June 18, 2004

Wind Harvest Company Wind News
A compilation of story leads from around the world.
By:  Kevin Wolf

Note:  These story titles and lead paragraphs predominantly come from Energy Central's daily posting of the world's energy stories. Others are sent to me by subscribers of Wind News.  Energy Central requires paid membership to read full stories.  You can often paste the headline into the Google search engine and find the original source of the story.   When I have them, I will include the URL.  Please send me stories that you find, and I will add them into the next edition of Wind News.  Thank you. Kevin
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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON ORDERED TO BEGIN TRANSMISSION EXPANSION PROCESS

On June 9, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued an interim opinion that could result in substantial new transmission capacity being built in the Tehachapi area to take advantage of the wind power resources in the area.  The decision was adopted by a unanimous decision of the Commission.
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BIG ENERGY COMPANIES ENTER RENEWABLE ENERGY INDUSTRY

  It used to be a quaint dream of the granola and Birkenstock
  crowd: widespread use of windmills and solar panels to generate electricity.
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STUDY FINDS ALBERTA CONVENTIONAL NATURAL GAS PRODUCTION LIKELY
PEAKED IN 2001

  Conventional natural gas production in Alberta likely peaked three
  years ago and a yearly decline of about 2.5 per cent should be
  expected, the province's energy regulator said Thursday in its
  annual reserves report.
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GERMANY, IDB TO SUPPORT LATAM RENEWABLE, EFFICIENCY PROJECTS

  Germany's federal ministry for economic cooperation and
  development and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) have
  signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a strategic
  partnership to collaborate on renewable energy development and
  energy efficiency initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean,
  the IDB said in a statement.
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NATURAL GAS PRICES IN US EXPECTED TO STAY HIGH

  The Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) in the United States
  predicted on Tuesday that growing demand and flat production would
  keep natural gas prices high this summer.
  --> http://www.energycentral.com/global/news_text.cfm?t=g&id=4916365
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NATSOURCE REPORTS SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN GREENHOUSE GAS TRADING IN 2004

  Natsource LLC announced the completion of its fourth annual
  analysis of the global greenhouse gas (GHG) market
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COUNCIL RESPONDS TO CONCERNS OVER WIND-FARM STORM

  GROWING concern over the visual impact of wind farms on the
  Borders landscape has resulted in new guidelines for future developments.
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U.S. TO NEARLY DOUBLE GAS IMPORTS BY 2025

  The United States will increase natural gas imports from 3.5 to 7
  trillion cubic feet (about 200 billion cubic meters) by 2025, U.S.
  Deputy Energy Secretary Kyle McSlarrow said at a U.S.-Russian
  seminar on liquefied natural gas on Monday.
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Hydro-Québec receives strong response to wind RFP
Canadian utility Hydro-Québec announced that 32 wind project proposals totaling over 4,000 MW were received from nine developers in response to its 1,000-MW request for proposals issued last year.  The company stated that it would analyze and evaluate the proposals in the coming weeks, with a plan to announce the winners in September. The full list of proposed projects is available on Hydro-Québec’s Web site at: <http://www.hydroquebec.com/distribution/fr/marchequebecois/index.html>http://www.hydroquebec.com/distribution/fr/marchequebecois/index.html .
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Renewal of Wind Power Tax Credit Moves a Step Closer to Reality
(UtiliPoint - June 8)
06 08, 2004 - PowerMarketers Industry Publications

The U.S. Senate recently passed a $170 billion corporate tax bill that
included $14 billion in tax incentives for energy producers. A part of these
tax incentives includes the restoration of the wind production tax credit
for another three years. The wind tax credit of 1.8 cents per kilowatt-hour
expired on Dec. 31, 2003, impeding development of new wind power projects
across the nation.

The corporate tax bill includes $9 billion in tax breaks for the oil and gas
industry. It also would encourage the development of an Alaska North Slope
pipeline to transfer natural gas to the continental U.S. by ensuring price
support if the price of natural gas falls below a certain threshold, and
includes other favorable tax treatment for the proposed project. The bill
also contains tax breaks to encourage development of clean coal technology
and renewable fuels.

Next Steps

While the passage of this Senate bill is a good development for wind energy
proponents, it will also need to pass the House of Representatives and
receive the president's approval before it can be implemented. The House
will craft its own version of the corporate tax bill. House Ways and Means
Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA) is expected to finalize his
committee's version of the bill in the next couple of weeks, and could bring
it to the full House for a vote before the July 4th recess.
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An Oil Enigma: Production Falls Even as Reserves Rise
By ALEX BERENSON
NY Times Published: June 12, 2004

Joe Raedle - Getty Images

ChevronTexaco's annual output has been falling almost 15 percent at a time when its proven oil and gas reserves have risen about 14 percent. And that pattern has repeated itself at some other large oil companies.

 For six consecutive years, ChevronTexaco has had good news for anyone worried that the world is running out of oil: the company has found more oil and natural gas than it has produced. Over that time, ChevronTexaco's proven oil and gas reserves have risen 14 percent, more than one billion barrels.

 But near the bottom of ChevronTexaco's financial filings is a much less promising statistic. For each of those years, ChevronTexaco's wells have produced less oil and gas than the year before. Even as reserves have risen, the company's annual output has fallen by almost 15 percent, and the declines have continued recently despite a company promise to increase production in 2002.

 ChevronTexaco is not the only big oil company whose production is falling despite rising reserves, though it has the largest gap. As consumers, economists and governments around the world wonder if oil supplies can keep pace with rising demand, production trends at the industry's publicly traded companies are not promising.

 Collectively, they paint a picture of an industry that has depleted nearly all of the world's easily exploited reserves outside the Middle East and that is now struggling to sustain production, much less increase it. Fears about supply shortfalls and rising demand have already caused prices to climb about 20 percent this year, hovering around $40 a barrel. The four biggest companies own only about 4 percent of the world's reserves, which are mostly government-held, but they offer a unique glimpse of supply trends because they must disclose their reserves and production each year.

 Historically, proven reserves and output have moved in tandem. Industry experts disagree why the relationship has broken down. Although the reserves are only estimates, federal rules require companies to calculate them conservatively.

 Some analysts and the companies themselves take a relatively benign view of the production declines, promising that output will soon rise again as big new projects come online around the globe.
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