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EIA
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What are renewable portfolio standards (RPS) and how do they affect renewable electricity generation?
Renewable portfolio standards (RPS) are policies designed to increase electricity generation from renewable resources, including wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass. While there is no National-level renewable portfolio standard, many States have set renewable portfolio standards.
What is the role of hydroelectric power in the United States?
The importance of hydropower as a source of electricity generation varies by geographic region. While hydropower accounted for 6% of total U.S. electricity generation in 2010, it provided over half of the electricity in the Pacific Northwest. Because hydroelectric generation relies on precipitation, it varies widely from month to month and year to year.
What are the major sources and users of energy in the United States?
The major energy sources in the United States are petroleum (oil), natural gas, coal, nuclear, and renewable energy. The major users are residential and commercial buildings, industry, transportation, and electric power generators. The pattern of fuel use varies widely by sector. For example, oil provides 94% of the energy used for transportation, but only 1% of the energy used to generate electric power. Understanding the relationships between the different energy sources and their uses provides insights into many important energy issues.
How much of the world's electricity supply is generated from wind and who are the leading generators?
Worldwide wind power generation exceeded 250 billion kilowatthours in 2009, which is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of over 22 million average households in the United States. Wind generation increased by about 20% from 2008 to 2009, and has more than tripled since 2004. This growth is mostly due to capacity increases in the United States, China, India, and Western Europe. Despite this growth, the world still generated only 1% of its total electricity from wind power in 2009.
How old are U.S. power plants?
The current fleet of electric power generators has a wide range of ages. About 530 gigawatts, or 51% of all generating capacity, were at least 30 years old at the end of 2010. Trends in generating capacity additions vary by fuel type, for coal, hydropower, natural gas, nuclear, petroleum, and wind.
What is shale gas and why is it important?
Shale gas refers to natural gas that is trapped within shale formations. Shales are fine-grained sedimentary rocks that can be rich sources of petroleum and natural gas. Over the past decade, the combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has allowed access to large volumes of shale gas that were previously uneconomical to produce. The production of natural gas from shale formations has rejuvenated the natural gas industry in the United States.
How dependent are we on foreign oil?
The United States imported about 49% of the petroleum, which includes crude oil and refined petroleum products, that we consumed during 2010. About half of these imports came from the Western Hemisphere. Our dependence on foreign petroleum has declined since peaking in 2005.
What is the role of coal in the United States?
Due to its relatively low cost and abundance, coal is used to generate about half of the electricity consumed in the United States. Coal is the largest domestically-produced source of energy. Coal use, however, results in higher amounts of carbon dioxide per unit of energy than the use of oil or natural gas.
What are greenhouse gases and how much are emitted by the United States?
Greenhouse gases trap heat from the sun and warm the planet's surface. Of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, 87% are related to energy consumption. Since 1990, greenhouse gas emissions in the United States have grown by about 1% per year. In 2005, about 21% of the world's total energy-related carbon dioxide was emitted by the United States.
What is the status of the U.S. nuclear industry?
There are currently 104 operable commercial nuclear reactors at 65 nuclear power plants. Since 1990, the share of the Nation's total electricity supply provided by nuclear power generation has averaged about 20%, with increases in nuclear generation that have roughly tracked the growth in total electricity output.
How much of our electricity is generated from renewable sources?
Americans used renewable energy sources — water (hydroelectric), geothermal, wind, sun (solar), and biomass — to meet about 8% of our total energy needs in 2009.
What is a cap-and-trade program and how does it work?
A cap-and-trade program is designed to reduce emissions of a pollutant by placing a limit (or cap) on the total amount of emissions. The cap is implemented through a system of allowances that can be traded to minimize costs to affected sources. Cap-and-trade programs for greenhouse gas emissions would increase the costs of using fossil fuels.
How can we compare or add up our energy consumption?
To compare or aggregate energy consumption across different energy sources like oil, natural gas, and electricity, we must use a common unit of measure. This is similar to calculating your food energy intake by adding up the calories in whatever you eat.
What is the electric power grid, and what are some challenges it faces?
The grid of electric power lines has evolved into three large interconnected systems that move electricity around the country. Standards have been developed by the electric power industry to ensure coordination for the linked operations. Challenges facing the power grid include getting approval for corridors of land for new transmission lines within States or that cross multiple States, and the financing and constructing of new transmission lines to assure continued reliability of our electricity supply.
Who are the major players supplying the world oil market?
Governments of oil-rich countries have a major influence on the world supply of oil through ownership of national oil companies and, for some governments, their membership in OPEC.
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FT.com
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Glencore pays a price for Xstrata deal
Investors in Xstrata would receive 2.8 Glencore shares for every share in the mining group they hold
Call for Bumi vote on Rothschild criticised
Person close to the group says investors have long been critical of Mr Hudaya but that the idea of ousting Mr Rothschild is more contentious
Mining magnates eye Australia’s media
As natural resources have become the engine of the economy, there is a new force with the potential to shape the press landscape
ANC upholds Malema suspension
An African National Congress appeals committee upholds a five-year suspension against youth league leader Julius Malema
Brent pulls further ahead of West Texas crude
Commodities enjoy strong start with the price of Brent crude supported by geopolitical concerns and the demise of Petroplus
Bakrie vehicle moves to oust Rothschild from Bumi
Dramatic move is a setback for the UK financier, who had pledged to clean up corporate governance at the coal miner
BP safety committee chief to leave board
The impending departure of Sir William Castell is the latest shake-up at the top of the oil group since the Gulf of Mexico disaster
The numbers are vast, but beware the bite of reality
Investors should not be overawed by the numbers presented in Facebook’s IPO nor in the proposed Glencore-Xstrata tie-up
Dinner that put Glencore-Xstrata on the menu
A series of issues had held up a merger, key among them the governance structure of a combined group
Gazprom cuts gas supplies amid cold snap
Russian company in dispute with European Union as it says countries demand more than it is contractually obliged to deliver
Call to scale back nuclear weapons in Europe
Group urges US and Russia to relocate a proportion of their arms deployed in Europe, which hark back to cold war-era hostilities
Positive Syrian drill fails to benefit Gulfsands
Gulfsands Petroleum, the Aim-quoted oil explorer with operations in Syria, this week failed to benefit from positive drilling results in the troubled country
Xstrata deal reveals perfect price on Glencore IPO
The proposed $88bn merger endorses Glencore’s much-criticised $10bn, 530p a share flotation, showing that the IPO price was right
Congress set to pass new Iran sanctions
Senate banking committee unanimously approves a package of measures aimed at shipping, energy, mining and finance companies
Cornwall leads the high-tech revolution
The tiny Cornish village of St Agnes is the unlikely possessor of some of the highest broadband speeds in Britain
Small-caps: MXC chief share buy lifts Coms
Internet telephone company’s shares jump 72.7% after Ian Smith, chief executive of MXC Capital, increases direct and indirect holdings to 27.6%
Glencore and Xstrata close to $88bn deal
World’s largest commodities trader is in advanced talks with the mining group over a deal to reshape the industry
Glencore and Xstrata would be ‘unique’
A successful merger sets up a new breed of super-miner, force a rethink by rivals and possibly trigger a fresh round of industry consolidation
How the Glencore and Xstrata merger stacks up
This interactive dashboard explores the details of the proposed Glencore and Xstrata merger
Potential mining tie-up to attract scrutiny
Some regulators, including the European Commission, already consider Glencore and Xstrata a single entity
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