Energy and Environment News Roundup – 3.28.14

A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.

CLIMATE 

IPCC report: Climate change felt “on all continents and across the oceans” (via The Guardian)

Sinking island nations battle tides of climate change (via Deutche Welle)

Facing rising seas, Bangladesh confronts climate change consequences (via New York Times)

NATURAL GAS 

Environmentalists debate impacts of LNG exports on global warming (via Greenwire)

Fracking the USA: New map shows 1 million oil, gas wells (via Climate Central)

Report says each Marcellus gas well costs thousands in road damage (via StateImpact Pennsylvania)

RENEWABLES 

2013: Renewable energy’s best of times, worst of times (via CleanTechnica)

Future of Chile’s energy sector lies with renewables, shows new report (via Renewable Energy World)

Wind power “could yield €8.3 billion” for Ireland (via Recharge)

As solar prices fall, wind still finds a role in microgrids (via Navigant Research)

New US wind power projects fall 93% in 2013 (via The Hill)

As net metering battles move to small markets, solar advocates claim early victories (via Energy Collective)

Solar “net metering” extended by California regulators (via San Francisco Chronicle)

California utility PG&E exceeds 20% renewable energy standard (via Greentech Media)

BOEM to hold competitive Maryland offshore wind energy lease auction this summer (via Recharge)

Waste-to-energy could help Wisconsin expand sustainable energy (via Journal-Sentinel)

Kansas flirts with repeal of renewable energy standard (via EnergyWire)

Virginia awards $860,000 in offshore wind research (via Virginian-Pilot)

EMISSIONS 

RGGI announces 2015 CO2 allocation (via Environmental Leader)

OIL 

One year after Exxon’s Arkansas spill, basic questions still unanswered (via InsideClimate News)

TRANSPORTATION 

EVs, plug-ins already saving 45 million gallons of gasoline per year in US (via Autoblog Green)

COAL 

North Carolina inspectors failed to notice crack before coal ash spill (via The Guardian)

ENVIRONMENT 

Water, wildlife surge back into once-parched Colorado River delta (via Los Angeles Times)

US lists lesser prairie chicken as threatened, energy groups wary (via Reuters)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY 

Ohio GOP drafts plan to freeze state’s renewable, energy efficiency rules (via Columbus Dispatch)

Indiana governor lets energy efficiency program expire (via Indianapolis Star)

OPINION 

Can evolution outrace climate change? (via FiveThirtyEight)

Spring training, and Spring, starting way earlier than usual (via Bloomberg)

Three utilities most likely to fall in death spiral, via Morningstar (via Forbes)

How distributed energy resources affect US capacity markets (via Solar Industry)

Energy and Environment News Roundup – 8.27.13

A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.

ENERGY POLICY 

China power generation to double with renewables as coal holds sway (via Bloomberg)

France poised to launch “green tax” (via BusinessGreen)

How Arizona and Colorado are rethinking energy vs. water (via GreenBiz)

A list of America’s fastest-growing clean energy companies (via Greentech Media)

COAL 

Majority of China’s proposed coal power plants located in water-stressed regions (via WRI Insights)

Coal mining jobs up nearly 19% since 2001 (via Facts of the Day)

DOE Secretary Moniz: Obama not at war with coal (via National Journal)

RENEWABLES 

Global wind power market will more than quadruple by 2030 (via Reuters)

Renewables to dominate Chinese energy transformation (via BusinessGreen)

India plans massive clean energy push (via EarthTechling)

€6 billion of German wind “waiting to go” (via Recharge)

Norway approves $3 billion for wind farms to triple capacity (via Bloomberg)

German minister sees solar installations nearly halving in 2013 (via Reuters)

Renewables provide 14.2% of US electricity, will pass nuclear by 2020 (via Facts of the Day)

NREL: Cost gap for Western US renewables could narrow by 2025 (via Renew Grid)

IKEA unpacks 500,000 solar panels in energy independence drive (via BusinessGreen)

Going solar infographic: Options for homeowners (via RMI Outlet)

CLIMATE 

Ocean acidification may amplify global warming up to 0.9F this century (via Climate Progress)

EPA chief warns against climate change on trip to Alaska (via McClatchy)

Yosemite fire an example of how droughts amplify wildfires (via Climate Central)

TAR SANDS/KEYSTONE XL 

Canadian documents suggest shift on Keystone XL pipeline (via New York Times)

Keystone’s impact on Venezuela muted by waning imports (via Bloomberg)

Another delay looms for Keystone XL pipeline decision (via CleanTechnica)

DOE stayed silent on State Department’s latest Keystone XL pipeline review (via Greenwire)

Official price of Enbridge Michigan oil spill: $1,039,000,000 (via DeSmog Blog)

GRID 

US military connects microgrids for a “secure cluster” of power networks (via Greentech Media)

California virtual net metering allows energy savings one apartment at a time (via Renewable Energy World)

DOE, New Jersey partner on transit system microgrid (via Renew Grid)

Pennsylvania utility rolls out smart meters to 1.6 million customers (via Energy Manager Today)

NUCLEAR 

Fukushima leaks prompt Japanese government to “emergency measures” (via Bloomberg)

Fukushima nuclear plant operator raises alarm on crisis (via New York Times)

ENVIRONMENT 

USFWS changes endangered species law despite GOP protest (via The Hill)

Rim fire taking ecological toll over thousands of acres (via Los Angeles Times)

New York City mulls plastic bag fee (via Environmental Leader)

NATURAL GAS/FRACKING 

New study finds another link between fracking and earthquakes (via StateImpact Texas)

Hold the water: Some firms fracking without it (via Houston Chronicle)

Fracking foes interrupt Obama’s trip to New York State (via Houston Chronicle)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY 

Irish government could save €200 million a year with energy efficiency program (via Irish Times)

More energy efficient government buildings could save Australia $35 million a year (via Renew Economy)

Partnership aims for more LEED-certified college stadiums (via EarthTechling)

NYSERDA issues energy efficiency financing bonds (via Breaking Energy)

OIL 

World petroleum use sets record high in 2012 despite declines in North America and Europe (via US EIA)

British Columbia officials worry oil spill would “overwhelm” resources (via Vancouver Sun)

FAA approves use of drones over Alaska oil area (via Seattle Times/AP)

TRANSPORTATION 

New models driving down electric car costs (via BusinessGreen)

DOE may revive auto industry loan program for green cars (via The Hill)

Nissan readying four new EV models, widespread inductive charging (via Autoblog Green)

A decade later, Tesla now officially a threat to the auto industry (via GigaOm)

Tesla market value reaches $20 billion on EV optimism (via Bloomberg)

EMISSIONS 

Australian carbon capture pilot turns CO2 into green building materials (via Environmental Leader)

Outlook for cap and trade brightens in California (via GreenBiz)

Green concrete saves Dallas schools 108.7 million pounds of CO2 (via Environmental Leader)

POLITICS 

Moniz reshuffles Energy Department advisory board (via The Hill)

Climate “hawks” hatch super-PAC ahead of 2014 races (via The Hill)

OPINION 

These maps show how Asia is taking over the oil markets (via Washington Post)

Humans’ complicity in climate change can’t be ignored (via Washington Post)

How soon will the US surpass Germany in solar investments? (via Energy Manager Today)

Solar and storage mean “game over” for traditional utilities (via Renew Economy)

When alternative energy dreams fall short (via Politico)

Mud slinging undermines the net metering debate (via Breaking Energy)

9 scary facts about the Yosemite fire (via Mother Jones)

Energy and Environment News Roundup – 8.1.13

A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.

COAL 

Environmentalists sue Export-Import Bank over loan to domestic coal broker (via Washington Post)

New US coal plants built in 1H 2013 will generate more than new wind and solar combined (via Facts of the Day)

Scope of export proposal analysis is bad news for the coal industry (via Sightline Daily)

ENERGY POLICY 

Germany boosts energy research funding 77% to $938 million (via Bloomberg)

McKinsey: Shale, related industries could add $700 billion to US economy by 2020 (via Houston Chronicle)

Maryland’s new climate plan could lower energy costs (via Climate Progress)

RENEWABLES 

Wind and solar lead global renewables pack (via Recharge)

Morocco to tender 2 solar plants totaling 300MW (via Reuters)

German solar subsidy to drop to a third of Japan’s on installs (via Bloomberg)

Ireland to set wind energy export rules (via Recharge)

US wind industry poised for robust recovery (via BusinessGreen)

Deepwater Wind wins auction for first US offshore wind leases (via Bloomberg)

Regulators avoid the ire of solar proponents (via Breaking Energy)

Property taxes could be the next obstacle for solar PV (via Greentech Media)

Sediment trapped behind dams makes them emissions “hot spots” (via Phys.org)

New solar energy index ranks yields on residential solar investment (via Solar Industry Magazine)

NATURAL GAS/FRACKING 

China fracking quake-prone province shows zeal for gas (via Bloomberg)

Marcellus Shale hospitals claw toward better data on gas field health issues (via EnergyWire)

Ohio state forest fracking plan halted for now (via Columbus Dispatch)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY 

California could set the bar for America with 15 new efficiency standards (via Greentech Media)

Los Angeles completes world’s largest LED street light retrofit (via Forbes)

Sacramento unveils nation’s largest clean energy PACE retrofit (via Forbes)

CLIMATE CHANGE

Small businesses especially vulnerable to climate change impacts (via TriplePundit)

GRID 

Japan to test large-capacity electricity storage system (via Jiji Press)

Germany makes big industry pay more for power grid (via Reuters)

North America, Asia names government-backed energy storage hot spots (via Energy Manager Today)

Growth slows for smart meters in North America but overall trend is still upward (via Energy Manager Today)

Smart meters for commercial and industrial markets will total $19.1B in revenue from 2012-2020 (via Navigant Research)

New tools to help grid operators keep the lights on (via New York Times)

Microgrids: very expensive, seriously necessary (via Forbes)

TRANSPORTATION 

American driving may have peaked in 2004 (via Autoblog)

Texas energy provider gives free power at night to EV owners (via Plugin Cars)

GREEN BUSINESS 

Setting sustainability goals “improves bottom line” for firms (via Environmental Leader)

Will campus activism reach the C-suite? (via GreenBiz)

Harvard endowment hires environment head amid divestment demands (via Bloomberg)

POLITICS 

House set for carbon tax showdown (via The Hill)

Obama emphasizes Keystone XL emissions potential with Senate Dems (via The Hill)

Conservatives ID next confirmation fight: FERC (via Politico)

5 things you don’t know about EPA’s Gina McCarthy but should (via Washington Post)

OPINION

We are consigning hundreds of coastal cities to destruction – who cares? (via Grist)

What we can learn from the world’s greenest companies (via Environmental Leader)

Spain’s offshore wind win is Virginia’s loss (via Breaking Energy)

Microgrids can help developing nations leapfrog the landline (via GreenBiz)

Energy and Environment News Roundup – 3.5.13

A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.

OIL 

China ousts US as world’s main oil importer (via Mining.com)

US crude exports spur shale oil refineries (via Bloomberg)

Transocean chief disappointed with Gulf oil spill insurance ruling (via Houston Chronicle)

Non-jury trial may favor BP in Gulf oil spill case (via Alabama.com)

GRID 

Smart grid technology market will total $494 billion by 2020 (via Pike Research)

US transmission investment will peak at $14 billion in 2013 (via Greentech Media)

How much renewable energy can the grid handle? (via Greentech Media)

Wholesale power: bankruptcies and lessons (via Christian Science Monitor)

RENEWABLES 

EU to register Chinese solar panels, highlighting tariff threat (via Bloomberg)

Fast-tracking patent applications bolsters green tech market (via BusinessGreen)

Solar makers turn laser-like focus on boosting solar cell efficiency (via GigaOm)

US wind industry is still clinging onto tax credit (via Politico)

US inching closer to offshore wind (via United Press International)

MIT team outlines path to low-cost solar-to-storable fuels devices (via Green Car Congress)

Now on Kickstarter: a new kind of spinning energy storage device (via GigaOm)

Buffet’s renewables investment MidAmerican Energy a top portfolio company in 2012 (via SNL Energy)

California’s solar PV rebates nearly over: is this good news? (via Renewable Energy World)

University of Maine starts $1.5 million geothermal heating project (via Portland Press Herald)

KEYSTONE XL/TAR SANDS 

Environmental activists reeling as Keystone pipeline gains momentum (via The Hill)

Arguments over climate impacts rage in wake of State Department report (via Greenwire)

Enviros seize on State’s pipeline alternatives (via EnergyWire)

Eight figures that will define Keystone XL fight over the next 45 days (via National Journal)

Enbridge declines to pay for new studies on Michigan oil spill damage (via Detroit Free Press)

TransCanada shares rise on Keystone environmental report (via Reuters)

GREEN BUILDING/ENERGY EFFICIENCY 

UK launches green building hub for construction industry (via BusinessGreen)

Ireland launches energy efficiency fund (via Energy Collective)

St. Louis seeks to be model energy efficient city (via EarthTechling)

NATURAL GAS/FRACKING 

Shale boom forces Kremlin to focus on Arctic (via Moscow Times)

Chemical industry surging on US natural gas (via Houston Chronicle)

Fracking goes to the Texas legislature (via StateImpact Texas)

CLIMATE 

Splits emerging in UN climate deal agreed in Doha (via RTCC)

Report blames climate change for extreme weather in Australia (via New York Times)

Spring may arrive five weeks earlier by 2100, study finds (via Climate Central)

Warmer climate to open new Arctic shipping routes by 2050 (via Reuters)

Global warming affects crop yields, but it's the water not the heat (via Phys.org)

Two-thirds of Americans now believe global warming is real (via Phys.org)

The coming climate exodus: what we’re doing to help wildlife’s new migration (via Yes! Magazine)

NUCLEAR 

Global nuclear capacity rises in 2012 after post-Fukushima drop (via Reuters)

Restart of Japanese nuclear reactors unlikely this year (via United Press International)

Areva plans first nuclear fuel shipment to Japan since Fukushima (via Reuters)

TRANSPORTATION 

2013 electric cars: rated range for each model, ultimate guide (via Green Car Reports)

Shell to push natural gas for trains, vehicles (via Houston Chronicle)

Zipcar says 72% of young Americans don’t care about owning a car (via Green Car Reports)

Tesla Motors delays filing of annual report (via San Jose Mercury News)

EMISSIONS 

Little unity over California’s cap-and-trade program (via Reuters)

Shell forecasts near-zero global emissions by 2100 (via Environmental Leader)

POLITICS 

Obama nominates Moniz as DOE chief, McCarthy as EPA head (via Platts)

Obama’s second-term cabinet to play bigger policy role (via Washington Post)

From “green dream team” to B team (via Politico)

McCarthy’s Republican history should smooth path to EPA (via Reuters)

Is fracking a bride to a clean-energy future? Ernest Moniz thinks so (via Washington Post)

Gina McCarthy for EPA could be Obama’s most significant nominee (via Washington Post)

America’s oil and gas billionaires (via Forbes)

Can climate-change denier Ken Cuccinelli win a swing state? (via National Journal)

OPINION 

China keeps making new green pledges (via Grist)

Climate change: the scary hidden stressor (via New York Times)

Arctic ice melt will bring frosty relations as nations navigate across North Pole (via The Independent)

Cabinet picks could take on climate policy (via New York Times)

Do Obama’s cabinet picks match his greener second-term talk? (via Christian Science Monitor)

Does Keystone XL report let Obama off the hook on climate pledge? (via Christian Science Monitor)

Tesla charging situation would benefit from more flexibility, less confrontation (via Autoblog Green)

Energy and Environment News Roundup – 2.12.13

A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.

COAL 

Coal’s darkest hour: Fitch warns of increased bankruptcy possibilities in US coal sector (via International Business Times)

EMISSIONS 

Investors worth $87 trillion call on companies to reveal carbon data (via RTCC)

Carbon markets threatened if EU backload plan fails (via Bloomberg)

Critics blast “target-less” Irish climate bill (via BusinessGreen)

Energy-related carbon emissions lowest since 1994 (via Greentech Media)

OIL 

Shell will repair rigs in Asia, possibly delaying Arctic drilling in 2013 (via Houston Chronicle)

The boom in US oil drilling hasn’t lowered gas prices (via Washington Post)

RENEWABLES 

Global wind capacity increased almost 20% in 2012 to 82 gigawatts (via Climate Progress)

Corn shortage idles 20 Midwest ethanol plants (via Boston Globe/AP)

Solar outside the Sunbelt: Michigan (via Greentech Media)

ARPA-E summit hosts next generation renewable technologies (via Sustainable Business)

GREEN JOBS 

EU budget delivers “mixed news” for green economy (via BusinessGreen)

State of Green Business Report 2013 (via GreenBiz)

Are green jobs meant to help the economy or the jobless? (via Grist)

NATURAL GAS 

German minister dashes hopes for shale gas fracking (via Reuters)

“There’s no way to tell” how much gas the US can produce (via EnergyWire)

Cuomo warned on fracking in Iowa ads (via Politico)

CLIMATE 

New Harvard report probes security risks of extreme weather and climate change (via Phys.org)

Wanted: business leaders to aid Obama on climate (via Politico)

Climate change impact on Nor’easters: an increased storm surge threat (via Weather Underground)

Hurricane Sandy survivors demand climate change action from Obama (via Huffington Post)

Hollywood actors press Obama to fight climate change (via The Hill)

ENVIRONMENT 

IEA says energy industry in trouble with future water usage (via CleanTechnica)

Group seeks to jump-start ocean protections (via New York Times)

Rich moisture feed helped blizzard bury Northeast (via Climate Central)

GREEN BUILDING 

Government considers replacing LEED as preferred federal certification (via Triple Pundit)

Cool steps help fight global warming (via San Francisco Chronicle)

TRANSPORTATION 

Plugging in, Dutch put electric cars to the test (via New York Times)

America’s high speed rail dream: what it could look like (via EarthTechling)

GRID 

CA-ISO release app that shows status of power grid (via Renew Grid)

POLITICS 

Obama expected to announce executive action on climate during State of the Union speech (via The Hill)

MIT physicist Moniz seen as front-runner to replace Chu (via Greenwire)

OPINION 

Never mind the State of the Union; here’s what Obama can actually do on climate (via Grist)

The state of our energy union is strongest in 40 years (via Facts of the Day)

Why Big Ag could become major fracking ally (via Sustainable Business)

Obama’s Keystone XL decision could doom the tar sands…or the planet (via Grist)

Why the fight over natural gas exports may be overblown (via Washington Post)

Will Ernest Moniz be the next Energy secretary? (via Christian Science Monitor)