Energy and Environment News Roundup – 5.17.13
A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.
CLIMATE
Smaller glacier melt boost sea level rise as much as largest ones (via Climate Central)
USGS: warmer springs causing loss of snow cover throughout Rocky Mountains (via Climate Progress)
KEYSTONE XL/TAR SANDS
Canadian government doubles advertising spend on tar sands (via The Guardian)
Canadian prime minister warns US against Keystone XL rejection (via Houston Chronicle/AP)
Keystone XL oil pipeline bill moves to full US House (via Reuters)
EMISSIONS
EU confirms two percent reduction in ETS emissions (via BusinessGreen)
Norwegian firm seeks way to trap cement factory CO2 (vie Reuters)
RENEWABLES
China PV prices “could rise 45%” in June (via Recharge)
Australia launches clean energy map (via Renew Economy)
Solar power costs closing in on wind (via Reuters)
Some light in clean tech investing, despite the gloom (via GreenBiz)
US military’s renewable energy development at risk from Sequester (via Medill)
Goldman Sachs to finance $500 million for SolarCity roofs (via Bloomberg)
Report outlines US military’s 130MW solar power might (via CleanTechnica)
Are run-of-river hydropower systems ready for the US? (via Renewable Energy World)
800MW solar power plant goes online in California (via Sacramento Bee)
Renewable power generation grew 7 percent in Texas last year (via Houston Chronicle)
Top Indiana wind farm drafts bat-protection plans (via Courier-Press/AP)
COAL
NRG settles lawsuit with NJ & CT; will shut down coal units (via Renew Grid)
TRANSPORTATION
Global capacity of lithium-ion batteries for EVs will grow 10-fold by 2020 (via Navigant Research)
Tesla’s market value soars but some see a bubble (via Washington Post)
Nissan Leaf sales hit 25,000 in US (via Autoblog Green)
NATURAL GAS/FRACKING
Baltic LNG terminal deal likely for late 2013 (via Retuers)
Interior Department unveils fracking rules for federal lands (via The Hill)
Fracking risks to groundwater assessed by scientific review (via Phys.org)
Could we see three US LNG export projects approved by 2014? (via Breaking Energy)
Shale drilling nearly doubles Ohio output since 2011 (via Houston Chronicle)
GRID
China’s State Grid to buy stake in Australian electricity network for $802 million (via Washington Post/AP)
California ISO market fix boosts renewables in state (via Reuters)
National Grid unveils plans for sustainability hub (via Daily Finance)
ENERGY POLICY
What British Columbia election means for Northwest fossil fuel exports (via Sightline Daily)
EPA ranked most effective of all federal agencies (via Sustainable Business)
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
DOE publishes protocols to determine energy efficiency savings (via Energy Manager Today)
Five technologies to make government buildings more efficient (via Greentech Media)
NREL teams up with US Navy to cut energy use (via Energy Manager Today)
ENVIRONMENT
Study finds world’s fish have been moving to colder waters for decades (via Washington Post)
Indonesia extends landmark ban on clearing rainforests and peatland (via New York Times)
State officials seek federal help fighting invasive species (via Stateline)
POLITICS
Senate approves Ernest Moniz as Secretary of Energy (via Greentech Media)
Senate committee advances EPA nominee McCarthy in party-line vote (via The Hill)
GOP says EPA’s FOIA decisions show “anti-conservative attitude” (via Greenwire)
OPINION
Strengthening ownership and effectiveness of climate finance (via WRI Insights)
How low can utility emissions go? (via Greentech Media)
Proposed fracking rules anger environmentalists, annoy industry (via National Journal)
Spigot of money starting to open up for installing solar panels (via GigaOm)
A new model for valuing distributed energy (via Greentech Media)