The Obama administration have imposed tighter restrictions on oil and gas fracking operations on public lands in an attempt to lower the risk of water contamination that has been chiefly behind the recent boom in U.S. energy production.”The regulations represent the administration’s most significant effort to tighten standards for hydraulic fracturing, a technique that helped make the United States the world’s No. 1 producer of natural gas while igniting a fierce debate over environmental consequences.
The Interior Department rules apply only to oil and gas drilling on federal lands, or about a quarter of the country’s current fossil-fuel output. But the prospect of new regulations has drawn sharp opposition from industry groups who say the new requirements will drive up production costs everywhere.” [The Washington Post]
Costa Rica has powered its cities for 75 days straight by using 100% renewable energy due to a prolonged period of heavy downpours.”The Central American country achieved a major milestone in mainstream clean energy usage by powering its cities using hydropower for three months, according to the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE).
“The Country’s zero-emission milestone was enabled thanks to heavy rainfalls at four hydroelectric power facilities in the first quarter of 2015. These downpours have meant that, for the months of January, February and so far March, there has been no need to burn fossil fuels to generate electricity,” ICE said in a Spanish-written press statement.” [NY Daily News]
Local officials in the Coachella Valley are worried the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan could inadvertently limit wind development in Palm Springs and the San Gorgonio Pass.”State and federal officials have spent six years working on the 10,000-page draft plan that would lay the ground rules for the next quarter-century of solar, wind and geothermal development across 22.5 million acres of California desert.
The plan would designate several million acres as renewable energy zones, while setting aside millions more acres for conservation and recreation.” [The Desert Sun]
