Top News

As federal funding dries up, states may play greater clean tech role
Stateline
Federal investment in clean energy technology is poised to plummet in the coming years, threatening to shrink a sector that has grown quickly in the past decade, but hasn’t yet weaned itself from subsidies, according to a study by scholars from The Brookings Institution and the World Resources and Breakthrough institutes. And that decreasing investment in wind, solar and other renewable energy industries could put more responsibility on states for developing the industries. 

As Workers Age, Oil Industry Braces For Skills Gap
NPR
Two years after the Deepwater Horizon accident killed 11 men and sent oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, the oil industry says it has learned valuable lessons from the disaster that are making drilling safer today. But there's still a pressing issue looming for the oil industry: Oil field workers are retiring in huge numbers, leaving a workforce that's younger and — more importantly — less experienced. Dubbed "the great crew change," the staffing challenge comes even as crews venture into places where drilling is more difficult, like the Arctic and below the world's oceans.

State News

(AL) Fears remain two years after BP oil spill on Gulf Coast
The Press-Register
Fear of the unknown. That's the biggest concern two years after the BP oil spill. The largest spill in U.S. history also served to tell the world about south Alabama's sugar white sand beaches, city officials said, and that exposure was priceless. But most everyone remains clueless about the spill’s impact on future generations. On the anniversary of the spill, the Press-Register asked three key questions of officials along the coast. Those invited to respond included mayors of several Gulf-front cities, and area leaders in health, environmental issues and tourism fields.

(MS) PSC votes 2-1 (again) to approve Kemper County coal plant
The Clarion-Ledger
The Mississippi Public Service Commission voted Tuesday to give new approval for Mississippi Power Co.'s coal-fired power plant in Kemper County, pushing aside opponents' calls for a fresh look at the plant's finances. The PSC had to vote for the plant again after the state Supreme Court ruled last month that regulators didn't fully explain why they raised a cost cap from $2.4 billion to $2.88 billion. The Sierra Club, which opposes the plant, brought the lawsuit that led to that decision. Commissioners said Tuesday's ruling does not raise the $2.88 billion cost cap, which is meant to provide a 20 percent margin for overruns.

(MO) Federal aid sought to build nuclear reactors in Missouri
The Kansas City Star
Westinghouse Electric Co. and Ameren Missouri announced Thursday they would seek federal funds to help build a new generation of smaller and safer nuclear reactors. If Westinghouse wins some of up to $452 million in investment funds from the U.S. Energy Department, then St. Louis-based Ameren would apply for licenses to allow up to five 225-megawatt reactors to be built at the company’s nuclear power plant in Callaway County. Callaway’s current reactor is nearly 30 years old and generates more than 1,000 megawatts of electricity. In addition to boosting energy production at Callaway, Missouri also could turn into a hub for manufacturing the new reactors — known as Small Modular Nuclear Reactors, or SMRs — to be exported around the world, Gov. Jay Nixon said. Unlike traditional nuclear reactors, which must be built on site, SMRs are manufactured at a production facility and shipped wherever they’re needed.

(SC) SC positioning itself at vanguard of mini-nuclear age
The State
South Carolina is poised to become the Silicon Valley of mini-nuclear reactor manufacturing when and if the new technology emerges, according to boosters attending the Nuclear Small Modular Reactor Conference on Tuesday in Columbia. The Midlands is a leading contender as the site of the first mini-reactor – small, portable reactors that could be moved around to power different areas – experts said. The region boasts the research and development strengths of the Savannah River Site near Aiken – including 95 percent of the nation’s non-weapons plutonium – as well as deep political support for nuclear power and pro-active public and private efforts to land the emerging industry. The region’s proximity to the Port of Charleston is also an advantage because most of the customers for the reactors would be overseas – in remote areas where power generation now is a problem.

(VA) Opponents face off over Virginia offshore drilling
The Virginian-Pilot
Hampton Roads got its say Tuesday in whether the U.S. government should allow exploration for oil and natural gas off the Virginia coast using devices such as sidescan sonars, air guns, seismic mapping and other deep-sea technologies. By the end of the year, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management wants to determine whether to approve exploration off the coasts of several states, with an eye toward selling drilling leases by the end of 2017. Virginia, however, is not in line for drilling that soon and would likely have to wait until at least 2018 to see ships, crews and oil platforms heading to a designated area to hunt for oil and gas.

(VA) Virginia ruling aids Alaska climate suit
The Washington Times
The Virginia Supreme Court has handed down an unprecedented ruling on companies’ liability for global warming-related damages — a first-in-the-nation decision that could portend massive consequences for energy companies and environmental lawyers. The ruling stems from an ongoing case in federal court, in which the Alaskan island town of Kivalina accused a handful of mostly U.S. energy companies of contributing to global warming, which it says has rendered the town uninhabitable. One of the energy companies named in the lawsuit, Arlington-based AES Corp., was then sued in Virginia by its insurance carrier, which objected to having to defend the company and possibly pay damages associated with global warming as part of a policy covering accidents.

U.S. & World News

Coal States Fear for Future of the Industry
Stateline
Last month, when the Obama administration moved for stricter regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin of West Virginia accused the administration of “trying to end the use of coal as we know it.” He was echoing sentiments in other coal-producing states and those of the coal industry itself. Hal Quinn, president of the National Mining Association, called the proposal "the latest convoy in EPA’s regulatory train wreck that is rolling across America, crushing jobs and arresting our economic recovery at every stop.” The greenhouse gas crackdown followed another EPA rule, announced in December, that limits the amount of mercury and other toxics power plants can spew into the air, requiring coal-fired units to employ new pollutant-capturing technology.

Government Files First Criminal Charges In BP Oil Spill
NPR
"The first criminal charges in connection with the BP oil spill have been filed against a former BP engineer named Kurt Mix," NPR's Carrie Johnson reports exclusively. Carrie just told our Newscast unit that Mix has been charged with obstruction of justice for allegedly deleting text messages after the spill. The texts were related to the amount of oil gushing into the Gulf. Mix will make his first appearance in court today. Carrie adds that there has been an expectation that criminal charges would be brought against individuals, but this is the first person charged since the spill happened two years ago. These are preliminary charges and a law enforcement official says there are more charges to come.

Study Shows Air Emissions Near Fracking Sites Increase Cancer and Neurological Health Risks
Energy Boom
A new study from the Colorado School of Public Health shows that air pollution generated by hydraulic fracturing can produce acute and chronic illnesses for those living near the drilling sites. This research adds another wrinkle to the public health debate surrounding hydraulic fracturing.  Largely this discourse has centered around toxification of the water supply.  However, as Dr. Lisa McKenzie, the lead author of the study, explains, it is time to broaden the discussion:  "Our data show it is important to include air pollution in the national dialogue on natural gas development that has focused largely on water exposures to hydraulic fracturing." The study, to be published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, was based off three years of monitoring.  The data presented some incredible findings, including identifying several toxic petroleum hydrocarbons in the air near wells.  These chemicals include benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene and xylene. 

US air pollution hits 10-year low, report finds
The Christian Science Monitor
American cities with the dirtiest air have reached a new milestone in efforts to clean up their act. The air quality in the US is at its highest level in a decade, according to a new report released by the American Lung Association (ALA) Wednesday. The nonprofit organization credits the trend to tougher environmental standards set for smog and soot in the air.

Safety First: President Obama Creates Working Group to Ensure Safe Development of Unconventional Natural Gas
Energy Boom
President Obama has made one thing very clear this year:  as long as he is in power, he will continue to tap the country's unrivalled unconventional natural gas resources.  The President has also said he will develop this resource in a manner which will not harm the environment or public health.  To that end, his administration has announced a new partnership to ensure natural gas and oil expansion happens as a responsible part of the "all of the above" energy approach the President is focused on creating. The partnership, dubbed the Interagency Working Group to Support Safe and Responsible Development of Unconventional Domestic Natural Gas Resources, will coordinate current and future research and scientific evaluation conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Department of Interior.  Each of these departments will play an important role in the expansion of the country's natural gas industry.

Gas prices seen headed lower at the pump
CNN
A surge in gasoline prices earlier this year sparked talk of $5 a gallon by this summer, but prices at the pump have been ticking lower in April, and it appears they'll continue falling as the driving season approaches. This rosy scenario is prompted by the fact that the price for one of the most common types of gasoline futures traded in New York has dropped 30 cents, going from over $3.40 a gallon at the beginning of April to $3.10 a gallon Wednesday.

Solar Power Gets the Might of the U.S. Military Behind It
Energy Boom
The first solar panels ever installed, were photo-voltaic solar panels mounted on military satellites and blasted into space from Cape Kennedy, Florida during the 'Space Race' of the 1960's. Many of those old, reliable PV solar-powered satellites are still up there sending back (decidedly low-tech) information, as compared to the satellite technology of today. Q: What does this have to do with the U.S. military now installing PV solar panels at an exponential rate on its bases you ask? A: Price. As production of PV solar panels have ramped up - prices have dropped dramatically. In fact, solar module prices have dropped so fast, several large solar manufacturers have gone bankrupt - unable to stay with the market. Lower priced (PV solar-specific) materials, manufacturing costs and technology have all conspired to force a huge price drop.

Following Garbage's Long Journey Around The Earth
NPR
Americans generate more trash than anyone else on the planet: more than 7 pounds per person each day. About 69 percent of that trash goes immediately into landfills. And most landfill trash is made up of containers and packaging — almost all of which should be recycled, says Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Edward Humes.  Humes' new book Garbology: Our Dirty Love Affair with Trash follows the journey that trash takes as it makes its way from garbage containers through landfills, sanitation plants and scrap heaps.

Burger King makes cage-free promise
The Gazette
The movement by U.S. food corporations toward more humane treatment of animals experienced a whopper of a shift Wednesday when Burger King announced that all of its eggs and pork will come from cage-free chickens and pigs by 2017. The decision by the world's second-biggest fast-food restaurant raises the bar for other companies seeking to appeal to the rising consumer demand for more humanely produced fare.

Outside the Region

(MD) Marcellus commission seeks extension on Md. drilling study
The Gazette
Members of a commission scrutinizing natural gas extraction in western Maryland are asking the governor for more time to complete a study on the controversial drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission is asking for more time to complete a best practices study that would examine technical issues of drilling, environmental impacts and infrastructure needs. Commission chairman David Vanko said Wednesday that the group is asking the governor to extend the timeline for the study, which was originally due to Gov. Martin O'Malley and the legislature in August.

(MD) Sierra Club challenges Md. natural gas terminal
The Wall Street Journal
The Sierra Club said Thursday it will try to block an energy company's plan to export liquefied natural gas to find new markets for the drilling boom that has flooded the Mid-Atlantic with natural gas. Virginia-based Dominion Resources Inc. is seeking to export 1 billion cubic feet per day through a terminal it owns in Maryland. A previous legal settlement dating to the 1970s gives the Sierra Club the ability to reject any significant changes to the purpose or footprint of the existing natural gas terminal in Cove Point, Md., 60 miles southeast of Washington. The environmental group says the export project could result in major damage to the Chesapeake Bay and nearby Calvert Cliffs State Park in Maryland.

(NE) New proposed Keystone XL pipeline route unveiled
The Lincoln Journal-World
Officials unveiled a new preferred route Thursday for the Nebraska portion of the stalled Keystone XL oil pipeline that avoids the state’s groundwater-rich Sandhills region. The proposed route would veer east around the Sandhills before looping back to the original route. Developer TransCanada has said the reroute adds about 100 miles to the original 1,700-mile project that would carry oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast. The company submitted the proposal after Gov. Dave Heineman allowed state officials to proceed with an environmental review. The review stalled in January when the Obama administration rejected a federal permit for the pipeline. Administration officials said they didn’t have time to review the project before a congressional deadline and cited uncertainty about the Nebraska route. The full $7 billion pipeline would travel from Canada through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. TransCanada wants to build the 36-inch pipeline to carry oil from tar sands in Alberta to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast.

(NJ) New Jersey drops out of lawsuit against EPA over ozone
Politico
New Jersey has dropped out of a lawsuit challenging the White House decision to bypass strict ozone standards that the EPA had recommended as necessary to protect human health. The state was notably absent from briefs filed this month in State of Mississippi v. EPA before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. That case began in 2008 after the Bush administration sidestepped Environmental Protection Agency scientists’ recommended ozone standards, which were later proposed by current Administrator Lisa Jackson.

More News

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(LA) Hearing set Wednesday on spill settlement
(MO) Ameren, Westinghouse nuclear deal could clear political path
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(WV) Utility deal's approval key to reopening aluminum plant
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