What is the next step for Natural Gas in PA and other states Opt-Ed by How a gas boom became a glut- By Louis D. D'Amico

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Source: Opt-Ed by How a gas boom became a glut- By Louis D. D'Amico
Shale gas is shaving bills


Chesapeake to cut natural gas production

Passengers on Pennsylvania's natural-gas roller coaster are advised to check their restraining devices. It's poised to change course again, producing nausea for some and shrieks of joy for others.
A combination of powerful forces - Mother Nature and supply and demand - is going to have at least a short-term impact on natural-gas drilling in the state. Low prices, full storage facilities, reduced use due to a mild winter, and slow-to-rebound industrial demand will likely slow down the industry for at least a year, and more likely longer. The state and the nation are reaching a temporary plateau in the natural-gas boom, with consequences both positive and negative.
What happened? And what's next?
Supply is the leading factor. The shale-gas revolution has outpaced production estimates from just two years ago.
In 2008, Pennsylvania had to import 75 percent of the natural gas it needed each year. The commonwealth was expected to be supplying all its own gas by 2009 and to become an exporter by 2014. But it actually reached that point last year.

At the same time, drilling in other shale formations around the country is also producing immense volumes of gas, adding to the glut.

Demand, meanwhile, remains relatively low. A mild winter gets the short-term blame. Low demand from manufacturing and related gas-intensive industries is having a more sustained impact.

Natural-gas users, of course, are reaping the benefits of prices that have not been this low since 1999. The cost of heating an average home with gas this winter is expected to be about $700, a figure that will likely drop further if the moderate weather continues. This allows people and businesses to save money and spend it elsewhere in the economy.
Though good in that sense, low natural-gas prices are bad for producers, many of whom can't continue to spend money on wells that aren't profitable under current and foreseeable conditions. In the coming months, Pennsylvanians can expect to see fewer Marcellus Shale natural-gas wells drilled, along with a decline in the conventional natural-gas wells that have dotted the state's western counties for decades.
With prices for crude oil around $100 a barrel, conventional producers can be expected to focus on shallow, oil-bearing geologic formations. Horizontal drilling in unconventional formations, meanwhile, will likely move west into Ohio to focus on the Utica Shale formation, which also produces more profitable liquid fuels. Drilling rigs here may be idled or sent to other parts of the country with similarly oil-rich shale formations to wait out the glut, taking with them some of the workers who have migrated here in recent years. The trend could be exacerbated by new fees and regulatory hurdles in Pennsylvania.

These developments have the advantage of allowing the state's educational institutions to train more students and workers for the jobs that will return when natural-gas prices increase. Pipeline and infrastructure construction, which has not kept pace with drilling activity, would also have a chance to catch up.
Given the evidence that natural gas will be available and affordable for many years, more consumers may take the opportunity to convert to the fuel. Conversions of buses, vehicle fleets, and other cars and trucks to compressed natural gas are already picking up considerable momentum. So are permitting and construction of facilities that can use gas to produce the chemical building blocks for auto parts, fertilizers, plastics, and other consumer goods. These plants will take years to build, and they will put thousands of people to work in the process.

As recently as 2007, the price of natural gas was as high as $14 per 1,000 cubic feet, which had terrible repercussions for energy markets and the economy. Prices as low as $2 per 1,000 cubic feet - or, worse, the $1 level some are predicting - are as disruptive, though with different winners and losers.

The development of the Marcellus and Utica shale formations, however, will proceed over a long period, and the volatility of supply, demand, and prices will lessen as time goes on. With that stabilization will come equally stable, long-term economic benefits for Pennsylvania.

CEWA Technologies’ Revolutionary Solar Dish in First Commercial Application - More cost effective??

BETHLEHEM, PA: CEWA Technologies, Inc., Bethlehem, is installing its revolutionary new solar dish in its first commercial application. The structural base for the prototype was erected on the rooftop of the Flat Iron building in Southside Bethlehem on January 14 as its initial test site. This solar dish represents a technological breakthrough because it provides thermal energy at prices that are less than existing technologies, and that are competitive with fossil fuels without relying on government subsidies.

CEWA designs and manufactures point concentrator solar dishes. By using existing materials in new ways and employing a unique design, CEWA’s toroid solar collector prototype can provide 30kW of energy with far greater efficiency than existing solar collectors.

The solar dish is easy to install, operate, and maintain in a wide variety of applications and terrains, and can be aligned much faster than competing dishes. The product can be used for space or process heating, HVAC, or electricity generation. It will be sold to industrial, institutional, and utility customers.

“CEWA’s solar dish will dramatically accelerate the use of solar power throughout the world,” said J. Paul Eisenhuth, Chief Executive Officer of CEWA Technologies. “Our proprietary technology allows solar energy to be cost-competitive with other energy options without government support.”

CEWA received a $146,000 investment from the Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania Alternative Energy Development Program in 2010, another $49,000 Ben Franklin investment through the U.S. Department of Energy in 2011, and is a resident company of Ben Franklin TechVentures®. The company has also received support from the Southside Bethlehem Keystone Innovation Zone and The Stone House Group, Bethlehem. The Stone House Group owns the Flat Iron Building, where the solar dish will be installed, and has provided substantial financial support to the installation.

The KIZ funded CEWA with two $15,000 Technology Transfer Grants, supplied interns, and brokered the deal with the Stone House Group as the first prototype installation. The KIZ also supported the project through testimony before the Bethlehem Historic Preservation Commission and Bethlehem City Council.

“The CEWA project is the first visible step in the development of The Stone House Group's Zero Carbon Neighborhood initiative,” said Larry Eighmy, Principal of The Stone House Group. “We specialize in building stewardship, which includes sustainable design, energy management and renewable energy project development. Future initiatives include a tri-generation system and a biomass co-generator and variable-flow refrigerant HVAC system.”

Ben Franklin clients Dynalene, Inc., Whitehall, and Keystone Automation, Inc., Duryea, are also involved in the project. Dynalene provided a heat-transfer fluid, based on a chemistry derived from renewable materials, which is thermally stable at high temperatures. Keystone Automation, a designer and contract manufacturer of specialized automated equipment, developed and fabricated the mast for the solar dish, which is its supporting structure.

Lehigh University Professor Sudhakar Neti received two grants of $49,500 each that supported research on dish construction and its reflective surface that must perform despite exposure to the elements. These grants were provided under Lehigh's Energy Research Seed and Commercialization Grant programs in collaboration with Lehigh Professor Wojciech Misiolek. The programs were funded by the Commonwealth’s Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority to support application of university talents and technologies in development of Pennsylvania businesses. Neti is a CEWA co-founder, and chairs its board.

“This is an outstanding example of cooperation among companies, economic and community development organizations, higher education, and government to grow local firms that address real market needs,” said Eisenhuth. “These partnerships will allow CEWA to pioneer a game-changing energy technology that will create sustainable jobs right here in Bethlehem.”

B.F. Environmental Inc - supports alternative energy and homegrown energy solutions (training portal)