April 2007 Energy
Update
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Forest, Inc
Short-Term Energy and
Summer Fuels Outlook April 10, 2007 Release
(Next Update: May 8,
2007)
·
Recent and continuing international
tensions amplify the effects of already tight international petroleum markets as
the summer season (April through September) begins. At the same time,
unanticipated refinery problems in February and March, both in the
·
As a result of tight oil markets
and continued international uncertainty, the price of West Texas Intermediate
(WTI) crude oil is expected to average over $65 per barrel this summer (compared
with $70 per barrel last summer) and average close to $64 per barrel annually
for both 2007 and 2008. However, as we have seen in the recent past,
petroleum prices are subject to significant volatility, particularly when
markets are tight and tensions in oil exporting nations deepen.
·
U.S. retail motor gasoline prices
surged over the last 2 months, rising by more than 60 cents per gallon due to
higher crude oil prices, unplanned refinery outages, increased demand for
gasoline, and low levels of gasoline imports from Europe. Although
gasoline prices began their seasonal increase about a month earlier than usual,
the rapid rate of price increase is projected to slow over the next few
months.
·
During the summer season the
average monthly gasoline pump price is projected to peak at an average of $2.87
per gallon in May, compared with $2.98 per gallon last July. Retail
regular grade motor gasoline prices are projected to average $2.81 per gallon
this summer compared with $2.84 per gallon last summer.
·
Concerns about extreme weather
conditions and rising prices in the oil market will keep upward pressure on the
Henry Hub natural gas spot price during much of the forecast period. On an
annual basis, the Henry Hub spot price is expected to average $7.83 per thousand
cubic feet (mcf) in 2007, an 89-cent increase from the 2006 average, and $8.11
per mcf in 2008.
·
Following large increases in
residential electricity prices during 2006, prices are projected to grow at a
slower rate of 3.0 percent during 2007. Electricity prices are expected to
continue to grow at 3.1 percent during 2008 as higher fuel costs are passed
through to retail customers. Some regions with States in the midst of
electric power restructuring, such as
Spitzer
Proposes Cutting New York Energy Use 15% by 2015
by Martin Z. Braun April 19
(Bloomberg) -- New York
Governor Eliot Spitzer proposed cutting the state's projected electricity
demands by 15 percent in eight years and speeding the construction of new
``clean'' power plants, moves that would reduce energy costs and
improve the environment.
Spitzer said the state Public Service
Commission would provide incentives to utility companies to encourage customers
to conserve power. Proposed legislation would strengthen efficiency standards
for buildings, appliances, and furnaces. The governor also will ask lawmakers to
make it easier for utilities to build new power plants that pollute less.
``The result will be lower energy bills, a
cleaner environment that addresses climate change and thousands of new jobs,
fueled by a new industry born from clean power,'' the Democratic governor said
in a speech at a Crain's Business Breakfast Forum in
Manhattan.
Crude
rallies as Nigerian presidential election
looms
Prices set to
end lower on week as China-demand worry stays in
backdrop
By Myra
P. Saefong & Ciara
Linnane, MarketWatch
Last Update:
11:47 AM ET Apr 20, 2007
But prices were still poised to end
the week lower following a 2% drop in the previous session on worries over the
potential for weaker energy demand out of
Traders expect demand for the
commodity as a heating fuel to wane as temperatures throughout the nation start
to warm up.
May natural gas fell 8.7 cents, or
1.2%, to $7.405 per million British thermal units.
"Cool early spring weather,
maintenance at the nation's nuclear power plants, and the start of the
stock-building season have supported prices recently. Now that these factors
have dissipated, there is really nothing to hold up prices until
air-conditioning loads and concerns about hurricane damage start to build in a
few weeks," said Fimat's Kilduff, in a separate note to clients.
Ontario to
ban sale of inefficient light
bulbs
April Lindgren, CanWest News Service
Published: Wednesday, April 18,
2007
Mr. Duncan said the 87 million
incandescent bulbs in
New
York Natural Gas Declines as Warmer Weather to Trim
Demand
By Geoffrey
Smith
April 20 (Bloomberg) -- Natural gas futures fell in
``A lot of people feel like prices
should be moving lower,'' said Brad Florer, a trader with Kottke Associates Inc.
in
Gas for May delivery dropped 10.6
cents, or 1.4 percent, to $7.386 per million British thermal units at 12:05 p.m.
on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price has tumbled 5.3 percent this
week.
Utilities removed 46 billion cubic
feet out of underground storage caverns last week as cold weather forced them to
tap reserves. It's the latest in the season that stockpiles have posted a weekly
drop since 2000. Utilities typically begin adding to the caverns at this time of
year as mild weather slows demand.
US
FERC approves major Rocky Mountain gas pipeline
project
By Maya
Last Update: 2:24 PM ET Apr 19,
2007
The Rockies Express-West project
consists of three related expansion projects - the Rockies Express project,
Overthrusts' Wamsutter Expansion project and TransColorado's Balnco-Meeker
expansion project - which together carry a price tag of almost $2 million.
The project is one of the largest
FERC Chairman Joseph Kelliher said
that increased access to
Coming
Events:
Developing
Green: Integrating Sustainability with Success
April
23-24, 2007
The Urban Land
Institute’s Developing Green conference explores the latest trends in green and sustainable
development. Green development is surging through the real estate
industry. As market acceptance grows, developers, owners, and tenants are
discovering many advantages of building sustainably and
green.
This conference will
ensure that you are up to date on the latest issues surrounding sustainable
development. You will see how green can be not just financially feasible but
financially preferable. You will learn what makes it work; how it differs from
conventional practices; how your business can benefit from it; how you can
maximize your profit; and just how easy it is to develop
green.
This conference is perfect
for office, mixed-use, hotel, apartment, and residential
developers; suburban and downtown property owners, planners, public officials,
architects, urban designers, and contractors; landscape architects; real estate
market and business consultants; investment bankers and institutional investors;
real estate brokers and real estate lenders.
General
Topics
·
·
Designing Whole Systems to Achieve Sustainability and
Profitability
·
Residential Green: Healthful and Affordable
·
Financing Green Mixed Use Projects
·
Land Use, Transportation and a Sustainable Energy
Future
·
Retrofitting Green: Getting the Biggest Bang for the
Buck
·
Europe and
·
Case Studies: Striving for Sustainable Development by
Adding Up Economy, Community, and Environment
Technical Training for
Effective, Energy-Efficient Lighting
Tuesday, 04/24/2007,
5:00–8:30pm
The
Speaker: Dan
Frering, LC
Organized by: The
New York Energy $martSM Small Commercial Lighting Program and the
Sponsored by:
Location:
Price:
Free
CES LUs: 3, CES HSW: 3, CES PDH: 3, Lighting Certified (LC)
3
Telephone/Fax:
866.698.8177/518.452.2149
Contact: For Pre-Registration forms please
contact us at sclp@icfi.com or (866)698-8177.
More Info: Seating is limited at this
event, so please pre-register early to insure your attendance.
SUSTAINABLE
DESIGN
A panel discussion free and open to
the public
Wednesday, 04/25/2007,
6:00–8:00pm
at The Cooper Union
Sustainable Design, a
panel discussion at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art,
will explore the many ways in which designing environmentally sensitive buildings affect our life
quality, personal health and, in the global perspective, our financial
condition. Moderating the panel will be Bruce Kahn and Jennie Nevin
of Smith Barney Financial Advisors and members of Sustainability Practice
Network. The panelists will examine the long-term benefits of designing green
and the latest sustainable design strategies as well as the financial benefits
and constraints. The event, organized by Lena Imamura,
Sponsored by: The Cooper Union
Location: The Cooper Union, The Great Hall,
7 East 7th Street at Third Avenue, New York, Subways: Astor Place (6), 8th
Street (N, R, W)
17th Annual Regional
Assembly: A Bright and
Green Future
May
4th at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel from 8 a.m. to
2p.m
Regional Plan
Association's 17th Annual Regional Assembly, "A Bright and Green Future: Climate Change, Energy and
Growth in the Tri-State Metropolitan Region" will be held May 4th at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel from 8 a.m. to
2p.m. A downloadable program and registration form is available here:
Regional Assembly
Registration Brochure (PDF
400k)
Zero
Energy Tower, Guangzhou, China
May 8, 2007 • 6:30 PM - 8:00
PM Reception to follow
ROGER FRECHETTE,
Director
of MEP Engineering, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill
LLP
Upon completion, the
Mixed
Greens, a lecture series on sustainable design and
skyscraper urbanism, features leading architects, engineers, and environmental
consultants whose work in Europe, Asia, and the
The series is a collaboration between the
AEE meeting- Grid of the
Future
Where: Cornell
Cooperative Extension,
When: May 15, 2007
/ 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.