Energy and Environment News Roundup – 3.5.13
A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.
OIL
China ousts US as world’s main oil importer (via Mining.com)
US crude exports spur shale oil refineries (via Bloomberg)
Transocean chief disappointed with Gulf oil spill insurance ruling (via Houston Chronicle)
Non-jury trial may favor BP in Gulf oil spill case (via Alabama.com)
GRID
Smart grid technology market will total $494 billion by 2020 (via Pike Research)
US transmission investment will peak at $14 billion in 2013 (via Greentech Media)
How much renewable energy can the grid handle? (via Greentech Media)
Wholesale power: bankruptcies and lessons (via Christian Science Monitor)
RENEWABLES
EU to register Chinese solar panels, highlighting tariff threat (via Bloomberg)
Fast-tracking patent applications bolsters green tech market (via BusinessGreen)
Solar makers turn laser-like focus on boosting solar cell efficiency (via GigaOm)
US wind industry is still clinging onto tax credit (via Politico)
US inching closer to offshore wind (via United Press International)
MIT team outlines path to low-cost solar-to-storable fuels devices (via Green Car Congress)
Now on Kickstarter: a new kind of spinning energy storage device (via GigaOm)
Buffet’s renewables investment MidAmerican Energy a top portfolio company in 2012 (via SNL Energy)
California’s solar PV rebates nearly over: is this good news? (via Renewable Energy World)
University of Maine starts $1.5 million geothermal heating project (via Portland Press Herald)
KEYSTONE XL/TAR SANDS
Environmental activists reeling as Keystone pipeline gains momentum (via The Hill)
Arguments over climate impacts rage in wake of State Department report (via Greenwire)
Enviros seize on State’s pipeline alternatives (via EnergyWire)
Eight figures that will define Keystone XL fight over the next 45 days (via National Journal)
Enbridge declines to pay for new studies on Michigan oil spill damage (via Detroit Free Press)
TransCanada shares rise on Keystone environmental report (via Reuters)
GREEN BUILDING/ENERGY EFFICIENCY
UK launches green building hub for construction industry (via BusinessGreen)
Ireland launches energy efficiency fund (via Energy Collective)
St. Louis seeks to be model energy efficient city (via EarthTechling)
NATURAL GAS/FRACKING
Shale boom forces Kremlin to focus on Arctic (via Moscow Times)
Chemical industry surging on US natural gas (via Houston Chronicle)
Fracking goes to the Texas legislature (via StateImpact Texas)
CLIMATE
Splits emerging in UN climate deal agreed in Doha (via RTCC)
Report blames climate change for extreme weather in Australia (via New York Times)
Spring may arrive five weeks earlier by 2100, study finds (via Climate Central)
Warmer climate to open new Arctic shipping routes by 2050 (via Reuters)
Global warming affects crop yields, but it's the water not the heat (via Phys.org)
Two-thirds of Americans now believe global warming is real (via Phys.org)
The coming climate exodus: what we’re doing to help wildlife’s new migration (via Yes! Magazine)
NUCLEAR
Global nuclear capacity rises in 2012 after post-Fukushima drop (via Reuters)
Restart of Japanese nuclear reactors unlikely this year (via United Press International)
Areva plans first nuclear fuel shipment to Japan since Fukushima (via Reuters)
TRANSPORTATION
2013 electric cars: rated range for each model, ultimate guide (via Green Car Reports)
Shell to push natural gas for trains, vehicles (via Houston Chronicle)
Zipcar says 72% of young Americans don’t care about owning a car (via Green Car Reports)
Tesla Motors delays filing of annual report (via San Jose Mercury News)
EMISSIONS
Little unity over California’s cap-and-trade program (via Reuters)
Shell forecasts near-zero global emissions by 2100 (via Environmental Leader)
POLITICS
Obama nominates Moniz as DOE chief, McCarthy as EPA head (via Platts)
Obama’s second-term cabinet to play bigger policy role (via Washington Post)
From “green dream team” to B team (via Politico)
McCarthy’s Republican history should smooth path to EPA (via Reuters)
Is fracking a bride to a clean-energy future? Ernest Moniz thinks so (via Washington Post)
Gina McCarthy for EPA could be Obama’s most significant nominee (via Washington Post)
America’s oil and gas billionaires (via Forbes)
Can climate-change denier Ken Cuccinelli win a swing state? (via National Journal)
OPINION
China keeps making new green pledges (via Grist)
Climate change: the scary hidden stressor (via New York Times)
Arctic ice melt will bring frosty relations as nations navigate across North Pole (via The Independent)
Cabinet picks could take on climate policy (via New York Times)
Do Obama’s cabinet picks match his greener second-term talk? (via Christian Science Monitor)
Does Keystone XL report let Obama off the hook on climate pledge? (via Christian Science Monitor)
Tesla charging situation would benefit from more flexibility, less confrontation (via Autoblog Green)