Energy
Both Sides Agree On Tough New Fracking Standards
March 20, 2013 1:54 pm | by Kevin Begos, Associated Press | News | CommentsIn an unlikely partnership between longtime adversaries, some of the nation's biggest energy companies and environmental groups have agreed on a voluntary set of standards for gas and oil fracking in the Northeast that appear to go further than existing state and federal pollution regulations.
Suntech Declares Bankruptcy
March 20, 2013 9:02 am | by Joe McDonald, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsSuntech Power Holdings Ltd. said eight Chinese banks asked a court to declare it insolvent after the company missed a $541 million payment to bondholders last week. Suntech said it would not oppose the petition. The development is a dramatic reversal for a company that was a leading force in China's fast-growing renewable energy industry.
Exploring Energy Q&A: The Solar Advantage
March 20, 2013 8:32 am | Articles | CommentsThe ability to switch over to solar and reduce the cost of electricity at that plant would have given me a competitive advantage and also allowed me to advertise and market that we were a sustainable energy company. This sustainability message was important because a lot of my customers had sustainability objectives that they wanted to achieve.
China's Suntech Announces Default, Search For Financing
March 19, 2013 10:40 am | by Joe McDonald, AP Business Writer | News | CommentsSuntech, one of the world's biggest solar panel manufacturers, said Monday it has defaulted on a $541 million bond payment in the latest sign of the financial squeeze on the struggling global solar industry. The announcement was a severe setback for a company lauded by China's Communist government as a leader of efforts to make the country a center of the renewable energy industry.
Pink Slips Going Out At Hanford Nuclear Site
March 19, 2013 9:34 am | by Shannon Dininny, Associated Press | News | CommentsPink slips went out Monday to nearly 250 workers and more than 2,500 others were notified that they face furloughs of several weeks at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site, where cleanup is likely to be slowed because of automatic federal budget cuts.
NY Fracking Foes: Will Become Lobby If Necessary
March 19, 2013 9:19 am | by Michael Gormley, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe group and nearly 200 entertainers connected with it aren't currently registered lobbyists, which would require disclosure of how much money the group has raised and how it's been spent.
AP: Celeb Fracking Group Not Registered
March 18, 2013 1:35 pm | by Michael Gormley, Associated Press | News | CommentsDozens of celebrities may be running afoul of the law as they unite under the banner of one group that is seeking to prevent a method of gas drilling in New York state. Artists Against Fracking opposes hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and boasts members including Yoko Ono and actors Mark Ruffalo and Susan Sarandon.
Keystone Fears Resonate Along New England Pipeline
March 18, 2013 1:24 pm | by Wilson Ring, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Canadian energy industry insists it has no plans to reverse the flow of a pipeline that carries crude oil from Maine to Montreal, but that has done little to reassure New England towns that oppose the idea and the 18 members of Congress asking for a full environmental review.
Cross-Country Car Trip Used Only Solar, Hydrogen
March 18, 2013 11:15 am | News | CommentsMiddle Tennessee State University fuels researcher Dr. Cliff Ricketts drove into Long Beach, Calif., having used only solar power and hydrogen to power his car. Ricketts and backup driver Terry Young of Woodbury finished their six-day journey Thursday afternoon. Ricketts said the accomplishment showed vehicles all over the country can be run on the sun and water.
Nuclear Chief: U.S. Plants Safer After Japan Crisis
March 11, 2013 11:39 am | by Matthew Daly, Associated Press | News | CommentsAll but five of the nation's 104 nuclear reactors were performing at acceptable safety levels at the end of 2012, Macfarlane said, citing a recent NRC report. "You can't engage that many reactors and not have a few that are going to have difficulty," she said.
EU Probes Germany's Energy Discounts For Industry
March 6, 2013 12:41 pm | News | CommentsLarge electricity consumers were exempt from paying around €300 million ($390 million) in network charges last year alone — an arrangement that may put competitors in other member states at a disadvantage, said the Commission, which is also the 27-nation bloc's antitrust watchdog.
Celebrity 'Fractivists': True Advocates Or NIMBYs?
March 6, 2013 8:24 am | by Jennifer Peltz and Kevin Begos, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe campaign has galvanized hundreds of thousands of followers, but as with many activist causes, the facts can get drowned out by the glitz. Now, some experts are asking whether the celebrities are enlightened advocates or NIMBYs — crying "Not in my backyard!" — even as their privileged lives remain entwined, however ruefully, with fossil fuels.
Dreams Of Gas Riches Fading For NY Landowners
February 26, 2013 7:11 am | by Mary Esch, Associated Press | News | CommentsBut five years later, her natural gas dreams and those of thousands of other New York landowners have faded to frustration as a decision languishes on whether the state should allow fracking, the process of extracting gas by drilling horizontally through the shale and breaking it apart with chemically treated water.
Marcellus Shale Gas Boom Expected To Slow In 2013
February 15, 2013 1:32 pm | by Kevin Begos, Associated Press | News | CommentsEnergy experts say the boom in Marcellus Shale natural gas production will slow this year but not because there's any lack of supply. The slowdown is happening because drillers are waiting for pipelines to expand, new markets to develop and wholesale prices to rise.
GAO: SC Fuel Fabrication Plant Will Cost $2B More
February 15, 2013 9:48 am | by Meg Kinnard, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe price tag for a South Carolina project intended to turn weapons-grade plutonium into fuel for nuclear reactors has gone up by $2 billion, according to a report released Thursday. In its annual report on high-risk government projects, the GAO mentioned the MOX project only briefly but also noted that it is doing a separate inquiry into the program.
Gov O'Malley: Offshore Wind Bill Would Create Jobs
February 13, 2013 4:37 pm | by Alex Dominguez, Associated Press | News | CommentsAn offshore wind farm meeting specifications of the bill would create nearly 850 manufacturing and construction jobs for five years and 160 ongoing jobs, the governor said, adding it could also help make the state a hub for the offshore wind power industry. However, Jeff Zellmer of the Maryland Retailers Association told committee members the measure would cost jobs, not create them.
Corn Shortage Idles 20 Ethanol Plants
February 11, 2013 7:54 am | by Jim Salter, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe Renewable Fuels Association, an ethanol industry trade group, provided data to The Associated Press showing that 20 of the nation's 211 ethanol plants have ceased production over the past year, including five in January. Most remain open, with workers spending time performing maintenance-type tasks.
Solar Industry Grapples With Hazardous Wastes
February 11, 2013 7:47 am | by Jason Dearen, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe fossil fuels used to transport that waste, experts say, is not typically considered in calculating solar's carbon footprint, giving scientists and consumers who use the measurement to gauge a product's impact on global warming the impression that solar is cleaner than it is.
ND Bill Cuts Exemption For Wasting Natural Gas
February 8, 2013 8:23 am | by James MacPherson, Associated Press | News | CommentsSen. Tim Mathern's bill hits the oil industry in its pocketbook by cutting out an easily acquired waiver that allows companies to claim an economic hardship of connecting a well to a natural gas pipeline. The amount of natural gas burned off each day in eastern North Dakota's oil patch could heat more than 500,000 homes, Mathern said.
States Announce Deal To Cut Greenhouse Gasses
February 8, 2013 8:13 am | by Bob Salsberg, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe new rules announced by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative would lower the cap on carbon dioxide emissions from the current 165 million tons to 91 million tons in 2014 — a 45 percent reduction from 2005 levels. The cap would be lowered an additional 2.5 percent per year from 2015-2020.
Operator At Calif Nuke Plant Disputes Safety Claim
February 7, 2013 8:19 am | by Michael R. Blood, Associated Press Writer | News | CommentsThe utility that runs the troubled San Onofre nuclear power plant on the California coast sharply denied Thursday that it was aware of equipment problems linked to a 2012 tube break that released a trace of radiation. Edison said in a statement "it is simply not accurate" to suggest the company was aware of design problems, and pointed out the equipment carried a 20-year warranty against defects.
Senator Wants Investigation At Calif. Nuke Plant
February 7, 2013 3:49 am | by Michael R. Blood, Associated Press Writer | News | CommentsThe seaside plant located between San Diego and Los Angeles hasn't produced electricity in more than a year, after a tiny radiation leak in January 2012 led to the discovery of damage to hundreds of steam generator tubes that carry radioactive water.
Beer To Help Power Alaska Brewery
February 4, 2013 8:02 am | by Joshua Berlinger, Associated Press | News | CommentsA Juneau-based beer maker has installed a unique boiler system in order to cut its fuel costs. It purchased a $1.8 million furnace that burns the company's spent grain — the waste accumulated from the brewing process — into steam which powers the majority of the brewery's operations. Company officials now joke they are now serving "beer-powered beer."
Energy Industry Develops Nontoxic Fracking Fluids
February 4, 2013 7:51 am | by Kevin Begos, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe oil and gas industry is trying to ease environmental concerns by developing nontoxic fluids for the drilling process known as fracking, but it's not clear whether the new product will be widely embraced by drilling companies. Houston-based energy giant Halliburton Inc. has developed a product called CleanStim, which uses only food-industry ingredients.
MaxLite Unveils LED A Type Frosted Lamp
February 1, 2013 10:25 am | Products | CommentsIdeal for usage in downlights, pendants, sconces, desk lamps and chandeliers, MaxLite unveils the 11-watt LED A Type Frosted Lamp featuring outstanding efficacy and lumen life maintenance, which has been added to the ENERGY STAR® list of qualified products.
