Energy

The governors of three Southern states are lifting restrictions on the number of hours that truck drivers delivering fuel can work, hoping to prevent shortages in both states after the shutdown of a pipeline that spilled at least 252,000 gallons of gasoline in rural Alabama.  Governors can suspend federal transportation regulations during emergencies.  Colonial Pipeline has said most of the leaked gasoline is contained in a retention pond near the city of Helena and there's no public safety concern. The spill was first detected on Sept. [node:read-more:link]

A new national nonprofit group is spending $375,000 on advertising in Kansas over the next two months to make the case for wind energy production, a purchase that hints at future electoral influence.  American Wind Action, founded three months ago, already has a seven-figure budget. Its largest advertising purchase to date is in Kansas, where it will roll out television, radio and digital ads across the state in September and October. [node:read-more:link]

Governor Charlie Baker signed an executive order directing state officials to develop regulations for specific, annual reductions in greenhouse gas emissions by next summer.  The order comes on the heels of a court ruling that the state has not done enough to meet its obligations under the state’s 2008 Global Warming Solutions Act, which requires Massachusetts to cut its greenhouse gases 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. [node:read-more:link]

The 27 states challenging Obama’s Clean Power Plan in court say the lower emissions levels it would impose are an undue burden. But most are likely to hit them anyway.  Already, Arkansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma and South Dakota appear to be meeting the CPP's early targets. And changes in the power market, along with policies favoring clean generation, are propelling most of the rest toward timely compliance, according to researchers, power producers and officials, as well as government filings reviewed by Reuters.  We are seeing reductions earlier than we ever expected,” U.S. [node:read-more:link]

ebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and six other Midwest governors have sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency seeking regulation changes intended to increase sales of gasoline blended with a higher percentage of ethanol. Ricketts along with the governors of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota sent a letter Tuesday to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy requesting new standards that would allow stations to sell more gasoline blended with 15 percent ethanol rather than the current standard of 10 percent ethanol. [node:read-more:link]

A decade ago, lawmakers in Washington tried to address a trifecta of thorny challenges with one simple fix that has turned out to be anything but easy to assess. The problems: an overreliance on foreign oil, rising greenhouse gas emissions and tepid economic growth.  A decade ago, lawmakers in Washington tried to address a trifecta of thorny challenges with one simple fix that has turned out to be anything but easy to assess.  The problems: an overreliance on foreign oil, rising greenhouse gas emissions and tepid economic growth. [node:read-more:link]

Researchers at the University of Wyoming say a vast number of trees killed by a bark beetle population that is rapidly expanding due to higher temperatures could be sustainably co-fired in coal plants. [node:read-more:link]

ndia has complained to the World Trade Organization about support given to the renewable energy industry in eight U.S. states, the WTO said.  The complaint alleges the states of Minnesota, Washington, California, Montana, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Michigan and Delaware prop up their renewables sector with illegal subsidies and domestic content requirements - an obligation to buy local goods rather than imports. [node:read-more:link]

Public outcry may have stopped another area wind project in its tracks. The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission will consider approving the withdrawal of a permit to build a 100-turbine wind farm in Charles Mix and Bon Homme counties after hearing significant resistance from the surrounding communities. [node:read-more:link]

Looking for new business opportunities to counter a drop in revenues, the Alaska Railroad Corp. this month will become the first railroad in the U.S. to ship liquefied natural gas, in a demonstration project that could help deliver cheaper energy to Fairbanks. The state-owned railroad has signed an agreement to borrow two LNG containers from a company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, owned partly by Hitachi in Japan. [node:read-more:link]