Western Wind Power May Soon Compete With Natural Gas
Bobby Magill Climate Central September 12,, 2013
Wind power is cheap where the wind blows, and by the middle of the next decade, the wind farms that dot the landscapes along the highways in Rocky Mountain states could become major regional sources of electricity without federal subsidies, according to a new National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) study.
Western renewables, primarily wind, could begin to compete on their own with electricity generated at natural gas power plants by 2025, the study …
Energy Industry Develops Nontoxic Fracking Fluids
Associated Press February 4, 2013
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The oil and gas industry is trying to ease environmental concerns by developing nontoxic fluids for the drilling process known as fracking, but it’s not clear whether the new product will be widely embraced by drilling companies.
Houston-based energy giant Halliburton Inc. has developed a product called CleanStim, which uses only food-industry ingredients. Other companies have developed nontoxic fluids as well.
“Halliburton is in the business to provide solutions to our customers,” …
Tracing the Culprit if Fracking Pollutes Water Supplies
Dave Fehling StateImpact/NPR January 22, 2013
Scientists are developing ways to add non-toxic tracers to drilling fluid so if groundwater is contaminated, investigators would be able to pinpoint if an oil or gas drilling operation was to blame.
“What’s impossible at the moment is if you’ve got multiple companies in an area and it’s thought there is contamination, there is no way to tell which company caused the contamination,” said Andrew Barron at Rice University in Houston.
Barron is developing …
Race Is On to Clean Up Hydraulic Fracturing
Erica Gies The New York Times December 4, 2012
PARIS — Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has raised fears around the world that the procedure needed to coax shale oil and gas out of tightly packed rock could cause pollution damaging to human health.
The process uses huge amounts of water, and environmentalists, landowners and others worry that drinking-water supplies could be contaminated.
“Our concern is with maintaining the quality of the water in our streams and preventing groundwater contamination,” said …
Trying to Find the Gas Drilling ‘Line of Death’
Elizabeth Skrapits Times-Tribune April 29, 2012
SUGARLOAF TWP. – For the past few weeks, contractors have swarmed the natural gas well site next to the Bear Fuel service station on state Route 118 in Columbia County.
This time, they were filling instead of drilling.
Bear Fuel employee John Leshko was close enough that he could watch the contractors pulling up the pipes and well casing. On Wednesday, they covered the area where …
Fracking with Propane Gel – An Alternative Approach
Chemistry World November 15, 2011
An alternative approach to hydraulic fracturing or fracking of shale rock to release tightly-stored natural gas that may be safer than conventional techniques is being tested across North America. However, gas producers trialing the method, which uses propane instead of water to break up the rock, are not revealing results data. This is holding back the widespread introduction of the method in the booming shale gas sector which is transforming the US energy and petrochemicals …
