TheRepublic.com - Energy News

UMaine unveils offshore wind data buoy

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:55:06 -0400

ORONO, Maine - A data-collection buoy that can be plopped in the ocean and used to determine the suitability of remote locations for offshore wind farms is ready for real-world testing, the University of Maine announced Friday.

Southern Co. team weighing changes from renewables

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:41:13 -0400

ATLANTA - The Southern Co. is brainstorming ways it could more widely incorporate renewable energy, particularly solar power, into its traditional business model, CEO Thomas Fanning said this week.

Beatrice biodiesel plant to be retrofitted

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:13:16 -0400

LINCOLN, Nebraska - A biodiesel plant in southeast Nebraska is going to be retrofitted to use inedible plant and animal material for feedstock.

Feds pull plug on Ky. uranium plant and 1,000 jobs

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:20:30 -0400

FRANKFORT, Kentucky - The operator of a Cold War-era plant in western Kentucky that supplies enriched uranium to nuclear power plants said Friday it plans to cease production after failing to reach a deal with federal energy officials to extend operations at the beleaguered Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The decision to idle the sprawling operation will put more than 1,000 people out of good paying jobs with benefits.

Protesters arrested at coal firm Alpha's HQ in Va

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:05:31 -0400

BRISTOL, Virginia - Several environmental activists were arrested Friday after blocking the road leading to the headquarters for Alpha Natural Resources to protest the coal producer's mining practices.

US rig count down 7 to 1,762

Fri, 24 May 2013 14:13:57 -0400

HOUSTON - Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. dropped by seven this week to 1,762.

Glasgow aims to turn methane into electricity

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:17:16 -0400

GLASGOW, Kentucky - A south-central Kentucky city is hoping to capture methane gas from a regional landfill and turn it into electricity.

Wind turbine doesn't meet expectations

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:10:05 -0400

GREAT FALLS, Montana - Cascade County officials say the wind turbine at the county shop hasn't met expectations that it would generate up to 80 percent of the facility's energy costs, in part because the site isn't as windy as officials anticipated.

Pipeline work can continue at state natural area

Fri, 24 May 2013 07:10:14 -0400

NASHVILLE, Tennessee - Tennessee environmental officials have given Piedmont Natural Gas permission to resume drilling on a Nashville pipeline project.

W.Va. rally held against Patriot bankruptcy plan

Fri, 24 May 2013 03:26:05 -0400

CHARLESTON, West Virginia - Church groups gathered with miners and other supporters at a rally in Charleston against Patriot Coal's bankruptcy plan.

Low gasoline prices in Ariz. this holiday weekend

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:30:48 -0400

PHOENIX - Gasoline prices at the pump this Memorial Day holiday weekend will be at their lowest level in three years around Arizona.

Oil leasing dispute heads to federal court

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:52:59 -0400

BILLINGS, Montana - A dispute over greenhouse gases from oil and gas drilling will head to federal court in Montana as attorneys for the government and the industry face off against environmentalists who say too little is being done to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change.

More women landing jobs in oil, gas industry

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:49:17 -0400

By JOYCE GANNON - As a paid engineering intern the last two summers at Exxon Mobil's Joliet Refinery in Channahon, Ill., Megan DeGraaf worked on projects that her full-time colleagues considered low priority. But the results she produced on equipment and pipe designs were solid enough that the oil giant offered her a permanent position.

San Onofre execs made 'Star Trek'-themed video

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:34:57 -0400

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, California - Managers at the San Onofre nuclear generating plant made a "Star Trek"-themed video stressing safety two years before the plant was shut down in the wake of a radiation leak, officials said.

Areva now mum on date for Idaho nuclear facility

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:23:56 -0400

BOISE, Idaho - French nuclear services giant Areva SA no longer projects a date for building an Idaho uranium enrichment plant, aiming to avoid dashing expectations while its hunt for financing drags on.

Richland nuclear plant out for refueling

Thu, 23 May 2013 08:59:18 -0400

RICHLAND, Washington - The only nuclear power plant in the Northwest is shut down for a refueling that takes place every two years.

Stricken Japan nuke plant struggles to keep staff

Thu, 23 May 2013 05:55:48 -0400

TOKYO - Keeping the meltdown-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan in stable condition requires a cast of thousands. Increasingly the plant's operator is struggling to find enough workers, a trend that many expect to worsen and hamper progress in the decades-long effort to safely decommission it.

Site plan approved for ND natural gas processor

Thu, 23 May 2013 02:34:05 -0400

BISMARCK, North Dakota - An energy company has received approval to start construction of a new natural gas processing plant in northwestern North Dakota.

Southern Co. CEO defends Miss. power project

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:06:02 -0400

PINE MOUNTAIN, Georgia - The head of Southern Co. called the decision to write off $540 million in extra costs on a Mississippi power plant "a bitter pill for us to swallow," but he defended the project Wednesday as a long-term investment for the large utility.

House passes GOP bill to speed pipeline approval

Wed, 22 May 2013 20:41:33 -0400

WASHINGTON - House Republicans pushed through a bill Wednesday to bypass the president to speed approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to Texas. Democrats criticized the legislation as a blatant attempt to allow a foreign company to avoid environmental review.

Peters urges probe of Detroit oil waste storage

Wed, 22 May 2013 20:40:12 -0400

DETROIT - Michigan U.S. Rep. Gary Peters has taken to the House floor to criticize the storage of piles of an oil-refining byproduct known as petroleum coke along the Detroit River.

Retiring coal-fired plants in Nevada passes Senate

Wed, 22 May 2013 20:16:15 -0400

CARSON CITY, Nevada - The Nevada Senate endorsed NV Energy Inc.'s plan Wednesday to retire coal-fired power plants and pave the way for the state's biggest electrical utility to transition to more renewable sources.

Tesla uses stock, note sale to repay government

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:38:36 -0400

DETROIT - Tesla Motors, which makes a highly acclaimed $70,000 electric car, has paid off a startup loan from the U.S. government nine years early.

In top coal state, gas to fuel next power plant

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:28:19 -0400

CHEYENNE, Wyoming - The next major power plant to be built in the nation's top coal-mining state will be fueled by natural gas.

Klamath Falls, company collide over city utility

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:27:45 -0400

KLAMATH FALLS, Oregon - The city of Klamath Falls and the utility Pacific Power are squaring off for a fight over the city's idea of creating a municipal utility.