Henry Harrell"s Blog: November 18 Green Energy News

Headline News:

Geologists say a new survey shows an oilfield in west Texas dwarfs others found so far in the United States, according to the US Geological Survey. The Midland Basin of the Wolfcamp Shale area in the Permian Basin in west Texas is now estimated to have 20 billion barrels of oil and 1.6 billion barrels of natural gas. [CNN]

Pumpjack at dawn

The DOE’s SunShot Initiative was launched in 2011 “with the goal of making solar electricity cost-competitive with traditional energy sources without subsidies by 2020.” In just five years the Initiative has achieved more than 90% of its goal to cut the cost of utility-scale solar electricity in the US down to 6¢/kWh. [CleanTechnica]
The nation’s energy infrastructure will undergo a significant transformation over the next 10 years, according to a study by Mortenson, a recognized leader in energy and transmission infrastructure. This is due largely to declining costs of energy storage. Of professionals answering a survey, 96% believe the technology is a major key. [AltEnergyMag]
A group of 365 companies, including General Mills, Nike, and Starbucks, has urged President-elect Donald Trump to abide by the Paris climate deal. In addition to sticking with the Paris deal, the group urged the US government to have a “Continuation of low-carbon policies,” and to invest “in the low carbon economy.” [Opposing Views]
The US Justice Department filed a lawsuit to block a merger involving one of the key players in the proposed sale of Vermont Yankee. Federal officials say EnergySolutions’ acquisition of Waste Control Specialists, which has agreed to buy the nuclear plant, would create a “near monopoly” in low-level radioactive waste disposal. [vtdigger.org]

Henry Harrell"s Blog