Energy and Environment News Roundup – 12.15.14

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

EMISSIONS

Lawyers gird for fight against EPA’s Clean Power Plan based on states’ rights (via ClimateWire)

Half of Republicans support carbon limits, survey finds (via The Hill)

Fossil fuel companies grow nervous as divestment movement grows stronger (via Grist)

Capturing carbon as a byproduct of running a fuel cell (via New York Times)

Gov. Inslee says if polluters were charged, state would benefit (via Seattle Times)

NATURAL GAS

Can China’s shale gas help it reach peak coal by 2020? (via Motley Fool)

Ukraine says Chevron plans to pull out of $10 billion shale gas deal (via Reuters)

RENEWABLES

EnergyTrend calls 2014 solar demand at 44GW with 2015 to top 50GW (via PV Tech)

The global biofuels industry: A future in doubt (via Navigant Research)

Analysis: Can Japan exceed 10GW of solar capacity installation in 2014? (via Renewable Energy World)

SunEdison to supply 570GWh of solar energy to Chile grid (via PV Tech)

Vestas gets biggest wind order as Africa market accelerates (via Bloomberg)

Solar industry trends: Capital costs continue to drop while solar companies reinvent themselves as energy companies (via Forbes)

South Carolina avoids a battle, reaches settlement on net energy metering (via Greentech Media)

New York State doubles solar net metering cap (via PV Tech)

430,000 advanced energy jobs in California…today (via CleanTechnica)

Solar and wind give California second camel hump (via Renewables International)

Study: Nebraska grid has capacity to export more wind energy (via Lincoln Journal Star)

Minnesota city freezes ground-mounted solar due to zoning concerns (via Greentech Media)

CLIMATE

International negotiators strike last-minute deal to reduce carbon emissions (via ClimateProgress)

UN agrees way forward on climate change but path is unclear (via The Guardian)

Paris climate summit faces tougher job after modest Lima deal (via Reuters)

Catholic bishops from every continent call for “end to the fossil fuel era” (via ClimateProgress)

Most Americans aren’t aware of the health impacts of climate change (via ClimateProgress)

People don’t work as hard on hot days – on a warming planet (via Washington Post)

COAL

Coal demand growth to slow in next five years on China, says IEA (via Bloomberg)

Coal demand set to break 9 billion tonne barrier this decade (via The Guardian)

As Japan burns more coal, climate policies under pressure (via Reuters)

First U.S. coal ash regulations in the offing (via The Hill)

GRID

Fitch: U.S. utilities “well positioned” to deal with upcoming obstacles (via Renew Grid)

MISO board approves $2.5 billion in new transmission (via Renew Grid)

OIL

Mexico shale boom outlook dims as U.S. drillers struggle (via Bloomberg)

Despite lower crude oil prices, U.S. crude oil production expected to grow in 2015 (via U.S. EIA)

Early slowdown signs emerge for U.S. oil states after crude slide (via Reuters)

U.S. taxpayers help fund oil train boom amid safety concerns (via St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

TRANSPORTATION

Electric cars: A review of 2014 (via Forbes)

Gasoline prices tend to have little effect on demand for car travel (via U.S. EIA)

Street lights add EV charging (via Navigant Research)

Tesla’s stationary storage strategy: “Everywhere we look, there’s an opportunity” (via Greentech Media)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

$140 million DOE innovation hub focuses on energy efficiency in manufacturing (via Energy Manager Today)

ENVIRONMENT

Earth faces sixth “Great Extinction” with 41% of amphibians set to go to the way of the dodo (via Huffington Post)

23 pollinating species in Britain have gone extinct in last 150 years (via Inhabitat)

Congress protects new national parks and wilderness areas for first time in five years (via ClimateProgress)

OPINION

COP20 lays groundwork for Paris climate pact: 7 key developments (via WRI Insights)

Five takeaways from the Lima climate talks (via National Journal)

How the ”war on coal” went global (via Politico)

How the U.S. can beat OPEC in an oil prices war (via Christian Science Monitor)

The basic reason oil keeps getting cheaper and cheaper (via Washington Post)

Insights from the solar industry in rural Peru (via Clean Energy Finance Forum)

10 energy numbers to remember from 2014 (via Outlier)

Will cheap oil kill Keystone XL? (via Politico)

Energy and Environment News Roundup – 12.3.14

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

UN CLIMATE TALKS

What to expect in Lima: An overview of the 2014 UN climate negotiations (via Center for American Progress)

Lima climate talks: One in three countries not sending ministers (via RTCC)

ENERGY POLICY

EU, US present Russian with united sanctions, energy front (via Reuters)

Brazilian companies cut output, sell power instead in weak economy (via Reuters)

U.S. nuclear plants squeezed by cheap gas, uranium costs (via Bloomberg)

First utility receives B Corp certification (via Environmental Leader)

RENEWABLES

Canada’s green energy sector employs more people than tar sands (via Climate Progress)

9% of solar homes are doing something utilities love – will others follow? (via Outlier)

DOE to fund $9 million in solar module technology R&D (via Recharge)

AWEA warns job cuts begin in January without PTC deal (via Recharge News)

Utility-scale PV O&M: A crowded vendor landscape (via Greentech Media)

Abengoa’s 280MW California solar plant begins operation (via Bloomberg)

Could Kansas be the next state to kill its renewable energy target? (via Greentech Media)

CLIMATE

2014 set to be world’s hottest-ever year (via The Guardian)

Antarctica losing Mt. Everest worth of ice as melt triples (via Bloomberg)

The next big climate question: Will India follow China? (via New York Times)

Volcanoes may be responsible for much of the global surface warming slowdown (via The Guardian)

Keystone antagonist steps down as head of climate group 350.org (via Bloomberg)

NATURAL GAS

Number of natural gas customers participating in customer choice programs is increasing (via US EIA)

GRID

Ontario pumps millions into smart grid projects (via Renew Grid)

Utilities are building the infrastructure for California’s shift to EVs (via Greentech Media)

OIL

Cheap oil is hitting these countries the hardest (via Houston Chronicle)

Green groups sue DOT over oil-by-rail regulations (via Houston Chronicle)

Oil from Deepwater Horizon spill is still trapped in Alabama beaches, finds study (via Huffington Post)

TRANSPORTATION

Workplace charging doubles in two years, 90% of charging stations full (via Green Car Reports)

Nissan battery breakthrough to double Leaf EV range within a few years (via Autoblog)

Audi plans electric crossover to take on Tesla in U.S. (via Bloomberg)

Tesla Model S leads Consumer Reports satisfaction survey (via San Jose Mercury News)

COAL

Germany targeting coal plants to reach 2020 climate goals (via Reuters)

Find out which state wants to bail out big coal (via EcoWatch)

EMISSIONS

Emissions reduction fund passed by Australian parliament (via Breaking Energy)

U.S. sees voluntary emissions cuts as key to climate change accord (via Los Angeles Times)

Nike, IKEA join 221 companies in backing EPA climate rule (via The Hill)

OPINION

How much coal will be squeezed out of Germany’s grid by 2019? (via Renewables International)

Here’s a cool way to visualize carbon emissions (via Grist)

Energy and Environment News Roundup – 12.1.14

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

CLIMATE

What’s at stake in Lima climate talks (via Climate Central)

U.S.-China pact raises stakes for India in climate talks (via Bloomberg)

Spain lifts Green Climate Fund pledges to $9.7 billion (via Bloomberg)

Australia had hottest Spring and second-hottest November on record (via The Guardian)

RENEWABLES

China solar project delays mean Japan could be largest market (via Bloomberg)

India plans 22GW of PV plants in 12 states (via Recharge)

France launches 400MW tender for PV projects over 250kW (via PV Tech)

Brazil contracts 926MW wind in auction (via Recharge News)

India’s solar power potential estimated at 750GW (via CleanTechnica)

Norway wealth fund targets $3 billion in green technology stakes (via Bloomberg)

World’s largest solar farm up and running in California (via Phys.org)

U.S planning largest wind-energy auction off Massachusetts (via Bloomberg)

ISO study finds Minnesota can accommodate up to 40% renewables penetration (via Renew Grid)

Wind farms a welcome boon for struggling rural U.S. communities (via Midwest Energy News)

Community solar prices at all-time low (via Renewable Energy World)

ENERGY POLICY

China nears peak coal as carbon and clean growth policies bite (via Reuters)

E.ON unveils “bold” plan to focus on renewables, ditch fossil fuels (via Business Green)

Mitigating natural gas use in the electricity sector (via Center for American Progress)

Energy and the new Congress: Beyond Keystone (via Energy Collective)

Pipeline crunch could keep Northeast’s heating bills high (via Climate Central)

OIL

Inside OPEC room, Naimi declares price war on U.S. shale oil (via Reuters)

Crude oil drops over $4 a barrel on OPEC not cutting output (via Reuters)

Oil companies produce more for less as crude prices fall (via Houston Chronicle)

OPEC inaction spurs survival of fittest as oil below $65 (via Bloomberg)

Exxon, Rosneft scrap Arctic deals as Russia sanctions bite (via Bloomberg)

Study: Offshore drilling has prompted surge in maritime conflicts around the world (via Washington Post)

A simple guide to the sudden collapse in oil prices (via Washington Post)

Almost all BP spill claims are correct, audit finds (via The Hill)

How oil companies fight California clean energy: Playbook leaked accidentally (via Green Car Reports)

TRANSPORTATION

Honda working on “power exporter” to go with fuel-cell vehicle (via Autoblog Green)

Aerodynamic upgrades to large trucks would cut fuel use by billions of gallons (via Yale e360)

Tesla is on the right track to double (via Forbes)

Return of $2 gas seen for some in U.S. as OPEC stands pat (via Bloomberg)

EMISSIONS

China plans national carbon market by 2016 amid emission pledge (via Bloomberg)

New carbon market most important in climate deal, UK says (via Bloomberg)

EPA pushes to cut smog in new rule (via The Hill)

EPA hits homestretch on climate rule (via The Hill)

Fossil fuel-free fund “outperforms” Standard S&P 500 (via CleanTechnica)

GRID

Smart meter revenue expected to reach $6.6 billion annually by 2023 (via Navigant Research)

Smart grid interest continues to spread among U.S. rural utilities (via Renew Grid)

Managing a constrained grid: A look at SCE’s procurement of “preferred resources” (via Greentech Media)

Illinois regulators approve 3.5GW wind energy transmission line (via Renew Grid)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

LEDs to get bigger share of market even as revenue drops (via Energy Manager Today)

Energy efficiency may be key to saving trillions (via New York Times)

Florida goes backwards on energy efficiency targets (via Energy Manager Today)

ENVIRONMENT

Our planet may be on the verge of its sixth mass extinction (via Washington Post)

Animal extinctions from climate rival end of dinosaurs (via Bloomberg)

China takes “zero tolerance” approach to regional polluters (via Reuters)

Staples: Tech recycling stats are still in the dumps (via Triple Pundit)

OPINION

Will Lima climate talks pave way for a binding treaty in Paris 2015? (via The Guardian)

Can China get 40% of its electricity from renewables by 2040? (via Greentech Media)

Five threats to the EPA’s climate rule (via The Hill)

How to support clean energy, without going solar (via Treehugger)

Spending, immigration, and tax fights will dominate final days of Congress (via National Journal)

Levelized cost of electricity: Renewable’s ticking time bomb? (via Forbes)

There’s an opportunity for tech in EPA’s proposed smog rule (via GigaOm)

Three factors that could kill renewable energy tax extenders in 2014 (via Greentech Media)

Why aren’t rural electric cooperatives champions of local clean power? (via Renewable Energy World)