Energy and Environment News Roundup – 5.8.13
A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.
ENERGY POLICY
China and India’s energy resource rivalry extends to the Arctic (via Houston Chronicle)
Federal government postpones oil, gas lease auctions in California (via Houston Chronicle)
US wind executives bullish on shale gas (via Recharge)
TAR SANDS
Enbridge breaks safety rules at 117 of 125 pipeline pump stations across Canada (via CBC)
EMISSIONS
New emissions plan could energize global climate talks, says US envoy (via The Guardian)
Ministers urge long term fix for EU emissions system (via RTCC)
“Inconsistency” between British Columbia’s carbon tax and fossil fuel exports (via The Tyee)
US appeals court judges skeptical of states challenging EPA regulatory authority (via Greenwire)
RENEWABLES
EU-China solar trade war entering endgame? (via Renewable Energy World)
Latin America sees $4.6 billion in 2012 clean energy investment (via EarthTechling)
UK proposes $170 billion in low-carbon energy investment (via Bloomberg)
UK renewable energy generation increases 20% in 2012 (via CleanTechnica)
Europe’s dominance in PV solar market over, says industry lobby (via Recharge)
Army to spur geothermal with $7 billion contract (via Federal Times)
Experts back continued dominance of US wind supply chain (via Recharge)
NCAR powers up renewable energy forecasts (via Phys.org)
CLIMATE
G8 set to discuss climate change at summit (via RTCC)
US defends plan for countries to set their own climate goals (via RTCC)
Study says media ignore climate context of Midwest floods (via Climate Progress)
NJ town, flood-soaked and weary, tries to back away from the water (via ClimateWire)
COAL
Ohio may open national forest to coal mining (via Columbus Dispatch)
NATURAL GAS/FRACKING
Obama on natural gas exports – “I’ve got to make a decision” (via EnergyWire)
The politics of natural gas exports (via Politico)
US DOE to award up to $20 million for methane hydrate research (via Green Car Congress)
Greener fracking: recycling and reducing (via Breaking Energy)
California urges record $2.5 billion fine for 2010 natural gas blast (via Christian Science Monitor)
Local governments in Pennsylvania fail to disclose millions in shale gas impact fees (via StateImpact Pennsylvania)
As North Carolina weighs fracking, questions loom on wastewater (via Stateline)
New 250-mile natural gas pipeline proposed for Ohio (via Akron Beacon Journal)
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Energy efficiency lags in the US South (via Navigant Research)
How Nest and Opower quietly morphed into competitors (via GigaOm)
OIL
Shell pushes innovation to stay in deepwater drilling game (via Houston Chronicle)
ENVIRONMENT
US urban trees store 708 million tons of carbon, provide $50 billion economic value (via Phys.org)
Texas groundwater levels suffer sharp drop, study finds (via Texas Tribune)
GRID
Energy harvesting the next big thing for the smart grid (via Energy Collective)
Berkeley lab tests utility-customer smart grid communication (via Energy Manager Today)
TRANSPORTATION
Australian fast charger slashes EV charging time (via Renew Economy)
US lowers forecast for summer 2013 gasoline prices (via Houston Chronicle)
NUCLEAR
California faces another summer without San Onofre nuclear plant (via Los Angeles Times)
As price of nuclear energy drops, a Wisconsin plant is shut (via New York Times)
OPINION
This isn’t the weather we grew up with (via The Guardian)
A carbon trading system worth saving (via New York Times)
Solyndra was this much of an outlier in DOE’s loan portfolio (via Atlantic)