Renewable energy to become more cost effective

Renewable energy could become more cost competitive within the next 15 years, with a recent report showing that the current price gap between traditional forms of power generation and alternative sources would be reduced even if federal subsidies for renewables were removed.

Liquid natural gas exports from USA

Japan's Fukushima disaster, with the subsequent shutdown of most Japanese nuclear power plants, mean US exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Asia will be profitable to 2020 – but maybe not beyond.

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That was the consensus of experts speaking to the US Energy Information Administration's (EIA) International Natural Gas Workshop in Washington, DC recently.

They see US LNG exports as initially profitable, but current Asian prices as unsustainable and see changes coming in Asia's traditional pricing method for natural gas.

Asian LNG contracts link gas prices to a basket of crude oils imported into Japan. With world oil prices persistently above historical norms, the linkage means Asian customers often pay five times US prices for their gas. US domestic prices are currently depressed due to ample shale gas supply and decreased demand, so the potential profit margin for exports appears substantial.

Asian buyers are already seeking cheaper US alternatives. Sovereign wealth funds from China and Singapore have invested in the first federally-permitted large US liquefaction plant, Cheniere Energy's $5.6 billion Sabine Pass, and Japanese, South Korean, and Indian buyers have signed up for output.

You can't overstate the effects of Fukushima on the LNG market," - Schlesinger

Construction has just started there; first exports won't occur before 2015. More than a dozen other projects are under federal review, and they couldn't begin exporting before 2016.

Robert Smith of Facts Global Energy in Singapore said Asian LNG demand grew 16.5% in 2011 due to Fukushima, and he thinks Japan will restart only about half of the nuclear capacity that, before March 2011, supplied nearly a third of the nation's electricity.

"You can't overstate the effects of Fukushima on the LNG market.

Even when Japan restores nuclear capacity, it will replace more costly oil-fired capacity, not natural gas generators.

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 Energy Sources in the USA

Different Energy Sources in USA

Electricity is something that would be hard to imagine living without. It can easily be taken for granted, not knowing how exactly it is made. The truth is that power can be generated from many different sources. Many people are looking for more alternative, renewable resources to produce power. According to the Alternative Energy Institute (AEI), after years of experiments and research, thousands of scientists have discovered new ways to produce power.

• What are the Eleven Different Types of Energy Sources?
• Pros & Cons of Different Energy Sources

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1. Nuclear Power

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     According to Nuclearnow.org, the use of nuclear power in place of other energy sources helps to keep the air clean, preserve the Earth's climate, avoid ground-level ozone formation and prevent acid rain. Nuclear power operates under technology that removes usable energy from charged atoms. Nuclear power is widely relied on across the world as a source of electricity.

   Solar Power

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     Solar power uses energy from the sun to create electricity. According to AEI, an average home has more than enough roof area to produce enough solar electricity to supply all of its power needs. Direct current power is converted from the solar cells to alternating current, which is what most home appliances run on, allowing a household to potentially be fully operational on solar power. Solar panels harness and store energy from the sun until it is needed for use. The most popular aspect of this source of energy is that it is completely renewable and entirely environmentally safe.
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   Wind Power

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     Windmills have been used for thousands of years. However, it was only in the last decade that interest was focused on mass production of wind powered energy. The AEI explains that wind energy is cheaper than any other new electric generation except natural gas. However, because the cost of production of wind power is so cheap, it has become a promising resource. Although wind is a renewable resource, more research and funding is needed before energy can be mass produced from wind.

   Hydroelectric Power

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     Since the times of the ancient Greeks, water has been used as an energy source. Natural waterfalls are of course the more desirable sights for water power plants; however man-made dams have been just as successful at producing power. According to AEI, a dam's gates can be opened or closed on command, depending on daily use or gradual economic growth in the community. This allows for the amount of power needed to fluctuate with the demand for that power. Hydroelectric power is the leading source of renewable energy.

   Geothermal Power

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     Geothermal energy is extracted from heat stored beneath the earth's surface to create electricity. Even though geothermal power is cost effective, reliable and environmentally friendly, its major disadvantage is the location power plants must be in to extract the energy. The plants must sit near tectonic plate boundaries, making their availability to mass produce energy low. However, geothermal power has the potential to help alleviate global warming if widely deployed in place of fossil fuels.