Environmental Protection Agency

EPA Increases Gas Industry Oversight With Air-Quality Rule

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published its first restrictions on air pollution from natural gas fracking operations, requiring energy companies to make big reductions in the output of volatile organic compounds, air toxics and methane by flaring or using “green completions” to separate gas and liquid hydrocarbons in gas-well flowback.

The rules are designed to cut emissions of VOCs by 95 percent from about 11,000 newly fracked wells each year; reduce air toxics such as benzene by up to 20,000 tons, and lower the emission of methane – a potent greenhouse gas – by the equivalent of up to 33 million tones of CO2. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 18, 2012 at 3:45 PM

Small Modular Reactors – The iPads of Nuclear Power

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Small modular reactors are not a substitute for the familiar 1,000-plus-megawatt reactors, says Tennessee Valley Authority Chief Operating Officer William McCollum, any more than the iPad is a substitute for a laptop computer or a cell phone. Instead, he said, SMRs, like iPads, are creating a whole new niche for nuclear.

Supporters see them as safer than the big plants, cheaper, requiring less time and up-front investment to build, and, longer term, pioneering in nuclear nonproliferation and spent fuel disposal technology. Some designs have the potential to bring electricity to isolated and water-short communities. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 22, 2012 at 9:00 AM

Center Seeks To Shed Light On Fracking And Health

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A truck with the natural gas industry, one of thousands that pass through the area daily, drives through the countryside to a hydraulic fracturing site on January 18, 2012 in Springville, Pennsylvania.

In the continuing debate over whether fracking for natural gas contaminates drinking water, a new health center in the midst of Pennsylvania’s drilling country may provide fresh clues. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 19, 2012 at 9:00 AM

Highlighting The Spread Of Sustainable Investing On Wall Street

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Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on February 17, 2012 in New York City. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 46 points to close at its highest level since May 2008.

Growing awareness of the ways data, technology and the power of investors can transform industries has lent new purpose to the Wall Street green movement and broadened the sector’s appeal to areas the original environmental investors might never have recognized. Keep reading →

 /  Published March 8, 2012 at 11:00 AM

Oil Imports To Decline Dramatically: Production Boost Meets Efficiency Efforts

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The US will “dramatically” reduce its oil import dependency between now and 2035, with imports declining from 49% today to 36%, Energy Information Administration Acting Administrator Howard Gruenspecht said Monday in Washington, DC.

In 2005-6, imports reached their record, 60% of US consumption. Keep reading →

 /  Published January 24, 2012 at 11:00 AM

PJM Capacity Market Faces Uprising

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The theory of capacity markets is simple: in a competitive market, electricity prices for future supply will rise as shortages loom, drawing in competitors to profit by building new generating capacity.

In practice, it may not be working out that way, and simmering discontent over how much consumers are paying for future reliability, and what they’re getting for it, may become open, and bipartisan, rebellion in 2012. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 19, 2011 at 11:00 AM

Claims That Fracking Causes Water Pollution Are Not Crystal Clear

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“EPA Reports Fracking Polluted Drinking Water.”

This headline exploded across the country last week following the Environmental Protection Agency’s report that fracking was the cause behind polluted drinking water in Pavillion, Wyoming. At face value, this appeared to be a major setback for fracking–and the momentum behind shale gas–as claims of ground water pollution are the loudest and most prevalent arguments against the practice. As conclusive as those headlines might have appeared, there are several aspects particular to the situation at Pavillion that will likely prove controversial enough to delay major legislation or regulation for the entire fracking industry in the near future. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 13, 2011 at 1:45 PM

Waiting For The Supercommittee

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Kids may be waiting for Santa, but Washington is waiting for the Supercommittee.

Whether it’s the oil and gas industry defending drilling tax breaks, biofuels boosters watching the clock tick down on expiring ethanol credits, wind advocates worried about their tax credits, or energy researchers wondering if their projects will survive to 2012, everyone in the energy sector has something to worry about. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 12, 2011 at 10:00 AM

Eastern Democrats Defend Cross-State Power Plant Emissions Rule

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US senators and officials from Delaware and Rhode Island on Monday defended the Cross-State Air Pollution rule, an EPA regulation that requires 27 states to make significant cuts in power-plant emissions that contribute to ozone and fine-particle pollution in other states.

Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky is seeking to defeat the rule with a Congressional resolution that represents a vote of “no confidence” in an agency’s regulation. Keep reading →

 /  Published November 8, 2011 at 6:00 AM

Top Five Energy Regulators

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It’s a tough time to be an energy regulator in Washington.

The value of all federal regulation is being challenged on the political front as “job-killing,” but the legal requirements remain in place. Regulators must enforce laws while debate rages. Conversations with Washington observers evoked not only vociferous criticism and fervent praise for those on the spot to keep energy regulation functioning, but also a general respect for the barriers regulators face. Keep reading →

 /  Published September 15, 2011 at 12:20 PM
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