Energy and Environment News Roundup – 3.7.14
A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.
EMISSIONS
Carbon-taxed companies cut emissions by 7% in the past year (via The Guardian)
EPA chief won’t commit to refinery carbon emissions rule (via National Journal)
EPA chief: Power plant rules won’t “put the brakes on business” (via Houston Chronicle)
NATURAL GAS/FRACKING
Drilling for certainty: The latest in fracking health studies (via ProPublica)
Report to US government concludes FracFocus shields too much information from public (via Houston Chronicle)
Decisions on LNG exports up to Energy Department, says White House (via Reuters)
RENEWABLES
Japan may set higher offshore wind subsidy, reduce solar tariff (via Bloomberg)
Ghana to add 600MW of solar plants, 300MW solar panel factory (via TreeHugger)
Wind power continues to grow as source of American electricity (via United Press International)
Largest US grid operator could switch to 30% renewables with no ill effects, says study (via EnergyWire)
How the military is (indirectly) fueling the solar industry (via Renewable Energy World)
Solar venture capital is down but still on the make (via Solar Industry Magazine)
US states boosting wind energy output, pipeline filling up (via Renewable Energy World)
TAR SANDS/KEYSTONE XL
New poll: Keystone Xl project overwhelmingly favored by Americans (via Washington Post)
Pro-Keystone XL ad airs in White House video feed (via Politico)
CLIMATE
China calls on rich nations to give $490 billion in climate funding to poorer nations (via Bloomberg)
China’s “war on pollution” may end up accelerating global warming (via Quartz)
US infrastructure threatened by climate change poses “a national crisis” (via ClimateWire)
OIL
BP refinery seen skirting US oil export ban (via Bloomberg)
E85 fueling station availability increasing, now 2% of all US locations (via US EIA)
ENVIRONMENT
NOAA issues El Nino watch for summer and fall 2014 (via Weather Underground)
Rains ease California drought, make wildfire outlook grimmer (via Climate Central)
Judge rules Duke must immediately stop polluting North Carolina groundwater (via Climate Progress)
GRID
Your utility bill is going up – and there’s nothing you can do about it (via National Journal)
Batteries may vie with US oil boom as energy changer (via Bloomberg)
OPINION
Why Putin is bad news for fracking (via Salon)
Experts: Solar will live, even when subsidies die (via Houston Chronicle)
Why Russia needs to sell natural gas more than EU needs to buy it (via Christian Science Monitor)
Harry Reid: “Climate change is worst problem facing the world today” (via Huffington Post)