Energy Roundup: Google's Plug-In Vehicle Software, Valero Loses Refinery Bid, Cash-for-Clunkers a 'Go', and More

Google developing smart-charging software for plug-in vehicles -- Google is developing software that will better manage how plug-in electric cars are charged in an effort to smooth out demand for electricity and keep excessive loads off the power grid. There's a concern that as more plug-in electric vehicles hit the road, drivers will charge during peak hours -- typically after work -- which could cause power disruptions or require new power plants. [Source: CNET]

Total picks Lukoil over Valero in refinery deal -- Russia's Lukoil will buy a 45 percent stake in a Dutch refinery for $725 million, a deal that many expected U.S. refiner Valero Energy to complete. France's Total, which co-owned the refinery with Dow Chemical, essentially blocked Valero's bid when it opted to buy the stake and simultaneously sell it to Lukoil. The deal gives Russia a bigger foothold in Europe and derails, at least temporarily, Valero's plan to expand there. [Source: Reuters]

Cash-for-clunkers bill clears Congressional hurdle-- Congress passed Thursday the Automotive Stimulus bill, more commonly known as cash-for-clunkers. The bill will provide up to $4,500 to car owners who trade in their old cars for newer ones. Cash-for-clunkers, which was attached to a war-funding bill, has its share of critics, who say it's underfunded and doesn't focus enough on fuel efficient models. [Source: WSJ's Environmental Capital]

Shell's natural gas discovery may be biggest in 12 years -- Royal Dutch Shell's recent natural gas discovery in the northern Norwegian Sea may hold an estimated 10 to 100 billion standard cubic meters of recoverable gas. The gas find -- perhaps the largest in 12 years -- was made in the Gro prospect 224 miles offshore and may equal the size of Norway's annual production. [Source: Bloomberg]

Ethanol production surges 40 percent in Brazil -- Ethanol production in Brazil reached 1.22 billion gallons, 40 percent higher than last year thanks to an increase in flex-fuel vehicles, spiking demand in the northern regions of the country and competitive prices for hydrous ethanol compared to gasoline, according to UNICA, the sugarcane trade association. UNICA reported mills have not been able to increase ethanol stocks despite the accelerated pace of the sugarcane harvest in Brazil's south-central region. [Source: Biofuels Digest, UNICA]