, and environmental factors and impact. Competitor strategies are also evaluated at length.

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 Specialty Pipelines for Renewable and Alternative Energy Substancesfeatures total market and growth history for specialty pipeline systems and components (pipeline lengths, pumps, compressors, flow control equipment, leak detection and management systems) between  2006 and 2010. Projected market growth figures for specialty pipeline systems and components are presented through 2015. Market breakdowns for each specialty pipeline component are outlined by country including The United States, European Union, Brazil, and Asia. This report profiles leading and emerging companies involved in specialty pipelines production, including: 3M, Ameron, Ashland, Boreal Laser, Flowserve, GE Oil and Gas, International Protective Coverings, Siemens, Sulzer Pumps, Tyco Flow Control, Kinder Morgan, Petrobas, and Uniduto Logística.

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Karin Rives, Staff Writer
State Department Documents and Publications
February 17, 2011

(Source: pennenergy.com)

01 February 2011 | Renewable Energy Focus USA

Funding made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) from 2009 has made a significant contribution to the US goal of doubling renewable energy capacity over the next two years.

By Renewable Energy Focus staff

Market researcher SBI Energy has looked at ARRA investments and their impact on the renewable energy market to date.

Among Its Key Findings Are:

• Domestic manufacturing capacity for solar photovoltaic (PV) modules is forecasted to grow from <1 GW annually in 2008 to 4 GW annually in 2012, according to the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA);
• ARRA investments are speeding up the rate of innovation in solar PV helping to drive down the costs of solar panels over the next five years – possibly by 50%;
• US wind power capacity grew 40% in 2009 over 2008, and according to CEA, ARRA was responsible for around 6 GW of wind capacity that might not otherwise have been installed in 2009;
• US manufacturing capacity for components such as gearboxes, generators and large casted steel parts, has lagged behind demand. The 48C Manufacturing Tax Credit program awarded US$346 million in tax credits to 52 wind manufacturing projects to add to US manufacturing capacity to supply a growing domestic market; and
• A US Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) survey indicates a 26% increase in new projects under development in 2009.

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that US renewable energy generation capacity will increase 32% more than if it had not had ARRA support – reaching 155 GW in 2015.

This article is featured in:
Policy, Investment and Markets

Wednesday, February 2, 2011 |The Green Market Blog

The evidence indicates that government investments have significantly helped the US renewable energy market. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 provided $94.8 billion for clean energy. The program was established under section 1603 of ARRA, and provided cash grants covering 10% or 30% of the total cost of developing new renewable energy facilities.

ARRA investments also funded research projects to develop next generation renewable energy technologies. These types of innovations create a cost competitive alternative to dirty sources of electricity while simultaneously creating long-term economic growth.

Due in large part to ARRA, the renewable energy industry survived the worst financial crisis in decades and is making significant progress toward attaining its goal of doubling renewable generation capacity over two years.

According to Gisela Kroess, a director at UniCredit SpA (UCG.MI), “[ARRA incentives have] spurred a lot of the growth we’ve seen,” she said at a renewable-energy finance conference.

Despite Republican opposition, the US Department of the Treasury’s 1603 cash grant program for the solar and wind industries was extended through 2011 as an add-on to the 2010 Tax Relief bill. The extension provides incentives so that developers of new solar and wind farms will continue investing in new projects beyond those already slated for construction.

ARRA Report Card: Two Years Later, is the latest industry study from market research publisher SBI Energy, it examines the ARRA clean energy investments and their impact on the various clean energy markets within the power, transportation, and building sectors.

Solar Energy

The report card indicates that according to forecasts from the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA), ARRA investments will help the domestic manufacturing capacity for solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to grow from less than 1 GW per year in 2008 to nearly 4 GW per year in 2012. Solar EnergyARRA investments are also accelerating the rate of innovation in solar photovoltaics and will drive down the costs of solar panels over the next five years by as much as 50 percent. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, ARRA has supported more than 1,100 solar projects in 42 states, creating enough new solar capacity to power 200,000 homes. ARRA has resulted in nearly 40 percent growth in the solar power market in 2009 and nearly double in 2010.

Wind Energy

Despite weak economic and investment conditions, US wind power capacity grew 40 percent in 2009 compared to 2008. In July 2010, the CEA reported that ARRA was responsible for approximately 6 GW of wind capacity installation that might not otherwise have occurred in 2009.

Geothermal Energy

An April 2010 U.S. Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) survey indicated a 26% increase in new projects under development in 2009 and concludes that the stimulus funding played an important role in propelling geothermal growth amidst recessionary economic conditions.

Combined Renewable Energy

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates that US renewable generation capacity will increase 32 percent more than without ARRA, reaching 155 GW in 2015.

The results of this report card clearly indicate that government investment has significantly increased America’s renewable generation capacity. Richard Matthews is a consultant, eco-entrepreneur, sustainable investor and writer. He is the owner of THE GREEN MARKET, one of the Web’s most comprehensive resources on the business of the environment. He is also the author of numerous articles on sustainable positioning, green investing, enviro-politics and eco-economics.

(Source: solarfeeds.com)

On January 1^st, 2011 SBI Energy (Rockville, Maryland, U.S.) released a new report examining clean energy investments through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA or “stimulus act”) and their impact on markets within the power, transportation and building sectors. The company states that its report: “ARRA Report Card: Two Years Later”, creates a time-capsule analysis of the impact of ARRA investments, which it says include allowing U.S. renewable energy markets to grow during the recession.

“ARRA energy-related funding not only presents potential near-term economic benefits, but also long-term economic and strategic investment and a transformative opportunity for the energy sector,” states the report’s introduction. “Without ARRA investments, it is likely that the pace of renewable energy project construction and manufacturing growth would have otherwise slowed dramatically due the sharp economic and financial downturn over this period.”

SBI Energy says smart grid investments were strategic for renewables

The report notes that at USD$94.8 billion, clean energy investments account for 30% of total ARRA appropriations for innovative infrastructure improvements. The Power Sector received USD$21 billion of that funding, let by almost USD$11 billion in investments in smart grids.

The report notes the strategic significance smart grid investments, stating that the successful implementation of increasing renewable energy generation and other ARRA energy initiatives hinges on successful grid modernization.

The report also examines funding for renewable energy research projects, including solar thin-films and new wind turbine designs. SBI Energy cites data from the U.S. Council of Economic Advisors which states that innovations in solar photovoltaic (PV) technology could drive down the cost of PV modules over the next five years as much as 50%.

Among the data presented, the report identifies and profiles 20 private sector companies that have received ARRA awards under clean energy programs.

SBI Energy is a division of MarketResearch.com Inc. (Rockville, Maryland, U.S.).

2011-02-03| Courtesy: SBI Energy | solarserver.com © Heindl Server GmbH

(Source: sbireports.com)

This November, I asked Scott Smith, Vice President of Global Technical Architecture for meter data management company eMeter Corporation how utilities would handle the influx of data coming their way after smart meter installations. 

According to Smith, finding the data storage and communications hardware to provide the necessary functions is not the biggest obstacle facing utilities in a smart meter project.  The telecommunications industry has already covered the difficulties with high speed data transmission and large data storage requirements far exceeding what is needed. 

The challenge, says Smith, is that utilities have to move away from the “historical model” of thinking about Smart Grid implementations from a hardware perspective.  Instead, utilities need to be thinking about Smart Grid projects from a marketing (i.e. consumer relations) standpoint and from a business process perspective. 

For comparison, let’s look at the smart meter rollouts of Toronto Hydro in Ontario, Canada and Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (PG&E) in California. 

Toronto Hydro focused on developing its business plan around customer communication, implementing a time-of-use pricing model and effective use of the Smart Grid data.  The strategy won the company three awards, including the Outstanding Achievement in Marketing and Communications Award from the Association for Energy Service Professionals in May 2010 for its smart meter project.

On the other hand, PG&E simply dealt with its smart meter project from the beginning as an infrastructure change.  As a result, the lack of customer outreach has caused a customer relations nightmare for the utility.  This has resulted in thousands of complaints and even a lawsuit in Bakersfield that claimed the new smart meters were not reliably reporting actual electricity use.

According to Smith, the difference is not that Toronto Hydro implemented a better system technologically, (although to be fair eMeter is the MDM for the Toronto Hydro Smart Grid project).  The difference is that Toronto Hydro took pains to ensure that the business process and customer relations were in place to properly handle the transition to implementing its Smart Grid technologies before the first smart meter was even attached to a house.

-By Norman Dechampes, analyst for SBI Energy and author of ‘The Smart Grid Utiltiy Data Market’

More> http://www.sbireports.com/Smart-Grid-Utility-2496610/

The thermoplastic resin and petrochemical producer Braskem is poised to radically alter the intermediate biorenewable chemical market, with production starting at its new bio-based ethylene plant in Triunfo, Brazil.  After just three years from project announcement, the new facility started production in September 2010. At maximum capacity, the Braskem plant will produce enough bioethylene to manufacture 440 million pounds/year of bio-based polyethylene, one of the most common plastics in the world. 

This amount of production is huge in the bioplastic world but is really only a minor fraction of the total polyethylene (PE) market; in 2009 the U.S. alone produced 36.7 billion pounds of high density and low density polyethylene plastics.  But this is good news for Braskem.  Even if the company was able to ramp up to full production capacity instantaneously, the PE market is large enough to easily absorb the production if Braskem’s product is competitive. 

And Braskem’s product is competitive.  First, the bio-PE that Braskem is producing is priced comparably with petroleum-based PE.  Secondly, the bio-based plastic is mechanically equivalent to what product manufacturers are using now.  This means no retooling on the product manufacturer’s part is required to switch to the biorenewable PE version Braskem is now offering.

In fact, even before the plant had started production Braskem had already signed Toyota and Proctor & Gamble on as customers for its bio-based resins.  And now that production is actually underway, Braskem has received invitations from four other companies in four different countries to implement similar projects around the world.  Braskem itself is also planning to announce a new “green” PE project by the end of the year.

All of these factors point to Braskem quickly gaining a foothold in the bioplastic space and giving the company incentive to expand its biorenewable chemical production.  Production of bioethylene could swamp production of other intermediate biorenewable chemicals such as polylactic acid (PLA) and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) also used to make bio-based plastics.   What First Solar has done for the solar cell industry by providing cheap and plentiful photovoltaic cells and dominating the market, Braskem may now be doing for biobased plastics. 

(Source: sbireports.com)

The oil industry is paying close attention to the success of EOR schemes worldwide. Many companies are learning from the mistakes and benefiting from the technological improvements of others and having much success with their EOR schemes. Success stories are piling up.

DOE Sponsored Project Hits 1.0 Million-Ton Milestone for Injected CO2

The Cranfield site in Southwestern Mississippi is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy (FE), is led by the Southeast Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships Program (RCSP) and is managed by the Office of Fossil Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). The Cranfield site has been the host of a large-scale CO2-EOR project and in November of 2009, it had sequestered 1 million tons of CO2. Researchers at Cranfield are monitoring the injected CO2 two miles beneath the earth’s surface to ensure its storage permanency.

Saskatchewan’s Largest Full Scale Study of CO2 Storage

Saskatchewan, Canada’s Weyburn-Midale CO2 Project field is possibly the world’s largest full-scale, field study of CO2-EOR. EnCana Corp.’s Weyburn portion is about 70 square miles and contains about 1.4 billion barrels of original oil in place, while Apache’s Midale field is nearly 40 miles square and contains about 515 million barrels of original oil in place. This eight-year, $80 million project was launched in 2000. CO2 for the oil field comes from the Great Plains Synfuels Plant in Beulah, North Dakota. About 60.0% of the plant’s industrial emissions are captured for use in CO2-EOR and transported via a 180-mile pipeline to the Weyburn field. The project is a host site for an international study on CO2 sequestration, specifically referred to as the Weyburn-Midale CO2 Monitoring and Storage project. Darcy Cretin, Operations Superintendent at Midale reported to Basin Electric Power Corporation in 2009, in an on-site interview, that the use of CO2 in its Weyburn field was increasing oil production by 300.0%. By 2008 the complex had already stored about ten million tons of CO2.

In the first phase of the project, running from 2000 to 2004, a comprehensive data set for CO2 geological storage, touted as the most complete in the world, was created. A 320-mile pipeline was also built with “tap points” for future delivery of CO2 to other fields. The goal in the second phase of the project, extending from 2005 to 2009, was to compile a Best Practices Manual to guide all aspects of future CO2 storage projects including any technical
and policy components.

In personal communications with Norm Sacuta, Communications Manager for the project, February 2010, he stated that the Weyburn-Midale project had stored 17 million metric tons of CO2 as of January 1, 2010 (15 million in the Weyburn and 2 million in the Midale). He also reported that at the time of our correspondence the Weyburn portion alone was producing about 28,000 barrels of oil per day – 18,000 more per day than was being produced prior to the introduction of CO2-EOR.

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Public outreach and education regarding water conservation are – and will continue to be – key in expanding the water recycling and reuse market. Many individuals and groups, especially in less water stressed regions, do not realize the intensity of the world’s water issues; however, as those around the world increase their public outreach campaigns and as water issues intensify, it is likely the public will receive a fast-track education on water conservation.

Organizations focused on water conservation and specifically water recycling, reuse or rainwater harvesting around the world are doing their part to reach as many individuals as possible.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has taken an innovative approach to its public outreach program and has created a short web-based video. The two-minute long presentation provides consumers with the top ten water saving tips for both inside and outside the home.

Water Awareness and Responsibility Program is a public program designed to increase water conservation awareness in Castle Pines North (CPN) Metropolitan District in Denver Colorado. The local outreach program has a focus on children and has reached over 3,000 young individuals in the CPN area through school assemblies, classroom presentations, email blasts and school websites.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) in Islamabad, Pakistan, worked to educate the public through a 60-day campaign at the end of 2009. Under the drive, efforts to create awareness were made through the use of posters, banners, electronic media, workshops, seminars, door to door awareness campaigns by students, and a series of lectures and competitions in various schools, colleges and universities.

In New Delhi, India citizens have grouped together to ask the government to set up  Development Knowledge Centres countrywide to help increase awareness of the need for water conservation and rainwater harvesting technologies and to provide a location where local people could come and share information on water conservation. Those that proposed the project felt that there needed to be a credible agency that would act as a link between the government and the local communities.

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