Bloomberg: Turbines From Outer Space Lift Lockheed to New Energy
Lockheed Martin Corp. says engineering tidal turbines to withstand the relentless pounding of the Earth’s oceans isn’t much different than the machines it makes to survive the extreme conditions of outer space.
The world’s largest defense contractor is trying to redirect more of its high-tech military knowledge to civilian markets. Lockheed Martin’s new mission: apply more than a century of know-how to renewable-energy technologies that may mitigate the international security challenges of climate change.
“Tidal has a need for advanced manufacturing, engineering and systems integration,” Lockheed Martin Energy Vice President Frank Armijo said in an interview at a Bloomberg New Energy Finance conference in London. “We use some of the same technology that we use for our space programs to help protect the systems within the turbine.”
The Diplomat: China's Nuclear Power Plans Melting Down
For China’s nuclear industry, 2016 has been a frustrating year. So far, construction has started on only one new plant, and its target of bringing 58 gigawatts of nuclear capacity in service by 2020 seems impossible to meet.
At present, China has 19.3 gigawatts of nuclear supply under construction and a further 31.4 gigawatts already in service. Given that new plants take five years or more to build, the country faces a shortfall of more than 7 gigawatts on its target.
All the plants started between 2008 and 2010 are on-line except for six imported reactors. These include four AP1000 reactors designed by Westinghouse, based in the United States but owned by Toshiba of Japan, and two European Pressurised Reactors (EPRs), developed by Areva, a French multinational group specializing in nuclear power.
CNBC: General Electric to Combine Oil and Gas Ops With Baker Hughes
General Electric, banking on a recovery in oil prices, said on Monday it would merge its oil and gas business with No. 3 oilfield services provider Baker Hughes.
The new entity would be controlled by GE. Under the terms of the agreement, Baker Hughes shareholders will receive a special one-time cash dividend of $17.50 per share and 37.5 percent of the new company. GE will own 62.5 percent of the new company.
The companies said on Monday the deal was expected to add 4 cents to GE's earnings per share by 2018 and 8 cents by 2020. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2017.
ThinkProgress: Electric Car Revolution May Drive Oil ‘Investor Death Spiral’
Advanced batteries could “tip the oil market from growth to contraction earlier than anticipated,” concludes the credit rating agency Fitch in a new study. Bloomberg New Energy Finance has already told investors to expect the "big crash" in oil by 2028 -- and as early as 2023.
Fitch Ratings agency warns that if recent technology trends continue, we may see an “investor death spiral” as first the smart money -- and then everyone else’s -- sell off oil company assets (bonds and stocks).
That would in turn increase the industry’s costs for both debt and equity -- while oil prices would be stuck at low levels as the world hits peak demand.
Miami Herald: Down in the Polls, Utilities Pump Another $3.5 Million Into Amendment 1 Campaign
Florida's largest utilities decided last week that $22 million wasn't enough to spend on Amendment 1, so they pumped in another $3.5 million into the effort, according new campaign finance reports.
Amendment 1, which has been dubbed a "pro-solar" amendment by the political committee financed by the utility giants, would inject language into the state constitution that could be used to keep solar competition out of Florida, making it easier for the utilities to control the solar market and preserve their utility monopolies.