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Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Energy in 2013: What's next for oil, gas, renewables? - CSMonitor.com



This April 2011 file photo shows some of the 30,000 solar panels that make up the Public Service Company of New Mexico's new 2-megawatt photovoltaic array in Albuquerque, N.M. A dramatic drop in solar panel prices will likely continue to buoy the solar industry in the near future.
Susan Montoya Bryan/AP/File


Energy in 2013: What's next for oil, gas, renewables?

Oil, natural gas, and coal will continue to dominate American energy in 2013 and beyond, but recent dramatic growth in solar and wind portends a transition to a clean energy economy.

By David J. Unger, Correspondent / December 23, 2012 


 

For the coming year, fossil fuels will continue to dominate the energy market, but renewables will continue their slow and steady gains, experts say.


Clean energy will continue its creep into the mainstream. 

Wind-powered generation grew by 27 percent in 2011 and is projected to grow 15 percent in 2013, according to the US Energy Information Administration

Solar energy will continue robust growth, according to the EIA, with a projected 28 percent jump in consumption in 2013.
  


But despite strong growth, renewables still generate only about 
13 percent of the nation's electricity. 

While a dramatic drop in photovoltaic prices will likely continue to buoy the solar industry, wind power faces a less certain future. 

Time is running out to extend the federal production tax credit, which the American Wind Energy Association says has supported a 90 percent drop in wind's cost since 1980 and enough energy to power over 12 million American homes.

"If they do nothing, the wind industry will fall over its own fiscal cliff and America will lose most of its wind installations next year."


Still all about fossil fuels

Fossil fuels will continue to dominate American energy in 2013 and beyond as the International Energy Administration projects 
the US will lead the world in oil production by 2020.

Natural gas was the darling of 2012, with new drilling techniques tapping vast, previously impenetrable sources of energy. 

The US Department of Energy is now exploring the potential of exporting natural gas to capitalize on the country's newfound glut.

The fate of oil and coal rest largely in the hands of the reelected President Obama, as he continues to weigh how much traditional fuels factor into his "all-of-the-above" approach to energy policy. 

Coal, currently the largest generator of US electricity, faces the specter of tighter regulations from the Obama administration. 

Earlier this month, the US Environmental Protection Agency tightened soot standards. Some say its the first of many regulations to come, now that the election has passed and Hurricane Sandy has cast new attention on climate change.

A decision on the Keystone XL pipeline is likely to emerge in early 2013. 

The nearly 2,000-mile-long proposed pipeline, which would connect Canada’s oil sands to American refineries, faces strong opposition from environmental groups.
 
Supporters emphasize the pipeline's employment bump and a decreased dependence on turbulent Middle East oil supplies.


"It's a $7 billion infrastructure crossing five states that will mean 20,000 new jobs, including work in the building and construction trades which are suffering from 12% unemployment," Cindy Schild, API's downstream operations manager for refining and oil sands, told reporters prior to a public hearing on Keystone earlier this month. 

 "Longer term, it will provide a major ongoing stimulus to the US economy since 90% of the dollars we spend in Canada are returned to the US."

Either way, Keystone may very well serve as Obama's energy and environment crucible. 

It "will do much to define his environmental legacy," writes Andrew Restuccia in POLITICO.





Source:
Energy in 2013: What's next for oil, gas, renewables? - CSMonitor.com

 Link:  http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy-Voices/2012/1223/Energy-in-2013-What-s-next-for-oil-gas-renewables





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