Energy
“This project demonstrates Duke’s commitment to providing cleaner energy and jobs for its local communities,” said Clarence Ray, chief executive officer of Shaw’s Power Group. “Shaw is proud to help Duke ensure an affordable, reliable and cleaner energy supply for the future.”Several Norwegian companies and organizations- including SINTEF, which has experience with petroleum exploration- are planning an ambitious pilot project that would harness the geothermal energy from 5,500 meters deep in the earth-about the same depth as some of the more recent onshore oil wells. According to researchers, the energy is there-all that is needed is a truly safe, effective means to tap into it.The Norwegian coalition is planning to go two or even three times deeper if the pilot plant is successful. That would require new technologies, however, and greatly increases the likelihood of incurring very serious risks. Most severely, fracturing or eroding the crust's bedrock in order to recover its heat could trigger earthquakes in the region. This notably occurred in Basel, Switzerland, in 2006, when Geothermal Explorers Limited's field operations set off a series of quakes.After around three decades, this process will have cooled the bedrock to the point where it is no longer hot enough to be productive, not unlike a tapped oil field run dry. The wells would be sealed off and the power plant shut down.The Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE: SHAW) is a leading global provider of engineering, construction, technology, fabrication, remediation and support services for clients in the energy, chemicals, environmental, infrastructure and emergency response industries. A Fortune 500 company with fiscal year 2010 annual revenues of $7 billion, Shaw has approximately 27,000 employees around the world and is the power sector industry leader according to Engineering News-Record’s list of Top 500 Design Firms. For more information, please visit Shaw’s website at www.shawgrp.com.Then, three decades later, the temperature will have risen again, and it will be time to unseal the wells and begin the process anew, after upgrading the plant. This "ace in the hole" helps make geothermal power plants more cost-effective than oil rigs, researchers argue.Source: SINTEF, www.sintef.no.Geothermal plants could have a seismic impact on energy demand-literally.Among the factors that could cause future events or transactions to differ from those we expect are those risks discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2010, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended February 28, 2010, May 31, 2010 and November 30, 2010, and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Please read our “Risk Factors” and other cautionary statements contained in these filings. Our current expectations may not be realized as a result of, among other things:The Buck and Dan River projects will use state-of-the art environmental control technology to minimize plant emissions. These controls, combined with the retirement of the older units on the two sites, will help reduce environmental emissions of NOX and SO2 at the sites.This press release contains forward-looking statements and information about our current and future prospects, operations and financial results, which are based on currently available information. Actual future results and financial performance could vary significantly from those anticipated in such statements.The undisclosed value of the contract will be included in Shaw's Power segment's backlog of unfilled orders in the second quarter of fiscal year 2011.
Source: SINTEF, www.sintef.no.
Author: Cohen, Aaron M
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