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Enron Mail |
Energy Insight News for Thursday, January 10, 2002
Wave power debuts in North America Two separate ocean-wave power initiatives on the western North American coastline suggest this novel technology may be poised to make inroads into previously skeptical markets. In the US, plans are underway to build a 1-MW offshore demonstration project near Neah Bay in Washington State. The project developer is start-up company AquaEnergy Group, Ltd. The local Clallam public utility district has committed to purchasing the power from the Makah Nation (a North American Indian tribe), which will own and operate the development when completed. "Once this permitting and development precedent has been set, we believe offshore wave power has the potential to satisfy 5% to 10% of total US power demand within 20 years," said Alla Weinstein, CEO of AquaEnergy. Farther north, BC Hydro intends to develop up to 4 MW of ocean wave power as part of a broader plan to install 20 MW of renewable energy generation on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. "This is not an R&D exercise for us," said Brenda Goehring, spokesperson for BC Hydro. "If this turns out to be a viable resource, the potential is huge for North America." Supporting this potential, according to wave power proponents, is that this novel renewable offers some advantages over other green power sources. For example, relative to other intermittent renewables, the energy in waves is somewhat predictable. Historical seasonal data on wave and tidal movements are available, and waves travel long distances, making it possible to calculate their arrival time. "Plus, if there is excess energy, the devices can be used for other purposes such as water desalinization," added Weinstein. In some areas, a new supply of fresh water would be a valuable ancillary benefit of power generation. Wave projects also offer the potential to support local economies. "This is not like wind power where you have to buy a large turbine from Denmark, for example," said Goehring. "These are small-scale devices that can be manufactured and managed locally. It's a new opportunity for regional industry." The proposed projects should help to define the permitting requirements and perfect the technology, thereby paving the way for commercial applicability, if they prove to be cost-competitive. Equally important, these efforts may pique the interest of elected officials and the investment community. Read the entire story at http://www.energyinsight.com. Also, catch the latest news headlines on Energy Insight Executive, updated twice daily. /////////////////////////////////////////////// Market Brief Wednesday, January 9 Stocks Close Change % Change DJIA 10,094.09 (56.5) -0.56% DJ 15 Util. 291.79 (0.5) -0.16% NASDAQ 2,044.89 (10.84) -0.53% S&P 500 1,155.14 (5.6) -0.48% Market Vols Close Change % Change AMEX (000) 159,248 24,574.0 18.25% NASDAQ (000) 2,303,936 441,395.0 23.70% NYSE (000) 1,455,040 212,660.0 17.12% Commodities Close Change % Change Crude Oil (Feb) 20.27 (0.98) -4.61% Heating Oil (Feb) 0.54 (0.030) -5.18% Nat. Gas (Henry) 2.249 (0.051) -2.22% Propane (Feb) 29.00 (1.25) -4.13% Palo Verde (Feb) 23.50 (1.25) -5.05% COB (Feb) 23.00 (1.75) -7.07% PJM (Feb) 25.75 (1.80) -6.53% Dollar US $ Close Change % Change Australia $ 1.905 (0.003) -0.16% Canada $ 1.60 0.002 0.13% Germany Dmark 2.20 0.007 0.32% Euro 0.8895 (0.002) -0.27% Japan ?en 132.6 (0.200) -0.15% Mexico NP 9.2 0.020 0.22% UK Pound 0.6963 0.0014 0.20% Foreign Indices Close Change % Change Arg MerVal 343.22 0.00 0.00% Austr All Ord. 3,354.90 (9.30) -0.28% Braz Bovespa 14020.79 (146.79) -1.04% Can TSE 300 7775.80 (6.20) -0.08% Germany DAX 5288.21 51.84 0.99% HK HangSeng 11440.72 (272.99) -2.33% Japan Nikkei 225 10663.98 (31.62) -0.30% Mexico IPC 6560.58 (80.56) -1.21% UK FTSE 100 5,228.50 (21.90) -0.42% Source: Yahoo!, TradingDay.com and NYMEX.com ////////////////////////////////////////////// Executive News Working gas in storage at 81 percent: AGA Last week's U.S. gas storage withdrawal of 190 Bcf--higher than most industry expectations--exceeded the same-week withdrawal last year for the first time this winter. The American Gas Association (AGA) reported Wednesday that for the week ending Jan. 4, working gas in storage nationwide totaled 2.666 Tcf, or 80.9% of capacity. The surplus over the year-ago figure fell by 23 Bcf to 1.104 Tcf, while the surplus over the five-year average declined 73 Bcf to 542 Bcf. AGA's five-year average showed a withdrawal of 117 Bcf and an average working-gas volume of 2.124 Tcf. In the same week a year ago, 167 Bcf was withdrawn to lower working gas to 1.562 Tcf, 47% of capacity. Two years ago, 111 Bcf was withdrawn to lower storage to 2.326 Tcf, 72% of capacity. Three years ago, withdrawal of 158 Bcf reduced storage volumes to 2.645 Tcf, 81% of capacity. Four years ago, withdrawal of 131 Bcf brought storage down to 2.039 Tcf, 64% of capacity. And five years ago, withdrawal of 15 Bcf lowered storage to 2.049 Tcf, 64% of capacity. Working gas last week dropped 60 Bcf in the producing region, to 777 Bcf (350 Bcf a year ago), 123 Bcf in the consuming region east, to 1.482 Tcf (935 Bcf a year ago), and 7 Bcf in the consuming region west, to 407 Bcf (277 Bcf a year ago). Regionally, working-gas levels as a percentage of full capacity were 81.5% in the producing region (down from 87.8% the previous week); 80.8% in the consuming region east (down from 87.5%); and 80.4% in the consuming region west (down from 81.8%). OPEC production falls in December OPEC produced 25.83-mil b/d of crude in December, down 970,000 b/d from November's 26.8-mil b/d, a Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials showed Wednesday. The large month-to-month fall was due largely to Iraq, whose exports fell considerably in December. Excluding Iraq, which does not have an OPEC quota, the other ten members pumped an average 23.81-mil b/d, a 190,000 b/d decrease on their November average of 24-mil b/d which left them 599,000 b/d above their self-imposed 23.201- mil b/d output ceiling. That ceiling was superseded at the beginning of January by a new lower ceiling of 21.701-mil b/d following OPEC's Dec 28 meeting in Cairo, Egypt, at which ministers decided to implement the 1.5-mil b/d cut agreed in November and made conditional on a combined cut of 500,000 b/d from non-OPEC producers. To subscribe to our Executive News Service, which is updated twice daily, log on to http://www.energyinsight.com, or contact Platt's Direct Response Team at 1-800-424-2908 (if outside the United States call 1-720-548-5700). ///////////////////////////////////////////////
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