Category Archives: energy

UMD Researchers Get $1 Million for EV Battery Research

Posted on 26 August 2013 by Ken Zino

Lithium-ion batteries are problematic in electric vehicles due to short driving range, high cost, and low safety and reliability. Continue reading →

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Electric Cars and Solar Cells are not so Clean

Posted on 1 August 2013 by Ken Zino

“Stating that an electric car is clean is like saying that a light bulb is clean. Light bulbs do not produce exhaust, but it doesn’t mean we can use them with zero emissions. The same holds true for electric cars,” said Zehner in an NPR interview Monday. Continue reading →

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Fuel Company Head Charged in Kickback Scheme

Posted on 22 July 2013 by Ken Zino

The former owner and operator of two Florida-based airline fuel supply companies appeared today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on charges of a kickback scam and defrauding Illinois-based Ryan International Airlines. Continue reading →

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Shell Settles Clean Air Act Violations for $115 Million

Posted on 10 July 2013 by Ken Zino

Shell will spend $1 million on a state-of-the-art system to monitor benzene levels of the refinery and chemical plant near a residential neighborhood and school and to make the data available to the public through a website. Shell’s agreement to recover and recycle waste gases at its chemical plant is a first of its kind. Continue reading →

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GM and Honda Target 2020 for Viable Fuel Cell EVs

Posted on 9 July 2013 by Ken Zino

The light duty fuel cell vehicle (FCV) has shown promise for decades, but the problem remains that it is space age technology at NASA levels of cost. Not surprisingly, automakers have varying levels of interest fuel cells that always appear to be just a decade or so from commercialization, but interest is rising. Continue reading →

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SunCoke Energy Fixes Clean Air Violations in Illinois, Ohio

Posted on 30 June 2013 by Ken Zino

The main violations alleged relate to excessive bypass venting of hot coking gases directly to the atmosphere, resulting in excess SO2 and particulate matter emissions from the facilities’ waste heat and main stacks, in violation of applicable permit limits. Coke oven emissions are a known human carcinogen. Continue reading →

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U.S. Sues ExxonMobil over Pegasus Pipeline Oil Spill

Posted on 13 June 2013 by Ken Zino

The complaint covers ExxonMobil’s unlawful discharge of heavy crude oil from a 20-inch-diameter interstate pipeline – the Pegasus Pipeline – that ruptured in Mayflower, Arkansas on 29 March 2013. Continue reading →

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Dominion Energy Deal Cuts Emissions at Coal Powered Plants

Posted on 5 April 2013 by Ken Zino

The Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that Dominion Energy has agreed to pay a $3.4 million civil penalty and spend approximately $9.8 million on environmental mitigation projects to resolve Clean Air Act (CAA) violations. Continue reading →

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Bosch to End Solar Business as Competitiveness is ‘Unattainable’

Posted on 22 March 2013 by Ken Zino

Bosch said today that it would end its solar business operations, including the making of ingots, wafers, cells, and modules at the beginning of 2014. More than 3,000 employees are affected. The German conglomerate, which is the biggest auto parts supplier in the word, said that individual business units would be sold, if possible Continue reading →

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Scientists Urge Strong Government Policies to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Develop Alternative Fuels. Caveats Abound

Posted on 21 March 2013 by Ken Zino

The study was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Not surprisingly, it also calls for “strong government policies to overcome high costs and influence consumer choices.” Continue reading →

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President Obama Calls for $2 Billion Energy Security Trust Using Fossil Fuel Development Taxes to Wean U.S. from Oil and Gas

Posted on 20 March 2013 by Ken Zino

Leaving aside the controversy over President George W. Bush’s plan to do so under the flawed Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which mandates ethanol that apparently is now adding $1 per gallon to the price of gasoline, the question remains is this just Washington politics from an Administration whose approval rating is dropping or sound national policy? Continue reading →

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Peugeot-Citroen Hybrid Air Most Significant Intro at Geneva?

Posted on 8 March 2013 by Ken Zino

Struggling PSA Peugeot Citroën showed a light duty version of so-called hybrid-air technology that will be in production by 2016 using the group’s new EMP2 platform that will make its debut on the new Citroen Picasso. It potentially a breakthrough that will help PSA sell more cars globally, reviving its sagging reputation in the process. Continue reading →

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Shape Memory Alloy Replaces Electric Motor On C7 Corvette

Posted on 15 February 2013 by Ken Zino

While much of the news about weight savings on the revised 2014 Corvette coming this fall has concentrated on the aluminum chassis that saves 99 pounds when compared to its steel predecessor, GM is also using a heat-activated shape memory alloy that replaces a heavier motorized part. The electric wire will be used in place of a heavier motorized actuator to open a the hatch vent that releases air from the trunk to allow for easier closing by releasing trapped air through the opening. When the hatch is closed, the vent closes. Continue reading →

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Transocean Pleads Guilty of Environmental Crimes in Gulf Oil Spill. $400 Million in Penalties for its Role in Deepwater Horizon Disaster

Posted on 14 February 2013 by Ken Zino

Transocean Deepwater pleaded guilty today to a violation of the Clean Water Act for its illegal conduct leading to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. The drilling company was sentenced to pay $400 million in criminal fines and penalties, Attorney General Holder announced today. Continue reading →

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More Spills in Gulf of Mexico as U.S. Files Suit against ATP Oil

Posted on 11 February 2013 by Ken Zino

Today the United States filed suit against ATP Oil & Gas Corporation and ATP Infrastructure Partners for civil penalties and injunctive relief under the Clean Water Act and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. The complaint alleges unlawful discharges of oil and banned chemical dispersants from the defendants’ floating oil and gas production platform, the ATP Innovator, into the Gulf of Mexico. The drilling rig is operating 45 nautical miles offshore of southeastern Louisiana. Continue reading →

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