Energy Insight News for Thursday, January 10, 2002
Wave power debuts in North America

Two separate ocean-wave power initiatives on the western North American
coastline suggest this novel technology may be poised to make inroads into
previously skeptical markets. 

In the US, plans are underway to build a 1-MW offshore demonstration project
near Neah Bay in Washington State. The project developer is start-up company
AquaEnergy Group, Ltd. The local Clallam public utility district has
committed to purchasing the power from the Makah Nation (a North American
Indian tribe), which will own and operate the development when completed. 

"Once this permitting and development precedent has been set, we believe
offshore wave power has the potential to satisfy 5% to 10% of total US power
demand within 20 years," said Alla Weinstein, CEO of AquaEnergy. 

Farther north, BC Hydro intends to develop up to 4 MW of ocean wave power as
part of a broader plan to install 20 MW of renewable energy generation on
Vancouver Island, British Columbia. 

"This is not an R&D exercise for us," said Brenda Goehring, spokesperson for
BC Hydro. "If this turns out to be a viable resource, the potential is huge
for North America." 

Supporting this potential, according to wave power proponents, is that this
novel renewable offers some advantages over other green power sources. 

For example, relative to other intermittent renewables, the energy in waves
is somewhat predictable. Historical seasonal data on wave and tidal
movements are available, and waves travel long distances, making it possible
to calculate their arrival time. 

"Plus, if there is excess energy, the devices can be used for other purposes
such as water desalinization," added Weinstein. In some areas, a new supply
of fresh water would be a valuable ancillary benefit of power generation. 

Wave projects also offer the potential to support local economies. "This is
not like wind power where you have to buy a large turbine from Denmark, for
example," said Goehring. "These are small-scale devices that can be
manufactured and managed locally. It's a new opportunity for regional
industry." 

The proposed projects should help to define the permitting requirements and
perfect the technology, thereby paving the way for commercial applicability,
if they prove to be cost-competitive. Equally important, these efforts may
pique the interest of elected officials and the investment community. Read
the entire story at http://www.energyinsight.com. 
Also, catch the latest news headlines on Energy Insight Executive, updated
twice daily.
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Market Brief    Wednesday, January 9            	
Stocks  Close   Change  % Change	
DJIA    10,094.09       (56.5)  -0.56%	
DJ 15 Util.     291.79  (0.5)   -0.16%	
NASDAQ  2,044.89        (10.84) -0.53%	
S&P 500 1,155.14        (5.6)   -0.48%	
                        	
Market Vols     Close   Change  % Change	
AMEX (000)      159,248 24,574.0        18.25%	
NASDAQ (000)    2,303,936       441,395.0       23.70%	
NYSE (000)      1,455,040       212,660.0       17.12%	
                        	
Commodities     Close   Change  % Change	
Crude Oil (Feb) 20.27   (0.98)  -4.61%	
Heating Oil (Feb)       0.54    (0.030) -5.18%	
Nat. Gas (Henry)        2.249   (0.051) -2.22%	
Propane (Feb)   29.00   (1.25)  -4.13%	
Palo Verde (Feb)        23.50   (1.25)  -5.05%	
COB (Feb)       23.00   (1.75)  -7.07%	
PJM (Feb)       25.75   (1.80)  -6.53%	
                        	
Dollar US $     Close   Change  % Change	
Australia $     1.905   (0.003) -0.16%	
Canada $        1.60    0.002   0.13%	
Germany Dmark   2.20    0.007   0.32%	
Euro    0.8895  (0.002) -0.27%	
Japan ?en     132.6   (0.200) -0.15%	
Mexico NP       9.2     0.020   0.22%	
UK Pound        0.6963  0.0014  0.20%	
                        	
Foreign Indices Close   Change  % Change	
Arg MerVal      343.22  0.00    0.00%	
Austr All Ord.  3,354.90        (9.30)  -0.28%	
Braz Bovespa    14020.79        (146.79)        -1.04%	
Can TSE 300     7775.80 (6.20)  -0.08%	
Germany DAX     5288.21 51.84   0.99%	
HK HangSeng     11440.72        (272.99)        -2.33%	
Japan Nikkei 225        10663.98        (31.62) -0.30%	
Mexico IPC      6560.58 (80.56) -1.21%	
UK FTSE 100     5,228.50        (21.90) -0.42%	
                        	
Source:  Yahoo!, TradingDay.com and NYMEX.com                   	
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Executive News
Working gas in storage at 81 percent: AGA
Last week's U.S. gas storage withdrawal of 190 Bcf--higher than most
industry expectations--exceeded the same-week withdrawal last year for the
first time this winter. The American Gas Association (AGA) reported
Wednesday that for the week ending Jan. 4, working gas in storage nationwide
totaled 2.666 Tcf, or 80.9% of capacity. The surplus over the year-ago
figure fell by 23 Bcf to 1.104 Tcf, while the surplus over the five-year
average declined 73 Bcf to 542 Bcf. AGA's five-year average showed a
withdrawal of 117 Bcf and an average working-gas volume of 2.124 Tcf. In the
same week a year ago, 167 Bcf was withdrawn to lower working gas to 1.562
Tcf, 47% of capacity. Two years ago, 111 Bcf was withdrawn to lower storage
to 2.326 Tcf, 72% of capacity.

Three years ago, withdrawal of 158 Bcf reduced storage volumes to 2.645 Tcf,
81% of capacity. Four years ago, withdrawal of 131 Bcf brought storage down
to 2.039 Tcf, 64% of capacity. And five years ago, withdrawal of 15 Bcf
lowered storage to 2.049 Tcf, 64% of capacity. Working gas last week dropped
60 Bcf in the producing region, to 777 Bcf (350 Bcf a year ago), 123 Bcf in
the consuming region east, to 1.482 Tcf (935 Bcf a year ago), and 7 Bcf in
the consuming region west, to 407 Bcf (277 Bcf a year ago). Regionally,
working-gas levels as a percentage of full capacity were 81.5% in the
producing region (down from 87.8% the previous week); 80.8% in the consuming
region east (down from 87.5%); and 80.4% in the consuming region west (down
from 81.8%).


OPEC production falls in December
OPEC produced 25.83-mil b/d of crude in December, down 970,000 b/d from
November's 26.8-mil b/d, a Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials
showed Wednesday. The large month-to-month fall was due largely to Iraq,
whose exports fell considerably in December. Excluding Iraq, which does not
have an OPEC quota, the other ten members pumped an average 23.81-mil b/d, a
190,000 b/d decrease on their November average of 24-mil b/d which left them
599,000 b/d above their self-imposed 23.201- mil b/d output ceiling. That
ceiling was superseded at the beginning of January by a new lower ceiling of
21.701-mil b/d following OPEC's Dec 28 meeting in Cairo, Egypt, at which
ministers decided to implement the 1.5-mil b/d cut agreed in November and
made conditional on a combined cut of 500,000 b/d from non-OPEC producers.

To subscribe to our Executive News Service, which is updated twice daily,
log on to http://www.energyinsight.com, or contact Platt's Direct Response
Team at 1-800-424-2908 (if outside the United States call 1-720-548-5700).
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