The U.S. Department of Energy wants 20 percent of the nation’s energy to come from wind power in the next 15 years, targeting a 5% increase from current production levels. “A new Energy Department report finds that wind technology featuring taller towers and larger turbines may get the nation to that goal by opening up areas to wind farm development that were previously dead zones.

New data based on wind resources at higher elevations show that the Southeast, which currently has no commercial wind farms, could be a viable location.” [ABC/AP]

A directive banning the Clean Energy Finance Corporation in Australian from investing in existing wind technology will also apply to small-scale solar projects, a move that will effectively throttle domestic renewable energy industries. “The federal government on Sunday confirmed that the $10bn CEFC will no longer invest in wind power, instead focussing on “emerging technologies”. [The Guardian]

Investors are speculating that profit forecasts are again so low that there’s little need to hedge against a miss. “Implied volatility on an exchange-traded fund tracking energy companies is at its lowest in 14 months versus another ETF mirroring the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The decline signals falling demand for options used to protect against losses in the shares.” [Bloomberg]