Author Archives: AOL Energy

5th Renewable Energy Finance Forum – West

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Originally posted on AOL Energy

Building on the success of the recently held Renewable Energy Finance Forum Wall Street, REFF West convenes it's fifth meeting in San Francisco on September 27-28.

Along with current renewable energy financing trends and advice on how to move projects forward, the agenda has been reconfigured to address the challenging business environment developers face today. New for this year, the conference will feature a session on the role of the U.S. military in the development of renewable energy. The army has set ambitious renewable energy targets that will greatly increase their energy security, but also save significant amounts of money.

Infrastructure financing is another new topic at this year's conference. Industry groups have estimated that replacing and upgrading decaying US energy infrastructure could require anywhere from $75 billion annually to as much as $4 trillion. The thought leaders, developers, financiers and regulators attending REFF West will be discussing this issue and much more.

For more expert analysis, thought leadership and discussions about the top stories in the electricity sector today, visit AOL Energy.

4th Iraq Oil and Gas Summit 2012

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Originally posted on AOL Energy

One of the most important medium-term global oil market factors will be Iraq's production capacity build out and output volumes. The country has the potential to be the largest source of incremental global oil market supply in the coming years, but this outcome hinges on a complex web of factors that will be discussed at the 4th Iraq Oil and Gas Summit to be held in Houston this September.

And while Iraqi oil developments monopolize most of the headlines, the country's critically important natural gas industry often flies under the radar. However, gas will increasingly be needed to fire electrical power plants as Iraq's population increases and requires air conditioning, gas-intensive industry jobs, desalinated water and more.

At the same time, natural gas is needed to maintain pressure at producing oil fields and help coax the remaining crude from fields experiencing natural output decline rates, so valuable oil can be exported. Baghdad's fiscal requirements are heavily dependent on oil revenue. All this means the country will need enormous volumes of natural gas developed at great expense by companies that are often more attracted to developing oil.

These topics along with the technical details required to navigate Iraq's challenging investment climate will be discussed at the summit. Specifically, the following topics will be covered:

  • The Present Iraqi Organizational Structure and The Role of Government through the Ministry of Oil
  • Investing in Iraq
  • Prospects for Investments and Projects in the Iraqi Hydrocarbon Sector
  • Iraq Petroleum Contracts and Licensing Regulations
  • Challenges Facing Iraq's Crude Oil Production Industry
  • The Future of the Iraqi Oil and Gas Industry
  • Downstream Development Strategies

For more expert analysis, thought leadership and discussions about the top stories in the electricity sector today, visit AOL Energy.

Webinar: The Outlook for Biofuels in China

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Originally posted on AOL Energy

As oil imports and private vehicle ownership march steadily upward in China, the attractiveness of biofuels increases. The country is pursuing everything from algae to biodiesel in its effort to power its economy and increase energy security.

An urgent need to protect sea lanes makes military applications another potentially large Chinese alternative fuel market.

Major international private sector players like Boeing, DuPont, Coskata, Novozymes, and Honeywell UOP are already moving forward in China, partnering with large domestic concerns like COFCO, PetroChina, and Air China.

The American Council on Renewable Energy's US-China Program invites you to a roundtable of a select group of industry experts for a robust discussion on these trends in the Chinese biofuels sector. Topics covered will include:

  • What policies and subsidies the government will use to meet its biofuel targets
  • The role of existing policies in supporting the industry and what future policies to expect
  • The outlook on areas of cooperation for private and state-owned players
  • How aviation biofuels can play a role in shaping the industry

For more expert analysis, thought leadership and discussions about the top stories in the electricity sector today, visit AOL Energy.

Green Data Centre Conference & Exhibition | London UK

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Originally posted on AOL Energy by Jared Anderson

Optimizing facilities to be more energy efficient saves money and can help corporations meet sustainability targets. Data centers are one area where significant energy saving improvements can often be made and the Green Data Centre Conference and Exhibition offers data center managers and engineers an opportunity to lean about the latest innovations in the rapidly changing sector.

The event provides an intimate setting within which to network and share ideas with roughly 100 peers, experts and thought leaders. Here are a few of the topics that will be discussed:

  • Determine best practices necessary for the continued success of your data centre operations and management - including metrics, measurement and metering insights and evaluations
  • Examine the financial complexities of the data centre including budgeting, financing and real estate considerations
  • Discuss the risk vs. rewards and determine the realities vs. the hype of cloud computing and how it affects the data centre

For more expert analysis, thought leadership and discussions about the top stories in the electricity sector today, visit AOL Energy.

2nd Annual Hydro Plant Maintenance & Reliability Conference

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The hydro industry has generally attracted the least attention of all energy types, and yet it remains one of the most vital and - increasingly - one of the most popular new forms of generation in fast-growing regions like Latin American.

Hydro is reliable both in terms of power generation and in returns it can provide investors, which has made it popular for banks seeking investments in renewable generation but increasingly shy of unpredictable outcomes from solar and wind projects.

Hydro is not often associated with innovation, although that is changing as micro-hydro, wave and tidal technology, and hydro upgrades have become more popular. Leaders in maintenance and reliability are taking leadership roles in setting the agenda for hydroelectric facilities planning to operate well beyond their original permitted lives, and their input at this meeting could help set the pace for improvements as well as the generation's resulting popularity with both the general public and within the energy business.

2nd Annual Hydro Plant Maintenance & Reliability Conference

For more expert analysis, thought leadership and discussions about the top stories in the electricity sector today, visit AOL Energy.