Permitting

Narrow Interest Blocks Big Pipeline

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The Obama Administration, encouraged by environmental groups, has blocked yet another affordable energy project-the Keystone XL Pipeline. Add this to the unconscionable slowdown of leasing and production in the Gulf of Mexico, foot-dragging on production in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, blocks on offshore production in the Atlantic and Pacific, and continued prohibitions and impediments to production in non-park, non-wilderness areas of the Western U.S. and ANWR. For each one, the claim is that the production wouldn’t make much difference.

Well, the XL Pipeline would bring 750,000 barrels per day to our energy markets. Just this one pipeline would add nearly as much as the 800,000 to 900,000 barrels per day we import from Venezuela-our fourth-largest foreign supplier. One of the most fundamental and least controversial concepts in economics is that increasing supply reduces price. The impact on petroleum price is compounded by the host of petroleum-producing projects that have been blocked, delayed, and impeded by the Administration. These projects could add millions of barrels per day to the petroleum markets. Keep reading →

 /  Published January 23, 2012 at 6:00 AM

Judge Murtha: “The harm to public interest from even a temporary shutdown of #Vermont Yankee would be significant” – http://bit.ly/zdUwTp

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Judge Murtha: “The harm to public interest from even a temporary shutdown of #Vermont Yankee would be significant” – http://bit.ly/zdUwTp N_E_I

 /  Published January 20, 2012 at 11:45 AM

Is Drilling Causing Ohio Earthquakes?

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In what may be the nation’s next boomtown, the ground is, literally, booming. Residents here in northeastern Ohio are receiving up to $5,000 an acre from energy companies that lease their land — plus monthly royalties. But they have also experienced at least 11 earthquakes since last March, state officials say. Scientists say the region’s quakes are likely tied to the burgeoning oil and gas industry. At 3:05 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, the people of Youngstown, Ohio, felt their homes shake. “I thought a jetliner crashed into the side of my house,” said resident Jim Bunosky. He was one of 300 to 400 local residents who attended a community meeting last week to discuss the quake’s origin, which some believe is linked to a local well used for wastewater disposal from oil and gas drilling.

 /  Published January 17, 2012 at 2:55 PM

US Shale Gas Development May Be Tough To Copy

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The unique structure of the US natural gas industry enabled development and rapid deployment of new shale gas technology, and the lack of that structure is complicating efforts of other countries to follow suit.

That’s according to Laszlo Varro, head of the Gas, Coal & Power Division at the International Energy Agency, speaking at the Center for Strategic & International Studies recently. Keep reading →

 /  Published January 17, 2012 at 6:00 AM

API Wants Energy Back In 2012 Elections

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Energy issues aren’t popping up much yet in election year discussions and debates, but if the American Petroleum Institute gets its way, they will be.

API President and CEO Jack Gerard told a luncheon in Washington, DC Wednesday that the oil and gas lobby is launching a nationwide “conversation with the American people” called “Vote for Energy.” Keep reading →

 /  Published January 5, 2012 at 10:00 AM

Is Indian Point Nuclear Plant Safe For Another 20 Years?

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Even as global nuclear power prospects have been overshadowed by events in the past year, US nuclear power has remained relatively steady. But controversy following the Fukushima disaster is starting to impact operations at existing nuclear units as well as permitting for proposed facilities.

Particularly controversial has been upstate New York’s Indian Point nuclear plant run by Entergy in Buchanan, New York. As the plant reaches its fortieth year and Entergy applies for a new 20-year license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, several key stakeholders are trying to block the way. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 29, 2011 at 7:00 AM

USGS: Solar’s Desert Impact Needs Study

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In the excitement of saving the environment with clean energy, we seem to have forgotten the wildlife that also have a stake in a thriving habitat. Scientists at the US Geological Survey (USGS) reviewed existing scientific papers and found that there is a lack of study on the effects of large-scale solar energy developments and operations on wildlife.

USGS scientist Jeffrey Lovich and Maryville College (Tenn.) scientist Joshua Ennen did find a large amount of information in environmental compliance documents and other unpublished, non-peer-reviewed literature, but concluded that more peer-reviewed studies are necessary, particularly on desert habitat where much of the large-scale solar development is unfolding. Peer-reviewed studies are reviewed by experts in the same field of study and then published, making them a more reliable source of in-depth information. Keep reading →

 /  Published December 20, 2011 at 11:30 AM

Obama Aides: Keystone Pipeline Inclusion ‘Is Absolutely Not A Blink’

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At a press conference on Dec. 7, President Obama warned congressional Republicans not to attach a controversial crude oil pipeline from Canada through the U.S. to a bill extending a year-old break on people’s payroll tax. “Any effort to try to tie Keystone to the payroll tax cut, I will reject,” the president said, standing next to his Canadian counterpart, Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Ten days later, Republicans, with the help of sympathetic Democrats and lawmakers who just wanted to get a deal done, did just that. By a vote of 89 to 10, the Senate voted on Saturday morning to extend the payroll tax cut for two months. Included in the bill was language requiring the State Department to issue a permit within 60 days to proceed with the 1,700-mile oil pipeline. The inclusion, on its surface, goes directly against the president’s veto threat. But the White House has no plans to torpedo the measure. At a briefing with reporters following a short statement by the president, senior administration officials made the case that their position on the pipeline had not been affected. This article is a linkout.

 /  Published December 19, 2011 at 1:15 PM

Keystone Pipeline: How Many Jobs Would It Really Create

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The Keystone pipeline project is back in play as part of the payroll-tax cut debate, and Congressional Republicans say it would create jobs. But there’s a wide range of estimates, with one forecast that Keystone could actually cost jobs. The 1,700-mile long pipeline would transport crude oil from Canada’s oil sands region in Alberta to refineries along the U.S. Gulf Coast. The Obama administration pushed back the project last month pending a review from the State Department, but Republicans want to bring it back as a sweetener to approve an extension of the payroll-tax break and federal unemployment insurance. The House passed a measure Tuesday that would tie tax cuts to Keystone approval. TransCanda (TRP), the company that wants to build the pipeline, says Keystone would create 20,000 “direct” jobs. That includes 13,000 construction jobs and 7,000 jobs making stuff like pump houses and the pipe itself. This article is a linkout.

 /  Published December 19, 2011 at 11:30 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
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