Hope for Offshore Wind Boom in Gulf of Mexico Dims With Low Bids
The first-ever US government auction of leases to build wind farms in the Gulf of Mexico ...
The first-ever US government auction of leases to build wind farms in the Gulf of Mexico ended with only one tract sold, a blow for advocates cheering on renewable-power development in the region.
RWE Offshore US Gulf LLC won a 102,480-acre (41,472-hectare) tract near Lake Charles, Louisiana, for $5.6 million, after just two rounds of bidding. The area has room for enough turbines to generate approximately 1.24 gigawatts of power, which could supply nearly 435,400 homes.
Three tracts, including two near Texas, were offered in the auction, and more than a dozen companies had pre-qualified to participate, including energy giants with existing oil operations in the Gulf.
Texans asked to conserve power Wednesday for the eighth time this month
The state's grid operator asked Texans to conserve electricity...
The state's grid operator asked Texans to conserve electricity from 6 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday as conditions are expected to be tight due to unexpected outages at plants fired by gas, nuclear, or coal and because of forecasted low wind power generation. It's the eighth such request from the Electric Reliability Council of Texas this month amid intense heat and threats of a power supply emergency.
So far, the grid has held up, and temperatures even cooled slightly around much of the state this week.
Pantheon celebrates positive report for Kodiak project
An independent assessment by Netherland, Sewell & Associates...
An independent assessment by Netherland, Sewell & Associates estimates that Pantheon Resources' Kodiak project on Alaska's North Slope holds 962.5 million barrels of mean average contingent resources, affirming both Pantheon's geological model and development strategy for leases across some 126,000 acres. Pantheon CEO Jay Cheatham hailed the evaluation as an "incredible achievement," while technical director Bob Rosenthal noted that "it is very rare to see certified resources of this size, particularly onshore and near to infrastructure."
Benchmark U.S. crude oil for October delivery rose 47 centsto $81.63 a barrel Wednesday. Brent crudefor October delivery rose 37 cents to $85.86 a barrel.
Wholesale gasoline for September delivery rose 2 cents to $2.81 a gallon. September heating oilfell 11 centsto $3.10 a gallon. October natural gasrose 14 centsto $2.80 per 1,000 cubic feet.
U.S. stocks score fourth straight day of gains ahead of inflation report
U.S. stocks closed higher Wednesday, booking gains for a fourth straight day as investors weighed signs...
U.S. stocks closed higher Wednesday, booking gains for a fourth straight day as investors weighed signs of cooling in the labor market and revised data on economic growth in the second quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial AverageDJIA ended 0.1% higher, while the S&P 500 IndexSPX gained 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite IndexCOMP rose 0.5%, according to preliminary data from FactSet.
A U.S. employment report Wednesday from payroll processor ADP showed fewer private-sector jobs were added in August than economists forecast. Investors also digested revised data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which showed the U.S. economy grew at a 2.1% annual pace in the second quarter, down from an earlier estimated 2.4%. A reading from the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge will be released before the market opens on Thursday.