Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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Last year, virtually all new electricity generation in the United States came from natural gas and renewables like solar and wind. At first glance it appears these energy sources are winning the marketplace, but that’s hardly the whole story. Yes, the shale revolution has led to an abundance of low-cost natural gas, and the prices of solar and wind energy have continued to fall. But electricity markets are being manipulated by out-of-market subsidies and mandates. Tax credits and renewable portfolio standards are making a m...
The most telling thing about the sharp swings in gasoline prices is that the United States is still beholden to Saudi Arabia despite the shale boom. That reflects the fundamental risk of continuing to rely on gasoline cars. However many of us don’t want to switch gears and replace conventional models we have been driving for many years, there’s a widening sense of unease that several types of geopolitical risks are rising all at once — volatility in some major oil-producing countries, unpredictable fuel costs, and deman...
We’re now getting an idea of just how expensive shutting down coal plants can be. A study by IHS Markit, an energy research firm, shows that higher electricity prices resulting from a loss of fuel diversity, due in large part to the shutdown of coal plants, could lead to the loss of 1 million jobs, the loss of $158 billion to the nation’s economy, and the loss of $845 in disposable income for every American household per year. The shutdown of coal plants is already costing Americans dearly. From 2007 to 2016, 531 coal uni...
New Mexico prospers on the new and innovative. Oil and natural gas production in shale formations has given us both. Starting about a decade ago, producers began to unlock massive new supplies of oil and gas from shale basins, using hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, allowing the oil and gas to flow. This had led to a remarkable increase in U.S. energy production. Thanks in large part to shale production in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico, U.S. oil production last year reached its highest level in 14...
Over the past decade, a revolution in the U.S. gas industry has clouded the outlook for coal in the production of electricity. Coal’s share of the nation’s power supply has tumbled from more than 50 percent to 30 percent today. But don’t count out coal. The real question is not how many coal plants will be shuttered in the next few years, but rather can the decline be slowed? An estimated 17,000 megawatts of coal-based power is slated for retirement this year. What does the future hold at this pace of capacity loss? A littl...
Oil and natural gas production is surging in New Mexico and nationally. But there’s a hidden danger lurking in the shadows: divestment. Over the past decade, critics of the petroleum industry have mounted a “keep-it-in-the-ground” campaign as a way of demonstrating their concern with climate change. But the campaign, which began in New England, has evolved into a national movement. Its leaders like Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and environmentalist Bill McKibben are urging corporations, universities, foundations, and faith-b...
There is no overstating the extent to which the United States is quickly becoming over-dependent on one fuel for production of electricity — natural gas. This growing reliance exposes consumers of natural gas and electricity to the risk of sudden spikes in prices — and a loss of reliability. Parts of the country that depend on natural gas for more than 50 percent of their electricity (New England, Florida and California) have already had warnings of potential power shortages. The underlying cause has been all but ign...
To many skeptics, the decline in America’s oil and gas production more than a decade ago — and rising dependence on OPEC imports — demonstrated the energy industry’s shaky future. Fast forward to today. Thanks to the development of shale deposits using hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, the United States is now the world’s leading producer of oil and natural gas. According to the Energy Information Administration, the number of drilling rigs is basically flat, but production continues to increase in shale for...
Low fuel efficiency, high cost, engine corrosion, rising food prices, world famine, prairie grassland losses, and sinking water tables — these are some of the unintended consequences that the government’s ethanol mandate has spawned in recent years. Now, a coalition of consumer advocates, conservationists, oil companies, grocery manufacturers, and humanitarian advocates is urging Congress to roll back the renewable fuels standard (RFS), which was adopted in 2007 with the goal of reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil. A dec...
