Energy and Environment News Roundup – 4.5.13
A daily roundup of the most important energy, environment, and climate news from around the world.
ENERGY POLICY
German net power exports quadrupled in 2012 (via Recharge)
US Air Force releases strategic energy plan (via Sustainable Business)
NATURAL GAS/FRACKING
US proposal to move fracking wastewater by barge stirs debate (via Reuters)
GE to build $110 million fracking research center in Oklahoma (via Environmental Leader)
Frackers are losing $1.5 billion yearly to leaks (via Mother Jones)
RARE EARTHS
Discovery of rare earth metals in ocean mud could help Japan (via Autoblog Green)
RENEWABLES
Germany’s offshore wind industry finally taking off (via Recharge)
Solar milestone: 1 million PV systems installed in Australia (via Renew Economy)
Merkel losing allies in $700 billion shift to renewables (via Bloomberg)
IRS and renewable energy finance: the waiting game (via Energy Trends Insider)
US renews funding for biofuels research centers (via Detroit News)
Are feed-in tariffs a “subsidy” for a small group of utility customers? (via Midwest Energy News)
PG&E cancels California solar power contracts with BrightSource (via Bloomberg)
ALEC-sponsored bill to repeal North Carolina’s renewable energy standard narrowly passes out of committee (via Climate Progress)
OIL
Feds add teeth to offshore drilling safety mandates (via Houston Chronicle)
Gulf oil spill killed millions of microscopic creatures at base of food chain (via Tampa Bay Times)
Texas refinery is Saudi foothold in US market (via New York Times)
Arkansas AG sets deadline for Exxon to produce oil spill documents (via CTV/AP)
Arkansas oil spill sheds light on aging pipeline system (via NPR)
TRANSPORTATION
UK fuel sales plummet as motorists embrace efficiency (via BusinessGreen)
Nearly 200,000 plug-in EVs equipped with vehicle-to-building technology will be sold through 2020 (via Navigant Research)
Placement of quick charge stations key to eliminating range anxiety (via Plugin Cars)
Proposed gasoline pollution rules fuel air quality debate (via Houston Chronicle)
US drivers could see “significantly lower” gas prices this summer (via NBC News)
Chevy Volt pounds another nail in the coffin of range anxiety (via CleanTechnica)
Chevy Volt fleet racks up 150 million electric-powered miles (via Autoblog Green)
Fisker, A123 settle $140 million supply claims for just $15 million (via Autoblog Green)
A new electric car with an old name (via New York Times)
KEYSTONE XL/TAR SANDS
Alberta mulls tougher carbon rules on oil (via Reuters)
Groups ask State Department for 120-day comment period on Keystone pipeline (via InsideClimate News)
Alberta premier heads to DC to press Keystone pipeline (via The Hill)
Environmentalists hope spill will turn Americans against Keystone (via Washington Post)
CLIMATE
New culprit in sea-level rise: Arctic clouds (via Grist)
Colombia blazes a trail for smaller nations to fight global warming (via ClimateWire)
1,600 years of glaciers in Andes melted in 25 years (via New York Times)
Federal study: global warming means stronger extreme rains (via The Hill)
In wake of Sandy, NOAA alters hurricane warning policy (via Climate Central)
Federal government projects climate change will double wildfire risk in forests (via Denver Post)
EMISSIONS
Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions declined in 2012 (via US EIA)
Mushrooms could be key to safe and natural carbon sequestration (via CleanTechnica)
GRID
GE energy storage system makes UK debut (via Recharge)
Solar decathlon homes form microgrid village in Missouri (via Phys.org)
COAL
Coal exports: two weeks of good news (via Sightline Daily)
Nevada utility to shut out coal, embrace renewables (via Renewable Energy World)
GREEN BUSINESS
How Proctor & Gamble created $1 billion in value with waste (via Greentech Media)
Shell’s VC fund looks to green the fossil fuel business (via Greentech Media)
Employees take corporate sustainability efforts home, study says (via Environmental Leader)
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
New technology could cut efficiency audit costs 75% (via Greentech Media)
OPINION
BrightSource’s cancelled projects highlight hurdles for desert solar thermal plants (via GigaOm)
Is China’s State Grid too big to work? (via Recharge)
RPS attacks go against the march of history (via Renewable Energy World)
More renewables for states (via Politico)
Methane leaks are undermining the shale-gas boom. Here’s how to fix that. (via Politico)
Keystone XL: the pipeline to disaster (via Los Angeles Times)
OTHER NEWS
An additional roundup of energy and climate news is posted at Climate Progress