Energy and Environment News Roundup – 9.25.13
A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.
CLIMATE
New map shows world’s most climate-vulnerable regions (via Climate Progress)
Major wind and rain belts could shift north as Earth warms (via Yale e360)
Stanford: Climate change occurring 10 times faster than any time in past 65 million years (via DeSmog Blog)
HSBC: Australian economy badly exposed to climate change (via Renew Economy)
EPA chief hits road for climate rule sales pitches (via The Hill)
KEYSTONE XL/TAR SANDS
Top US trade official lobbies for tar sands oil in EU negotiations (via Huffington Post)
Canadian company to drain Alberta lake due to oil sands leak (via Reuters)
Keystone XL: Five years later, a changed energy dynamic (via Christian Science Monitor)
RENEWABLES
500MW expected in first Russian renewable energy auction (via Recharge)
Sun begins to shine again on UK solar market (via EarthTechling)
Wind turbines quieter than a heartbeat, acoustical experts find (via Climate Progress)
Cost to add more solar, wind to US West power grid is small – study (via Reuters)
US Senator asks CFTC to look into biofuel credit pricing (via Reuters)
Ivanpah solar project “syncs” to grid for first time (via KCET)
EPA announces Green Power Leadership awards (via Environmental Leader)
Solar Decathlon 2013: Let the building begin (via Energy.gov)
270MW of new renewable energy coming to Connecticut’s grid (via Renew Grid)
OIL
Obama vows to protect “free flow” of Middle East oil (via The Hill)
High oil costs hitting nation’s wallet, too (via Houston Chronicle)
Research: Deep sea ecosystem may take decades to recover from Deepwater Horizon spill (via Phys.org)
TRANSPORTATION
High-speed rail transforms China (via New York Times)
RFS: Ethanol cuts gas prices by up to $1.50 a gallon (via Autoblog Green)
EMISSIONS
EPA rules on emissions at existing coal plants may give states leeway (via New York Times)
Carbon offset market alive and well in California (via Energy Manager Today)
NATURAL GAS
Natural gas generation lower than last year because of differences in relative fuel prices (via US EIA)
GRID
Remote microgrids will surpass $8.4 billion in annual revenue by 2020 (via Navigant Research)
Remote microgrid revenues will top $8 billion by 2020 (via Energy Manager Today)
In China’s hinterland, microgrids emerge (via Navigant Research)
Skinny grids: LEDs harness more distributed energy for less (via Greentech Media)
ENVIRONMENT
Ocean acidification “refugees” move to Hawaii (via Seattle Times)
Battle lines form as EPA hints at revised Clean Water Act (via Greenwire)
OPINON
Is natural gas “clean”? (via New York Times)
EPA rules open new era for clean energy in US (via Navigant Research)
How a former EPA official became the “Michael Jordan of solar policy” (via Greenwire)
What are the impacts of high wind and solar penetration on the grid? (via Greentech Media)
Why sustainability indexes miss the mark (via BusinessGreen)