A consortium of nine Japanese technology companies is teaming-up with Public Service Co. of New Mexico, the University of New Mexico and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories in a novel “smart-grid” power test in Albuquerque, N.M.

The U.S. Northeast/Mid-Atlantic regional power distributor PJM (Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland) Interconnection announced May 18 that its latest “Reliability Pricing Model” (RPM) auction found an “unprecedented” upcoming retirement of coal-fired power capacity in the U.S.

Maersk Group announced May 16 that it posted a net profit of US$1.17 billion for first-quarter (1Q) 2012, up 1% from 1Q 2011.

NYMEX light, sweet crude for June delivery settled at $91.66 per barrel (/bbl), down 91¢ on May 22, as the dollar shifted higher against the euro in response to concerns regarding Europe’s debt crisis and worries that Greece may exit the eurozone. Optimism regarding a potential deal with Iran over its nuclear program also pressured crude prices.

In a deal that would augment its biorefining capabilities and expand its product, Toronto, Ontario, Canada-based Vertichem Corp. announced on May 14 an agreement in principle to acquire a 100% interest in Thesis Chemistry LLC, an Ohio-based company with operations in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada.

Houston-based Synthesis Energy Systems (SES) on May 10 announced a fiscal third-quarter 3Q) 2012 net loss of US$5.4 million, versus a net loss of $3.6 million in its fiscal 3Q 2011.

A new study sponsored by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Sierra Club finds that three proposed coal gasification plants in Illinois would cause excessive rate increases for state consumers of natural gas and electricity.