Category: Energy

Cows, Corn, and … Carbon? The Future of Farming Could Change the Climate

Farmers like to point out that they feed the world—but could farming practices actually save the world by reversing climate change? Perhaps. The practice of “carbon farming”—using farming practices that either directly reduce greenhouse gas emissions or that sequester carbon in soil or vegetation—is increasingly promoted as a method that could, together with fossil fuel […]

EPA May Take Over Idaho UIC Class II Wells

Oil and gas (O&G) companies may get an opportunity to expand development operations in Idaho if the EPA finalizes a proposal to take over the state’s Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program for Class II wells. Currently, the state and its Department of Water Resources (IDWR) have not received approval from the EPA to issue Class […]

ANWR O&G Development Bill Passed by Senate Committee

In a largely party-line vote—with only Democratic Senator Joe Manchin (WV) siding with Republicans—the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources approved budget reconciliation legislation that would open about 2,000 acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska to oil and gas (O&G) development.

DOC Looks to Protect Domestic Biodiesel

The Department of Commerce (DOC) announced that it has determined that Argentina and Indonesia provide “unfair” subsidies to its producers of biodiesel, thereby harming U.S. biodiesel producers that must compete with the low-priced biodiesel imported from these nations.

New Data on O&G Methane Rule Under Consideration

The Trump EPA continues to build a case for staying certain requirements of the Obama EPA’s June 2016 New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) governing emissions of methane from the oil and natural gas (O&G) sector.

DOI Report Identifies Energy Use and Development Obstacles

The Department of Interior (DOI) and its secretary, Ryan Zinke, have issued a report identifying actions by the department that potentially block or discourage the development and use of energy resources on federal land and water. The report also describes actions the DOI is taking to remove these obstacles.

U.S. Manufacturing Reducing Energy Intensity

U.S. manufacturing has been making progress in reducing its energy intensity, reports the Energy Information Administration (EIA). In its eighth Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey (MECS), the EIA found that from 2010 to 2014, manufacturing fuel consumption increased by 4.7 percent, while real gross output increased by 9.6 percent—or more than twice that rate—resulting in a […]

Cape Wind Project Still Alive

The Cape Wind Energy Project (CWEP), once at the vanguard of offshore wind power in the United States, but since 2015 virtually dead in the water, recently received a small vote of confidence from the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). In response to a July 2016 court order that required […]

Further Biomass-based Diesel Reductions Under Consideration

Stating that it is concerned about the high cost of advanced biofuels, the EPA is requesting public comment on potential reductions in the 2018 biomass-based diesel (BBD), advanced biofuel, and total renewable fuel volumes and/or the 2019 BBD volume under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program. These possible reductions would be on top of reductions […]

Coal Company Seeks Changes in Permitting

At the request of industry stakeholders, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) has provided the public with an additional month to offer comments on Corps regulations that may be appropriate for repeal, replacement, or modification. The comment period now closes October 18, 2017 (September 15, 2017, FR). One commenter that did not need the […]