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Weekly Energy News Update May 25thI can't help myself. This week's update must begin with an article that to me just screams "USA Energy Culture". What happens when a San Diego solar power retailer teams up with a marketing agency: Solar Cribs. This show is just oozing with West Coast upper class social capital. If that's your thing, enjoy! ;-pYoutube Channel Series “Solar Cribs” Launched by SunPower by Stellar Solar (EnergyTrend)If you really want to watch episode 1, see if you can count the number of times these homeowners say the phrase "partner with nature"...FinanceEmerging economies take lead on going green, but investment needed (Reuters)China says will eventually allow private companies to invest in oil storage (Reuters)Forecast for EU carbon prices in next decade put Paris target in doubt (Reuters)Should OPEC worry about contango and backwardation? (Reuters)I wanted to share this article to introduce this vocabulary of "contango" and "backwardation". The latter was discussed very briefly in Arjun Appadurai's most recent book Banking on Words: The Failure of Language in the Age of Derivative FinanceLaborMost Norwegian oil workers agree wage deal, mediation for rest (Reuters)Jump in renewable energy jobs worldwide (AFP)Chevron threatens to fire Bangladesh staff protesting asset sale (Reuters)Nigerian oil labor union calls for Exxon Mobil shutdown in Delta (Reuters)Brazil power regulator seeks Mandarin translators in China push (Reuters) PolicyKurdish independence in Iraq likely 'not if but when': U.S. general (Reuters)Iowa senator slams energy chief for grid study undermining wind energy (Reuters)Tunisia forces fire tear gas in showdown with protesters after energy sites shut (Reuters)Swiss energy law aims to boost renewables, ban new nuclear plants (Reuters)Brazil energy minister says he has no plan to resign amid crisis (Reuters)Philippines, China play down Duterte's talk of war in disputed sea (Reuters)There were multiple corrections made after the release of this news, I assume at first no one really knew what to do after Duterte made his original statement.TechnologyWill Energy Offer the Next Market for Blockchain? (IEEE)It seems like the integration of blockchain technology into the energy market could be a very fruitful place for an anthropologist to study the future intersections of energy resources and economic exchange.Enerchain: A Decentralized Market on the Blockchain for Energy Wholesalers (IEEE)Qualcomm Demonstrates Dynamic Electric Vehicle Charging (EnergyTrend)TransportationM&#38;M ramps up facility at Chakan for electric vehicles batteries (India Times)Germany must invest to keep up in electric cars (Reuters)Govt to Tesla: No local sourcing required for manufacturing in India (India Times)BiofuelChina ethanol exports soar as Beijing boosts local industry (Reuters)CoalChina coal imports from Russia, Australia rise in April after ban on N.Korea cargoes (Reuters)This news comes despite various news reports that shipments from N. Korea are still entering Chinese ports. I have been wondering what quantity of the imports from North Korea were(are) anthracite that cannot be replaced (or at least not economically replaced).Poland will rely on coal for next 15 years (Reuters)CEZ supervisory board rejects Czech Coal's offer for Pocerady plant (Reuters)Coal Scam: NDA government knew bureaucrats were guilty in coal scam (India Times)Coal India wins tax-cut boost as environmentalists fret (Reuters)GasWhitehall's fracking science failure: shale gas really is worse for climate than coal (The Ecologist)HydropowerHydro dams on Indus cascade may prove to be a blunder for Pakistan (IANS)What’s at stake in China’s plan to blow up islands in the Mekong (The Conversation)NuclearFrance's EDF denies report of 'secret plan' to delay scaling back nuclear power (Reuters)India to build 10 heavy water reactors to boost nuclear power (India Times)Economies of scale in nuclear power (India Times)PetroleumThe White House plan to sell oil reserves could lessen U.S. debt. It could also lower prices (Washington Post)I wonder which conflict of interest, oh, I mean special consultant to the president, convinced him that this was a good idea.Nigeria seen missing July target to buy cleaner fuel (Reuters)Oil industry power is slithering away (Climate News Network)Canada oil industry get $173 million loan to clean up abandoned wells (Reuters)SolarJordan's Azraq becomes world first clean energy refugee camp (Reuters)This is great, but I hope other needs within the camp are also being met.India to Overtake Japan as the World’s Third Largest Solar Market in 2017 (EnergyTrend)Daimler, Vivint Solar in exclusive deal on U.S. home batteries (Reuters)China Interconnects the World’s Largest Floating PV Power Plant, 40MW (EnergyTrend)  WindWinds of change? Why offshore wind might be the next big thing (McKinsey) Wind power has seen steady growth in India (IANS)