With all the trouble solar panel manufacturing companies have been having I did not know that a flywheel company was also spinning into the ground. Beacon Power Corp. has filed for bankruptcy protection. The flywheel was to be an energy storage device and the US Department of Energy loan guarantee of $43 million. According to a PennEnergy article the company had revenues of $525,000 for the second quarter. This does not appear to enough revenue to support a $43 million loan. It took Beacon Power about two years to go through the loan money. That is a burn rate of $1,791,000 per month over the loan period. With the revenue for the quarter not even close to this amount it looks like the failure was bound to happen.
IEA Says: US gas exports could converge global prices
Not to say I told you so but from Platts Gas:
US gas exports could converge global prices: IEA deputy chief
Singapore (Platts)–31Oct2011/754 am EDT/1154 GMT
The $10/Mcf premium for natural gas in Asian markets compared with the US could shrink if North American LNG exports become established, the deputy chief of the International Energy Agency said Monday in Singapore.
“If it does happen and the US does become an exporter, that will help bring the global markets together,” said Richard Jones, IEA’s deputy executive director, during the Singapore International Energy Week.
“But that’s a big if. So we don’t really know the answer, but the potential is certainly there for prices around the world to begin converging as the LNG trade grows.” …
I made this observation in my post on October 26th.