Energy and Environment News Roundup – 8.13.13
A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.
EMISSIONS
China will spend roughly the GDP of Hong Kong to fight air pollution (via Washington Post)
Dumping Australia’s carbon price would drive up power bills (via Renew Economy)
US 2013 carbon emissions up 4% - nearly double EIA projections (via Facts of the Day)
Electric co-ops come out swinging against Obama emissions plan (via The Hill)
Carbon offsets plan stirs up controversy in California (via Grist)
TAR SANDS/KEYSTONE XL
Environmental, First Nations groups question safety of TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline (via The Globe and Mail)
College students, clergy denounce Keystone XL at State Department (via The Hill)
RENEWABLES
Solar module market looking up due to Japan (via Reuters)
India may decide on solar dumping case next week (via Bloomberg)
100% of new Australian power plants are wind or solar (via Renew Economy)
HyRef technology revolutionizes renewable energy forecasting (via CleanTechnica)
NanoTags used to site offshore wind turbines away from bird populations (via Sustainable Business)
Iowa approves MidAmerican 1.05GW wind energy plan (via Recharge)
Environmental attacks on wind power keep coming, with New England the eye of the storm (via Facts of the Day)
The intermittency of wind and solar: is it only intermittently a problem? (via CleanTechnica)
OIL
Mexico president submits bill to end country’s oil monopoly (via Houston Chronicle)
China looks to further open crude oil import market (via Reuters)
BP sues US government over suspension from new federal contracts (via Houston Chronicle)
My week in oil boom country (via National Journal)
Water demand falls in North Dakota shale oil patch (via Dickinson Press)
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
DOE commits to unleashing delayed efficiency standards (via Greentech Media)
Columbia University saves $700,000 a year via energy efficiency (via Energy Manager Today)
Tips to save power (and money) in the summer heat (via Houston Chronicle)
COAL
Japan’s Tepco doubles coal consumption in July after starting new units (via Bloomberg)
Patriot Coal and union reach a deal on cutbacks (via New York Times)
Do Illinois coal-fired plants have a future? (via Chicago Tribune)
ENERGY POLICY
Push to form a Minneapolis public utility slows down (via Minneapolis Star Tribune)
GRID
UK government to announce new energy storage “catapult” (via BusinessGreen)
DoD spars with BLM over SunZia transmission route, possible impacts to New Mexico missile range (via Greenwire)
Everything you ever wanted to know about electricity storage (via Breaking Energy)
CLIMATE
What the melting Arctic means for the world’s economy (via GreenBiz)
New map reveals how prepared UK cities are for climate change (via Phys.org)
Timing a rise in sea level (via New York Times)
Cutting soot and methane may not give hoped-for climate help (via Reuters)
Flood insurance prices surge (via Wall Street Journal)
Typhoon Utor swamps Philippines, heads for southern China (via Washington Post)
Meet the companies that are going to get rich from global warming (via The Verge)
UK farmers report increase in extreme weather (via RTCC)
OFA: “Gravity exists. The Earth is round. Climate change is happening.” (via The Hill)
TRANSPORTATION
Elon Musk unveils plans for hyperloop high-speed train (via New York Times)
Will 2040 see all non-hybrids banned from British roads? (via Green Car Reports)
EV charger manufacturer Ecototality says may file for bankruptcy (via Reuters)
What if everyone plugs in their cars at once? (via Seattle Times)
OPINION
How bright is renewable energy’s future? (via National Journal)
Bureaucrats, not Big Oil, stand in the way of a solar future (via Quartz)
A hyperloop might be far more expensive than Elon Musk thinks (via Washington Post)
Hyperloop faces technical hurdles (via Navigant Research)
Why do Californians use less electricity than everyone else? (via Washington Post)
Cuomo: Look beyond fracking in New York State (via Albany Times-Union)