Energy and Environment News Roundup – 10.7.14
A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.
EMISSIONS
EPA ozone-pollution standard left intact by Supreme Court (via Bloomberg)
Methane pollution from federal lands rising, oil boom to blame (via Houston Chronicle)
COAL
Leading Australian pension fund ditches coal holdings (via RTCC)
Complex market forces are challenging Appalachian coal mining (via Center for American Progress)
Coal miners to march on EPA against climate rule (via The Hill)
RENEWABLES
Global solar power market could hit 200GW by end of 2014 (via BusinessGreen)
U.S. solar trade case could expand to include Chinese modules with any cell origin (via PV Tech)
Chinese, Japanese solar PV to soar in Q4 2014 (via Recharge)
Solar PV catching on fast in Latin America, Caribbean (via Triple Pundit)
UK offers $482 million for renewable energy auctions (via Energy Manager Today)
China’s solar industry continues rebound (via Renewable Energy World)
Solar, wind cost may fall to level for coal by 2020s (via Bloomberg)
First-ever global life cycle assessment of renewable energy future (via Phys.org)
Solar companies fall on U.S. stock market on heavy volume (via Reuters)
Despite political setback, high hopes for Ohio clean energy (via Midwest Energy News)
Researchers develop technique to turn winery waste into biofuel (via Breaking Energy)
DuPont, P&G partner to use cellulosic ethanol in Tide laundry detergent, replacing corn ethanol (via Green Car Congress)
ENERGY POLICY
EU moves closer to 2030 deal on climate, energy (via Bloomberg)
Japan nuclear restart to hit oil usage hardest (via Reuters)
Regulatory complexities, natural gas economics driving power markets (via Energy Manager Today)
California drought leads to less hydropower, increased natural gas generation (via U.S. EIA)
OIL
EU abandons “dirty” label for tar sands oil (via Reuters)
DOE Secretary skeptical U.S. will export oil anytime soon (via The Hill)
TRANSPORTATION
EV sales charge up 50% in 2014 (via BusinessGreen)
Fast charging your EV might not be as bad for batteries as predicted (via Autoblog Green)
Tesla to join luxury race into automated driving (via Bloomberg)
CLIMATE
The ocean’s surface layer has been warming much faster than previously thought (via Climate Progress)
10 countries have pledged $2.3 billion to fight climate change – the U.S. isn’t one of them (via Mother Jones)
NATURAL GAS
A push to make “fracking” sound better (via Wall Street Journal)
Cuomo administration edited and delayed key fracking study (via Capital New York)
GRID
Battery storage costs could plunge below $100/kWh (via Renew Economy)
POLITICS
Anti-ALEC activists pressure eBay to drop conservative group (via National Journal)
OPINION
Are Russian energy sanctions working? (via National Journal)
Why are institutional investors still hesitating on solar? (via Greentech Media)
Carbon capture’s energy penalty problem (via Reuters)
Can sucking CO2 out of the atmosphere really work? (via MIT Technology Review)
Why solar power is taking off at airports across the U.S. (via Climate Progress)