Category Archives: US Manufacturing Companies

Bloom Box Surcharge Increases 570%, Stunning Delaware Utility Customers

Posted on August 28, 2013 | Leave a comment

In 2012 the Governor of the State of Delaware, Jack Markel, entered into a long-term contract with Bloom Energy.  The contract obligated Bloom to begin manufacturing their “Bloom Boxes” in the closed Chrysler Assembly plant.  Delaware was obligated to subsidize Bloom to the tune of the difference of the cost of the electricity produced by Bloom Boxes and the cost of open market electricity.  That subsidy rose from $0.67 in October 2012 to $3.83 for September 2013, a 570% increase, where it increases each ratepayers month’s bill. Delaware has mandated a requirement to buy renewable energy produced electricity that grows to 25% of the total energy used in the State by 2025.  The open market electricity price has been dropping due to the increased availability  of  natural gas from fracking operations around the Nation. The natural gas is becoming the major source of energy for producing electricity.   Natural gas is not considered a “renewable” form of energy.  But the State passed an exception to their renewable energy law that allows  Bloom Box energy  to be called “renewable” even though these boxes use natural gas as their energy source.  The irony here is that the electricity  produced using natural gas the standard way, the electricity is much less expensive than electricity produced by Bloom Boxes.   But remember, the State has a law  that demands the use of “renewable” energy produced electricity.

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Posted in AGW, Alternative Energy, Batteries, Climate Alarmism, Domestic Energy, Electric Vehicles, Electricity, fossil fuels, fuel cells, Renewable Energy, solar cells, US Manufacturing Companies

May 2013 EV Sales Update and Price-Cutting Is The New Normal

Posted on June 21, 2013 | Leave a comment

Yes, I am really late in posting this info.  None-the-less, here is the data.

Nissan Leaf had a big May selling 2,138 vehicles. Their second best month all time behind March’s 2,236 Leafs sold.  Year to date sales are 7,614.

Volt May sales were 1,607 with year to date sales of 7,157 putting Volt in second place behind the Leaf.

It is reported that Chevy dealers have more than 9,000 Volts in inventory.  With the 2014 soon to be in the show rooms, the dealers need to sell the 2013 model inventory.

Price-cutting going on across the board

Fewer sales than needed and California’s requirement that all major makers must offer a minimum number of “zero emission vehicles” are pushing the manufacturers to cut prices.

Nissan reduced the price of the Leaf by 18%, or $6,000, when it launched a new, stripped-down model at the beginning of the year.

The Detroit Bureau.com says:

A California buyer can now purchase a Chevrolet Volt for as little as $28,495.  The base price for the plug-in is $39,995 but all buyers qualify for $4,000 off on a 2013 model and $5,000 off for a 2012 Volt. They also can get an extra $1,000 if they are currently leasing a non-GM vehicle. Meanwhile, the federal government provides a $7,500 tax credit while the state kicks in another $1,500.

Chevrolet also is now reducing lease pricing for the Volt to $269 a month for 36 months, with a $2,399 downpayment. 

Recently, a posting maintained that GM had to sell the Volt for about $75,000 to break even.  How long can they keep the Volt line going at this rate?

Detroit Bureau also reports that the Honda Fit EV’s will reduce the lease pricing from $389 to $259 a month, and customers will no longer face mileage limitations.

Clearly the price-cutting reflects the lack of enthusiasm by the US population for these vehicles.   The manufacturers of the vehicles are likely to be operating at a loss on each car.  The government (and thus the average tax payer) is spending a lot of money on an idea that is not showing signs of capturing the public’s imagination.

cbdakota

 

 

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Posted in Batteries, Electric Vehicles, Environment, EPA, fossil fuels, Government Regulations, Personal Automobiles, US Auto Manufacturers, US Manufacturing Companies

Steep Depreciation Rates For EVs A Serious Problem

Posted on June 21, 2013 | Leave a comment

According to the National Automobile Dealers Association the used plug-in electric vehicles depreciate at a 30% rate that is the highest depreciation of any vehicle segment in the American automotive market. For other vehicles, according to Carsdirect.com: “New cars depreciate about 20% the moment you drive them off the lot.”   Then the depreciation is about 15% per year for the second and third year and less in subsequent years.

TheDetroitBureau.com says:

“The steep rate of depreciation for used plug-in electric vehicles can be attributed to limited range, manufacturer incentives and federal tax credits intended to offset the higher prices of new plug-in electric vehicles,” said Jonathan Banks, executive automotive analyst for the NADA Used Car Guide.

If the forecasted decline continues, it could be a serious problem for both manufacturers struggling to boost demand for their latest plug-in hybrids and pure battery-electric vehicles, as well as federal and state government officials who have been using financial incentives to help promote the technologies.

 Another ominous sign for the EV business.

cbdakota

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Posted in AGW, Alternative Energy, Batteries, CAFE Standards, Electric Vehicles, fossil fuels, Government Regulations, Personal Automobiles, Renewable Energy, US Manufacturing Companies

CONGRATULATIONS!! Some Rich Californian Thanks You For Helping Pay For His New Tesla

Posted on May 27, 2013 | 2 comments

Now the Tesla is a sweet looking car with some impressive stats.  Perhaps not as good as advertised, see this posting, but still right up there with the best.
teslamodelcimages
 And while you may not be able to afford one—early models went for over $109,000 and the new S model goes for about $70,000—some people, wealthy ones anyway, are buying them.  Tesla sold an estimated 9,650 S models by the end of April this year. Things are going so well that Tesla made a profit in the first quarter.

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Posted in AGW, Batteries, carbon tax, CO2, Electric Vehicles, Energy Development, fossil fuels, Government Regulations, Government Revenues, Personal Automobiles, Renewable Energy, US Auto Manufacturers, US Manufacturing Companies

Volt & Leaf April Sales

Posted on May 1, 2013 | Leave a comment

It would appear that the Leaf’s Tennessee manufacturing facility is having a positive effect on sales.  In April the Leaf sold 1,937 vehicles versus Volt’s 1,306.    Year-to-date sales are Leaf = 5,476 and Volt = 5,550.  Very close with the Leaf sales really picking-up in the past two months.
The Green Car Report is estimating Tesla Model C sales in April at 2250 to 2500, making it the biggest seller.  Tesla does not report monthly sales so this figure is subject to change.
For the other plug-ins in the sales race,  The Green Car Report offers the following:
Tiny Battery Cars
As for the Mitsubishi i-MiEV, a flurry of sales in January and February that averaged almost 300 cars each month ended in March.
April sales of 127 cars improved on the dismal March number of 31 cars sold, but it remains unclear if the electric minicar will remain above its historic rate of about 50 cars a month.
Finally, either this month or next, the 2013 Smart Electric Drive–the lowest-priced plug-in car in the country–will go on sale, adding to this year’s totals as well.
 
Plug-in hybrids: chugging along
The Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid was last year’s second best-selling plug-in car, but it’s been on a downward trend this year.
In April, just 599 were delivered, for a year-to-date total of 2,952. That’s the lowest monthly sales number since the very first month the plug-in Prius went on sale, in March 2012.
The 2014 Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid logged 55 deliveries in April, more than its total of 45 deliveries in the three months since it went on sale in January. Sales are rising as Honda cautiously rolls out its first-ever plug-in hybrid vehicle in California.
Sales are looking up but Obama’s 2011 State of The Union target of 1,000,000 EVs on the road by 2015 wont be achieved.  Obama has since backed off on that promise, but just for the record , I post it again to remind you how “hopey changey”  fades in the face of reality.
cbdakota

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Posted in Alternative Energy, Batteries, Electric Vehicles, fossil fuels, Green Jobs, Personal Automobiles, US Manufacturing Companies

Why Has The Price Of Gasoline Gone Up.

Posted on March 5, 2013 | 1 comment

The US Department of Energy’s Energy Information Agency (EIA) says that the recent rise in gasoline prices was due in part to an increase in the cost of crude oil and the “crack price spread”. The average U.S. retail price for regular motor gasoline is up about 45 cents per gallon since the start of 2013, reaching $3.75 per gallon on February 18.  Crack price spread is defined as: “Crack spreads are differences between wholesale petroleum product prices and crude oil prices. These spreads are often used to estimate refining margins. Crack spreads are a simple measure based on one or two products produced in a refinery (usually gasoline and distillate fuel). They do not take into consideration all refinery product revenues and exclude refining costs other than the cost of crude oil.”

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Posted in Domestic Energy, fossil fuels, Off Shore Resources, Oil and Gas Exploration, Personal Automobiles, US Manufacturing Companies

2012 Volt and Leaf Sales

Posted on January 4, 2013 | Leave a comment

The 2012 Volt sales were 23,461 which surpassed by a wide margin the 2011 sales of 7,671.  As reported, Californians were responsible for more than half of the 2012 sales. The HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lanes now allow the Volt even if there is only one person in the vehicle.  Initially, the Volt emission levels weren’t low enough when operating on gasoline to qualify for driving in the HOV lanes. This problem was corrected. If you have ever driven in California, you know just how packed roads can be out there.

My wife and I have been driving South several times a year. We use the HOV lanes when driving south out of Washington, DC, around Charlotte, North Carolina and through downtown Atlanta, Georgia.  Two things are noticeable;  one is that we hardly have to slow down from normal interstate driving speeds and  the other is that ours is often the only vehicle in the HOV lane. The vast, and I mean vast majority of the cars, trucks, etc, have only one person in the them. I can understand the allure that driving in the HOV lane must have in Los Angles.

In addition GM worked up an attractive leasing program for the Volt.  According to Money.CNN website:”….. the Volt has also been helped by aggressive leasing incentives offered in 2012. Last year, GM was offering the car for $289 a month with a $2,800 down payment. That was far less than a car with the Volt’s nearly $40,000 purchase price would ordinarily lease for, even factoring in a $7,500 plug-in car tax credit.”

The Nissan Leaf improved over last years sales by about 1.5% with total 2012 sales of about 9,800 vehicles.

The sales of the Volt,  along with the Toyota Prius are the most successful hybrids on the market, are really not that impressive when you consider  2012 total vehicle sales in the US of 14.5 million. EVs, like the Leaf, are even less impressive.  My guess is that gasoline prices are not going to skyrocket in the near term because of the continued world-wide recession and the introduction of a lot of new fossil fuels from fracking.  Low fuel prices will depress hybrid and EV sales.  And one has to wonder how long GM will be willing to subsidize the Volt.

cbdakota

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Posted in Alternative Energy, Batteries, Electric Vehicles, Environment, fossil fuels, Fracking/Shale Gas, Green Jobs, Personal Automobiles, US Manufacturing Companies

President Obama’s War On Fossil Fuels Slips Into High Gear

Posted on November 28, 2012 | Leave a comment

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) summarizes some major Obama Administration regulations (economically significant rules that impose annual costs of $100 million or more) that are soon to be released.  These are largely rules written earlier this year but held up because they were potential liabilities for the Obama presidential campaign.  Now that he has won re-election,  its Katy bar the door.  This posting will feature those that affect energy.  There are others that will also have a very big impact such as Obamacare.  The WSJ’s summary of those can be seen by clicking here.   
The Obama Administration’s war on fossil fuels goes on.  Fracking is not safe even though it has the potential of lifting the economy out of the dole drums.  One has to wonder where the President’s priorities lie.  Is it bring about a recovery or to bring about a socialist state?
The WSJ Energy Rules Summary: 
 
• Energy. In the lead-up to November, the Environmental Protection Agency stood down under White House pressure, delaying rules for ozone air quality and industrial boilers, and deferring carbon standards. Now EPA chief Lisa Jackson has the run of the place.
She will resume the Administration’s anti-carbon agenda through “new source performance standards,” which will set greenhouse gas emissions for new power plants so low as to prevent their construction. Look for this early in 2013.
She’ll follow with standards for “existing” sources that make coal-fired plants uneconomic to run. Inside of a decade, Ms. Jackson may wipe out what used to make up more than half of U.S. power generation. Environmentalists will write books about it, even if her agenda has received almost no public scrutiny or debate.
The oil and gas industry is also targeted, hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in particular. The EPA has already issued a rule on shale production emissions and has one coming on diesel fuel in fracking. The Interior Department is promulgating rules on fracking on federal lands, and other rules can’t be far behind, probably using the pretext of drinking water under the Clean Water Act.
The EPA’s sleeper issue is the National Enforcement Initiatives agenda, which is designed to use the agency’s existing legal powers for inspections, requests for information, penalties and so forth to make new de facto rules. The EPA now blackmails businesses into “super compliance,” or settlements far more stringent than the law requires, or else risk years of expensive litigation.
 
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Posted in AGW, Alternative Energy, cap and trade, Domestic Energy, Energy Development, Environment, fossil fuels, Fracking/Shale Gas, Government Regulations, US Manufacturing Companies

State By State Study Shows Unconventional Gas Is A Major Boon For The US Economy

Posted on September 5, 2012 | Leave a comment

A  previous posting, “Fracked Natural Gas Changing The US Economy”,  discussed the impact that fracked gas (aka, shale gas) is having and will continue to have on employment, investment, natural gas (NG) price (current and future), and Governmental Income in the US.  That discussion was based upon a study by IHS Global Insight that they released in December, 2011, This posting will review the details of a new IHS study released in June 2012 which totals all the sources of  unconventional NG— shale gas, tight sands gas and coal bed methane—and projects the total impact these unconventional NG sources have on the Nation and each of the lower 48 States plus DC.

There are 20 States in the lower 48 that are considered unconventional NG producers.  In addition to the TOP 10 employment producers shown in the chart below, the other ten are Alabama, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Virginia and West Virginia,  The other 28 plus DC are considered non-producers of unconventional NG.

Let’s begin with employment resulting from the exploitation of the unconventional NG. 

TOP 10 UNCONVENTIONAL OIL PROUDUCING STATES
 EMPLOYMENT CONTRIBUTION  
Number of Workers    
 

2010

2015

2035
State      
Texas

288,222

385,318

682,740
Louisiana

81,022

124,782

200,555
Colorado

77,466

126,525

127,843
Pennsylvania

56,884

111,024

270,058
Arkansas

36,698

53,919

79,723
Wyoming

34,787

45,763

78,792
Ohio

31,462

41,366

81,349
Utah

30,561

36,593

50,839
Oklahoma

28,315

41,763

69,261
Michigan

28,063

37,926

63,380
       
Top 10 total

693,481

1,004,979

1,704,541
Prod States

826,355

1,195,346

2,007,902
       
US Total

1,008,658

1,463,450

2,438,877
 

 

 

 

The order of ranking is based upon the 2010 employment numbers. I have a little trouble with the display as it uses numbers down to the single digits out of millions; however, it does not take away from the forecast of an impressive growth rate.  The “US Total” includes the induced jobs in the non-producing States that benefit from the low-priced plentiful NG.   

IHS uses the following system to develop their results: The analysis of unconventional gas development and its contribution to the US regional economies was conducted using a top-down/bottom-up approach. The contribution was assessed separately for direct, indirect, and induced contributions defined as follow:

• Contributions of unconventional gas are those activities required to explore, produce, transport, and deliver natural gas to consumers or to provide critical supplies or onsite services that support unconventional gas activity.

• Contributions are defined as activities in outside industries that supply equipment, material and services for the development of unconventional gas and its tier suppliers.

• Contributions are the economic effects caused by workers spending their wages and salaries on consumer goods and household items.

Their study forecasts that nearly $3.2 trillion in investments will be made to  develop  unconventional gas  between 2010 and 2035.

The following IHC charts show other effects from their study,

 

CONTRIBUTION TO GOVERNMENT REVENUE
         
        $ million  
   

2010

2015

2035

 2010to2035
Producing States

28,034

41,090

71,806

1,255,034
Non-Producing States

5,758

8,246

13,317

243,701
           
US Total  

33,793

49,335

85,123

1,498,734

These monies in this chart are derived from the expected Federal, State and Local tax revenues and from royalty payments.  The last column is the cumulative no. of dollars for the period 2010 to 2035.

US VALUE ADDED      
      $Millions  
   

2010

2015

2035
         
Producing States

118,077

174,037

295,897
Non-Producing States

15,328

22,479

35,831
         
US Total  

135,405

196,516

331,831
     

 

 

 

IHC defines this chart as follows: The commonly used measure of GDP, which is simply the sum of the value added across all products and services produced in the United States, is generally considered the broadest measure of the health of the US economy. Value added to US GDP is defined as the sum of labor incomes, corporate profits, indirect business taxes paid, and depreciation. Annual value added to GDP from unconventional gas activities was more than $133 billion in 2010 and, by 2015, is projected to approach $200 billion. The majority of the value added to GDP—nearly 90%—over the 25-year forecast horizon is generated by unconventional gas production activities that take place in the 20 producing states.

IHC concludes that: Unconventional gas activity is expected to make a significant contribution to all of the economies of the lower 48 states over the next 25 years. Traditional oil and gas producing states like Texas and Louisiana will continue to lead the way in terms of their absolute contributions to the US economy. But many new and emerging energy states will drive much of the growth in the coming years, and the economic activity generated by this increase in unconventional gas activity will also reach well beyond the traditional unconventional producing states.

The full report can be seen by clicking here.

cbdakota

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Posted in AGW, Alternative Energy, Domestic Energy, Energy Development, Fracking/Shale Gas, Government Revenues, Oil and Gas Exploration, Peak Oil, US Manufacturing Companies

Fracked Natural Gas Changing The US Economy

Posted on August 25, 2012 | 2 comments

According to a recent report issued(12/2011) by IHC  Global Insight**, shale gas (fracked natural gas) has changed the US energy outlook and the economy.   In 2010, shale gas provided 27% of the US natural gas (NG).  IHC forecasts that by 2035, shale gas will provide 60% of the US NG production.  Without the shale gas, a NG supply shortage would have necessitated the importation of liquefied natural gas(LNG). Today’s price of somewhere around $3 to $4 per million BTUs would likely be in the range of $10 to $12 per million Btus if importation had been necessary.  Longer term,  IHC forecasts 2035 NG price at $7.90 per million Btus (All values in their report are in constant 2010 dollars.) thanks to shale gas.

 The job creation due to shale gas has been outstanding and IHC forecasts continued increases in jobs.   IHC reports that shale gas, by 2010, had supported over 600,000 jobs.  They forecast jobs to grow to 1.6 million by 2035.   

There are other benefits as well.  In 2010 the industry contributed $18.6 billion in governmental tax revenues and royalty payments.  By 2035 the cumulative contribution of taxes and royalties are forecast to be $933 billion.   Additionally,  the capital expenditures made between 2010 and 2035 are forecast at $1.9 trillion.

In the future, electricity prices are forecast to drop by 10%  and parts of the chemical industry will be revived.  Our domestic industries will become more competitive because of the lower cost of natural gas as feedstock and NG’s impact on electrical cost.

Although there will be some redundancy relative to the preceding discussion,  the Key Findings page for IHCs report “The Economic and Employment Contributions of Shale Gas in the United States” is an excellent summary.  It follows:

• By 2010, shale gas had grown to 27% of total US natural gas production, and by September 2011,it had reached 34%.

• By 2015, that share will grow to 43% and will more than double, reaching 60%, by 2035.

• Nearly $1.9 trillion in shale gas capital investments are expected between 2010 and 2035.

• Capital expenditures are especially strong in the near future, growing from $33 billion in 2010 to $48 billion by 2015.

• In 2010, the shale gas industry supported 600,000 jobs; this will grow to nearly 870,000 in 2015 and to over 1.6 million by 2035.

Growth in the shale gas industry will make significant contributions to the broader economy in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and tax revenues:

• The shale gas contribution to GDP was more than $76 billion in 2010. This will increase to $118 billion by 2015 and will triple to $231 billion in 2035.

• In 2010 shale gas production contributed $18.6 billion in federal, state and local government tax and federal royalty revenues. By 2035, these receipts will more than triple to just over $57 billion. On a cumulative basis, the shale industry will generate more than $933 billion in federal, state, and local tax and royalty revenues over the next 25 years.

• The extent of job and GDP contributions reflect the capital intensity of the shale gas industry, the ability to source inputs from within the United States, the nature of the supply chain, and the quality of the jobs created.

The growth of shale gas is leading to lower natural gas and electric power prices and increased productivity:

• The full-cycle cost of shale gas produced from wells drilled in 2011 is 40-50% less than the cost of gas from conventional wells drilled in 2011.

• Without shale gas production, reliance on high levels of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports would influence US natural gas prices, causing them to increase by at least 100%.

• The lower natural gas prices achieved with shale gas production will result in an average reduction of 10% in electricity costs nationwide over the forecast period.

• By 2017, lower prices will result in an initial impact of 2.9% higher industrial production. By 2035, industrial production will be 4.7% higher.

• Chemicals production in particular stands to benefit from an extended period of low natural gas prices, as it uses natural gas as a fuel source and feedstock. Chemicals producers have already signaled their intentions to increase US capacity.

• Savings from lower gas prices will add an annual average of $926 per year in disposable household income between 2012 and 2015. In 2035, this would increase to just over $2,000 per household.

 

 It is well worth your reading the full report which can be accessed by clicking here. It is intended that the next posting reviews the IHC report on unconv entional gas’s c ontributions by State.  That posting is to be followed by a look at a similar report by the Bookings Institute on Green Jobs.

cbdakota

**IHS  Global Insight is one of the world’s leading economic analysis and forecasting firms.

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted in AGW, Alternative Energy, Domestic Energy, Energy Development, Environment, fossil fuels, Green Jobs, Oil and Gas Exploration, US Companies Manufacturing, US Manufacturing Companies