Energy

Environmentalists notched a rare win in the Republican-led Senate on Wednesday as a GOP effort to reverse an Obama-era rule restricting harmful methane emissions unexpectedly failed. The 51-49 vote against the repeal measure was a blow to the fossil- fuel industry and groups linked to the conservative Koch Brothers, which had waged a public campaign to overturn the Interior Department rule.The rule, finalized in November, would force energy companies to capture methane that’s burned off or “flared” at drilling sites because it earns less money than oil. [node:read-more:link]

What is different about a Low Carbon Fuel Standard — as compared to a Renewable Fuel Standard?There are 4 primary differences.1. An RFS creates a standard, and any fuel that meets that standard can compete in that market. Once a fuel has met the low-carbon standard, it becomes entirely about fuel price. In an LCFS, all fuels get credited according to the carbon reductions of their pathway. So, there are no “motivational dead zones” when it comes to pushing harder on reducing carbon.2. An LCFS sets carbon volumes, not fuel volumes. 3. All fuels and energy systems compete against each other. [node:read-more:link]

Members of the U.S. Senate are questioning whether Carl Icahn’s lobbying to change the Renewable Fuel Standard creates an ethics conflict with his role as advisor in the Trump administration. In addition to the ethics question, Members of Congress and some in the biofuels industry should examine whether Icahn could even deliver on the purported quid-pro-quo even if he wanted to. [node:read-more:link]

Our understanding of renewable energy impacts remains woefully deficient, but a new study, published last month in The Journal of Wildlife Management, suggests that windfarms affect the hunting and scavenging behaviors of the desert’s foxes, coyotes, and bobcats. Scientists visited a wind farm near Palm Springs, California, home to 460 lofty wind turbines, and set up motion-activated cameras in front of 46 desert tortoise burrows. [node:read-more:link]

Iowa farmers got their chance to hear firsthand from USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue about his intent to preserve the U.S. ethanol industry and promote trade. Secretary Perdue told a crowd of farmers, lawmakers, and members of the agricultural industry that the Trump administration will not mess with the Renewable Fuels Standard. [node:read-more:link]

Eight Democratic Senators on Tuesday asked U.S. regulators to launch an investigation into billionaire Carl Icahn's activities in the U.S. biofuels blending credit market, saying the activist investor may have violated securities trading laws. [node:read-more:link]

In a report issued by the Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis, 46 coal-burning units at 25 power plants across 16 states will close or greatly reduce production by 2018, resulting in a 30 million-ton decrease in demand for coal.
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Environmental and climate regulations that cut pollution from coal-fired power plants have played only a minor role in the decline of the coal industry, which has been hurt mainly by expanding use of natural gas and less demand for electricity, according to a Columbia University report published this week. U.S. coal use fell by about 30 percent between 2011 and 2016. The paper attributes about half of that decline to low natural gas prices, 26 percent to falling demand for electricity and 18 percent to growth in renewable energy such as wind and solar. [node:read-more:link]

We've entered a topsy-turvy moment in energy where coal supporters want solar power and oil execs have endorsed cutting fossil fuel use.The latter appeared in a new decarbonization roadmap from the Energy Transitions Commission, an all-star working group charting the energy future that includes the chairman of Royal Dutch Shell, the head of sustainability at massive mining company BHP Billiton, the CEO of General Electric Oil and Gas, as well as leaders from prominent global banks, development organizations and climate-oriented NGOs.The terminology in "Better Energy, Greater Prosperity" wil [node:read-more:link]

High gas and power prices in the Northeast are only going to get worse unless the region adds pipeline capacity, according to a new report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy. [node:read-more:link]