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Monday, June 10, 2013
Google’s latest investment: Flying wind turbines
Google has made yet another energy investment, acquiring a startup that makes kite-like airborne wind turbines.
Makani Power, based in Alameda, Calif., announced the acquisition on its website, one week after it conducted a test of its self-flying airborne turbine prototype. Google was already an investor in Makani.
Makani say its technology can produce the same power as conventional turbines at half the cost and with 90 percent fewer materials.
Spinning Spur: Google sinks $200 million into Texas wind farm
Its turbines fly autonomously on kite-like devices that are “lightning hardened,” allowing them to produce power from stronger, more consistent winds at higher altitudes, according to the Makani website.
The technology also has the potential to play a large role in offshore wind, where there is far greater opportunity for power generation from wind than there is on land, the company said.
Though Makani has a long way to go, it said its technology would be far cheaper and possibly more productive than other forms of offshore wind turbines.
The acquisition was made by Google X, the division of the Internet search giant that invests in and develops new technology ideas, reportedly including Google Glass and self-driving cars.
‘Intelligent energy’: Google grants $2.6M to influence energy policy
“This formalizes a long and productive relationship between our two companies, and will provide Makani with the resources to accelerate our work to make wind energy cost competitive with fossil fuels,” said a statement on the Makani website.
Google has made more than $1 billion in energy investments, including a $200 million play in a Texas wind farm, as part of the company’s goals to advance a “clean energy future.”
Makani Power filmed a test of its autonomous airborne wind turbine prototype, viewable in the video below. The turbine controls its own flight in a circular motion.
"World's Most Admired"/Fortune 112 company seeks talent and ambition (Downtown LA)
Reply to: rqcdp-3615662784@job.craigslist.org [?]
Local Intermodal Truck Driver / $1,000 weekly - Rig Jobs - Chicago, IL
Company Description:
Job Description:
This is a Local Intermodal position with daily time at home, with consistent deliveries and an earning potential of up to 52,000 per year.
Job Description:
This is a Local Intermodal position with daily time at home, with consistent deliveries and an earning potential of up to 52,000 per year.
Features: up to $52,000 annually, $1000 weekly
running area is WI, IL, & IN
2 days off & 5 days on
Qualifications:
Valid Class A CDL
Minimum 6 months of recent Class A driving experience
Live within 35 miles of CHICAGO , IL
** Apply today and have interview within 24 hours**
ZipRecruiter - 51 minutes ago - save job - block
Experienced Escrow Assistant Needed! (Rolling Hills Estates)
This key support person must be:
Familiar with RBJ escrow software
Microsoft Office proficient
Experienced with opening title, ordering preliminary reports, accurately preparing estimated closing statements, preparing loan docs for signing, returning loan packages to lender, and knows the current HUD regulations.
This is a full time position.
Only assistants with escrow experience within the last two years will be considered.
Applicants need to furnish the following items to be considered for an interview:
1. A current and updated resume/work history/references transmitted in a Microsoft Word Format.
2. A completed behavior assessment. Please go to: http://www.tonyrobbins.com/ue/disc-profile.php, to complete the 15 minute behavior assessment.
Once you've received your assessment via email, attach it with your Resume and submit it to the email listed below. We will not consider any applications that are missing any of the items listed above.
Posting ID: 3615677705Posted: 2013-02-13, 4:05PM PSTEdited: 2013-02-13, 4:05PM PSTemail to a friendTexas grid ready for summer heat, ERCOT says
The setting sun silhouettes electric transmission lines. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan, File)The Texas power grid may get a break this summer, with relatively normal temperatures expected, according to state electricity planners.
“There probably will be some tight days when it will be especially hot, or when we have unexpected generation off line,” said Robbie Searcy, a spokeswoman for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the electric grid for most of the state. “We will probably ask you turn your thermostats up a couple of degrees for a few days. It sounds like a simple thing and it is.”
In order to ensure that there is a sufficient amount of electricity generated for high demand days, state planners try to ensure that there is sufficient excess capacity in the system, and have targeted 13.75 percent as the ideal margin for Texas. Recent hot summers, which are used to calculate the expected demand, have made it more challenging to ensure that this margin is maintained. The current reserve margin is 13.3 percent, which has raised concerns for planners.
Looming blackouts: Bill suspends environmental penalties for utilities
New plants coming online in 2014 should close the gap between current generation and desired capacity, said Warren Lasher, director of system planning for ERCOT.
“The Public Utility Commission and ERCOT have been working to revise some of the market rules and that appears to be having an impact on the availability of reserves,” Lasher said, explaining that several additional plants will be completed by next summer and are now being added to ERCOT’s expected generation for 2014.
“Most of the changes are the result of natural gas plants, but we are seeing significant activity in wind plants as well,” Lasher said. “The transmission lines are being completed at the end of this year in the Panhandle, opening up additional portions of Texas to the ERCOT market.”
Can’t take the heat: Feds predict Texas will get hot, Texans will run ACs
Weather patterns indicate that the conditions that led to the blazing summer of 2011 have not materialized this year, according to Chris Coleman, a meteorologist for The Electric Reliability Council of Texas.
“We don’t expect to come anywhere close to those 2011 extremes,” Coleman said, explaining that the summer to date has been hotter and drier than the expected weather for the second half of the summer.
But while the relatively cooler days will be a relief, the drought is continuing to worsen in the western part of the state, as well as in the Texas Panhandle and South Texas, both of which have severe drought conditions.
“We are going into the summer in worse shape than we did a year ago,” Coleman said.
The summer is also expected to be relatively hurricane free: Texas grid planners are anticipating that there will only be one storm severe enough to be named that will hit the Texas area.
Weather warning: Hurricanes are trial run for cyberattacks, energy leaders say
ERCOT assesses El Niño and El Niña conditions and patterns to predict the likelihood of future storms. El Niño conditions occur when the sea water temperatures rise in the surface water in the tropics; El Niña conditions take place when the temperatures are lower. El Niña conditions indicate a more active hurricane system, Coleman said. The weather patterns are currently neutral between the two conditions.
“It should be a fairly quiet season,” Coleman said.
"World's Most Admired"/Fortune 112 company seeks talent and ambition (Downtown LA)
Reply to: rqcdp-3615662784@job.craigslist.org [?]
Workover Rig Operator - Tervita - Williston, ND
Tervita is a leading North American environmental and energy services company. Our 4,100 dedicated employees partner with natural resource and industrial companies who share our values and work with them to create a sustainable future. Safety is our highest priority: it influences our actions, guides our decisions and shapes our culture. We maintain a strategically located network of more than 95 state-of-the-art waste management facilities and a fleet of specialized equipment and assets to help customers address production and operational waste challenges. Our highly effective, convenient and environmentally sound solutions help minimize environmental impact and maximize returns.
A privately-held company, we've been known for the past 25 years by the brands of our founding companies: CCS, Hazco, Beck, Concord and others. By joining together our individual expertise, experience, assets and services, we will be uniquely positioned to develop integrated project management solutions and provide customers easier access to our broad range of comprehensive services.
Position Summary:
Operating the rig and equipment as requested by the company contracting the rig
Responsibilities:
The core areas of accountability include but are not limited to:
Ensuring all crew members are at the rig and prepared to work at scheduled time Working closely with customers to resolve concerns and complaints Maintaining productivity standards for all rig functions Ensuring quality products and services are provided to the customer Complying with all safety procedures and ensuring a safe working environment Complying with all applicable government regulations Ensuring efficient maintenance of assigned rig and equipment Establishing and maintaining a positive work environment for rig crew
Qualifications:
Technical
Basic problem solving and organizational skills Basic oilfield well servicing experience Valid Drivers is preferred Previous Mechanical experience Previous experience working in a Rig setting. Safety certifications as follows preferred.
Company will assist in obtaining certifications as per company policy and/or industry standard
H2S First Aid Fall Protection Rig Rescue
Interpersonal
Ability to effectively communicate, both oral and written Ability to bend, stoop and lift objects of up to 75 pounds for extended periods of time
Tervita Corporation is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers applicants for all positions without regard to race, color, creed, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, gender/sex, marital status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, military/veteran status, citizenship status, the basis of genetic information or any other group protected by Federal or State law or local ordinance.
Applicants who are extended an employment offer will be required to complete a pre-employment physical, drug screening, and background check as applicable by position. All employment offers are contingent upon the successful completion of these pre-employment processes.
Applicant Requirements: In order to apply for this position, applicants MUST meet the following criteria. If your resume does not match these criteria, you will not be able to apply for this position.
Location: North America
Rigzone.com - 7 hours ago - save job - block
Construction Operations and Purchasing Assistant (Pasadena)
Reply to: 6spqm-3615703089@job.craigslist.org [?]
Saudi minister calls current oil market ‘best environment’
Ali Al- Naimi, Saudi Arabia's minister of petroleum and mineral resources (AP file photo/Osama Faisal)By Jonathan Tirone and Lananh Nguyen
Bloomberg News
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, is content with current conditions in the oil market, the kingdom’s petroleum minister said three days before OPEC members meet to assess the group’s output policy.
“This is the best environment for the market,” Ali al-Naimi told reporters today in Vienna when asked about the balance of supply and demand.
“Demand is great,” al-Naimi said as he arrived at his hotel.
US crude: Global oil boom forcing Saudi Arabia to cut production
The 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will review its collective production target on May 31 at the group’s headquarters in the Austrian capital. OPEC, which supplies about 40 percent of the world’s oil, kept its official output ceiling unchanged at 30 million barrels a day the last time it met, in December.
Global demand is forecast to rise 800,000 barrels a day to 89.7 million barrels a day this year, requiring 29.8 million of supply from OPEC, the organization said in its monthly oil market report on May 10. It warned that a stalling economic recovery in the euro area and a slowdown in Russia and parts of Asia may temper consumption.
The OPEC basket price for crude, representing members’ export grades, fell below $100 a barrel on April 15, for the first time since July 2012. It has traded either side of that level in recent weeks and was last at $99.56 yesterday. North Sea Brent crude, used to price more than half of the world’s oil, dropped 6 percent this year to trade today at about $104.50 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.
April Increase
The United Arab Emirates sees current crude prices as “suitable and fair” and not damaging to consumers, Suhail Mohammed Al Mazrouei, the nation’s energy minister, told the U.A.E.’s official WAM news agency yesterday.
OPEC pumped 30.7 million barrels a day of crude in April, up 0.7 percent from 30.49 million in March, according to a report from the Paris-based International Energy Agency published May 14. Data compiled by Bloomberg show that Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E. and other OPEC members produced 30.9 million barrels a day in April, the highest output since November.
“Given the present price level as well as the outlook for crude market fundamentals for the second half, we expect Friday’s OPEC meeting to be rather uneventful, with the producer group likely to keep its current output target whilst continuing to verbally support the $100 level,” David Wech, an analyst at JBC Energy GmbH in Vienna, said today in an e-mailed note.
Saudi Aramco: Saudi oil company set production record in 2012
OPEC is likely to keep its collective production target unchanged this week, according to two delegates from different OPEC nations, who asked not to be identified because the decision isn’t final yet.
The group’s collective production target is “working beautifully,” and there is no need to publicize individual national limits on May 31, Abdalla El-Badri, OPEC’s secretary general, said on April 4.
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