As nuclear power faces greater scrutiny in Japan and other nuclear-reliant countries such as Germany and the United States, equal focus has been brought to the central role that natural gas plays in the Japanese grid and elsewhere.

The lost reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi facility represented over 4 GW of capacity for the region. Other reactors at the Fukushima Daini facility, representing yet another 4 GW of capacity, and will be likely inoperable for over a year. This means the regional utility, TEPCO, and other utilities in northeast Japan must now turn to alternative baseload power sources.

(Source: sbienergy.com)

The present day WtE market derives significant and ongoing benefit from greenhouse gas reduction/management strategies and requirements, which are increasingly being implemented and enforced around the globe.

(Source: sbienergy.com)

The World’s Nuclear Energy Technology Renaissance: A Market Analysis - In Wake of Japan’s Nuclear Accident

On March 11, 2011 an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit Japan; one hour later a tsunami hit the coast, causing massive flooding and destruction. Ten of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors were shut down due to the earthquake and the resulting tsunami; while four of the Fukushima Daiichi reactors succumbed to actual damage, inciting international attention. What are the new industry forecasts and values? And how will the market recover long term?

(Source: sbienergy.com)

Growth in air and water treatment markets through 2015

Water and Air Purification Systems and Products: Residential & Commercial from leading energy industry market research publisher SBI Energy gives you the tools to:

Assess the state of your industry and the trends that are impacting it
Identify exciting new opportunities and evaluate growth potential
Review potential partners or acquisition targets

An unending battle with pollution. Air pollution and water contaminates exist in all countries of the world. Only three percent of the water on Earth is fresh and much of that is not potable. Air in many areas is well above recommended safe health levels and the air indoors is even worse.

Numerous technologies and products have been developed that can make air cleaner and water purer. Even with the recession, the water and air purification industry is still growing, mainly because air and water is essential to health and many people will forgo many things but not their health.

Water and Air Purification Systems and Products: Residential & Commercial from leading energy industry market research publisher SBI Energy covers:

Problems with air and water such as contaminants, bacteria, viruses,smog, haze, and technologies that can remedy these problems.
Economic and demographic trends impacting air and water quality, availability and access.
Growth of treatment technologies, in both the consumer and commercial arena, from 2010 through 2015 at the global, regional, and country level.
Company profiles of leading manufacturers in the combined $48.43 billion market for air and water treatment.

(Source: sbienergy.com)

Japan’s Earthquake/Tsunami Disaster

On March 11, 2011 an 8.9 magnitude earthquake hit Japan; one hour later a tsunami hit the coast, causing massive flooding and destruction. As of March 13, there were at least 10,000 speculated deaths, while Japan’s reconstruction and recovery costs were estimated at about $180 billion. On March 14, it was announced 430,000 people were in emergency shelters or staying with relatives, while another 24,000 were stranded.

Ten of Japan’s 54 nuclear reactors were shut down due to the earthquake and the resulting tsunami; while four of the Fukushima Daiichi reactors succumbed to actual damage, inciting international attention. It was only a matter of days after Japan’s nuclear troubles began before countries around the globe began to announce changes to their nuclear energy plans.

Nuclear Energy Technology Market Projections Shifted: Original Global Growth Estimates Lowered

After the accident at the nuclear Fukushima power plant SBI Energy estimates the future growth of the nuclear energy technology (NET) market will be dampened, totaling at least 5.2% less than originally projected in 2020.

What Impact Will the Japan Nuclear Disaster Have on Global Energy Markets and Industries?

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.

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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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Global Natural Gas and LNG Demand

LNG prices are contract specific and are benchmarked against varying competing fuel prices in different regions of the world. In the aggregate, global average LNG prices are expected to recover steadily from their 2009 lows of $8.80 per million Btu, to about $15 per MBtu in 2015 as natural gas and LNG demand grow in a post-recessionary global environment and prices for competing fuels rise. While the projected growth in LNG prices may appear aggressive, it is important to note that at $15 per MBtu in 2015 LNG would be priced at relatively the same levels as those established in 2008.

Nuclear Energy Technologies Worldwide: Components and Manufacturing

Wind Power Becoming Competitive with Coal

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

Washington — The U.S. government is pushing for large-scale wind power development and the timing may be just right.

A recent study from Bloomberg New Energy Finance says that costs for electricity generated by onshore wind are now on par with costs for coal-generated power in the United States and several other markets. That could speed up development of renewables at a time when the world seeks cleaner sources of energy. source: Venturebeat.com

President Obama has called for 80 percent of U.S. energy to come from sources that produce little or no greenhouse gas emissions by 2035, a goal that will require increases in wind, solar, hydro and other “green” power sources. The United States gets about 11 percent of its electricity from renewable sources today.

WIND BLOWS IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Growing sales, more efficient wind turbines and overcapacity in the production of hardware have pushed the cost of onshore wind power to $68 per megawatt-hour. That’s just above the $67 per megawatt-hour to produce coal-generated electricity, Bloomberg reported in its latest market analysis.

Electricity from plants fueled by natural gas still costs significantly less — $56 per megawatt-hour, Bloomberg reported.

One megawatt-hour can power about 800 average-sized, single-family homes in the United States for one hour.

The study shows “wind continuing to become a competitive source of large-scale power,” said Michael Liebreich, chief executive of Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

“For the past few years, wind turbine costs went up due to rising demand around the world and the increasing price of steel,” he said. “Behind the scenes, wind manufacturers were reducing their costs, and now we are seeing just how cheap wind energy can be when overcapacity in the supply chain works its way through to developers.”

Capital costs for offshore wind farms still run up to 50 percent higher than the cost to develop wind power on land, according to a recent report by SBI Energy, which tracks the market for renewable energy. Offshore wind turbines must be larger to withstand high ocean winds, but they can also generate more power, which helps offset some of the initial investment, SBI wrote.

Despite such challenges, a growing number of nations, including the United States, are pursuing offshore wind. Turbines at sea have less of an environmental impact than those on land and they can generate much more electricity.

U.S. PUTS OFFSHORE WIND ON FAST TRACK

In 2010, the United States cleared the way for the first large-scale offshore wind project off the coast of Massachusetts in the northeastern United States. That set the stage for proposals to open up other areas for such development, including the Mid-Atlantic coasts of New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and Virginia.

The government hopes to deploy 10 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2020, and 54 gigawatts by 2050. Millions of homes could get their power from wind that way.

The U.S. Department of the Interior has put the Mid-Atlantic projects on an expedited approval track, and leases to developers could be offered by late 2011, the agency said. To support those projects, the Department of Energy has announced $50.5 million in new funding to develop new wind turbine designs and to identify market barriers to wind energy.

The government recently gave a $1.3 billion loan guarantee to the world’s largest wind farm that will be developed in eastern Oregon in the northwestern United States.

Although the rate of growth in U.S. wind installations slowed in 2010, the industry continues to expand. This is largely thanks to a federal tax credit that makes renewable energy more competitive with coal and other fossil-fuel sources, which long have enjoyed federal subsidies.

Thirty-seven states now have commercial wind stations within their borders, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) reported recently. Iowa, with 20 percent of its power coming from wind, leads the pack.

In the last five years, 400 manufacturing plants have been built or expanded to produce wind energy equipment, said AWEA Executive Director Denise Bode “We’re going to be making a whole lot more affordable, homegrown electric power in the years to come,” she said.

(Source: pennenergy.com)

What your utility company doesn’t want you to know about microgrids

While increasing population, rural development and overall increasing energy consumption is good news for utility companies, there is one technological movement underway that will hurt their revenue steam in the future. And that is the microgrid’s potential to sell electricity back to ‘macrogrid’. Check out my new 3 minute audio on the global microgrid market here: http://www.sbireports.com/Microgrids-2835891/

Government Incentives are Growing Renewable Energy

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)