Energy policy

Policy, regulatory issues hobble hydropower as wind-power backup
Theoretically, hydropower can step in when wind turbines go still, but barriers to this non-polluting resource serving as a backup are largely policy- and regulation-based, according to researchers.
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Smarter energy use by industry could cut U.K. electricity demand by 75 percent
As the U.K. government debates the U.K. Energy Bill, new research has found that turning down non-essential services, such as heating, air-conditioning, and pumping equipment, at times of peak electricity demand could play a far greater role in helping the United Kingdom achieve future energy security.
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GOP lawmakers urge Obama not to link Keystone decision to climate policies
Democrats who are uncomfortable with the Keystone XL pipeline have urged President Obama to consider attaching policies requiring cuts in greenhouse gases emissions to his approval of the project. Republican lawmakers are urging the president not to link approval of Keystone to climate change policies.
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Wind and solar power, paired with storage, would be cost-effective way to power grid
Renewable energy could fully power a large electric grid 99.9 percent of the time by 2030 at costs comparable to today’s electricity expenses, new research says; a well-designed combination of wind power, solar power, and storage in batteries and fuel cells would nearly always exceed electricity demands while keeping costs low, the study authors found
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Detection aircraft surveys 600 miles of PG&E California pipeline for gas leaks
PG&E’s transmission pipeline is routinely surveyed each year, typically by ground crews; accessing rural areas with difficult terrain, however, can be time consuming, expensive, and unsafe for crews on the ground; aerial surveys often look for dead vegetation as an indicator of gas leaks
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Dallas area earthquakes were caused by fracking: geophysicists
Three earthquakes that hit a Dallas suburb last week could be connected to fracking operations, according to a local geophysicist who studies earthquakes in the region; the earthquakes were considered minor, with the biggest one registered at a 3.4 on the Richter scale; no injuries were reported despite many emergency calls
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Carbon capture and storage likely to cause earthquakes
Carbon capture and storage, or CCS, is a major component of the world’s greenhouse gas reduction strategy; to make a significant contribution to emission reduction, however, CCS would need to operate on a massive scale, potentially sequestering upward of 3.5 billion metric tons of CO2 each year; researchers say that the injection of massive quantities of CO2 would be likely to induce small temblors which would break the reservoirs’ seals and release the stored CO2 into the atmosphere
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Fracking poses low risk for causing earthquakes
Fracking has a low risk for inducing earthquakes that can be felt by people, but underground injection of wastewater produced by hydraulic fracturing and other energy technologies has a higher risk of causing such earthquakes, says a new report
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Energy-dense biofuel from cellulose may well be economical
Researchers developed a process for creating biofuels which holds the promise of being cost-effective for production scale, opening the door for moving beyond the laboratory setting
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Nuclear power stations launches emergency operations center
The new 12,000 square-foot facility at the Beaver Valley Power Station supports overall management of activities related to maintaining public health and safety during the emergency at the plant
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Companies team up to develop carbon capturing

Three companies have teamed up to build a low-carbon, coal-based power plant in Scotland; the plant will include a carbon-capture and storage; with more than 90 percent carbon capture, the coal feedstock plant will generate extremely low-carbon electric power and also produce hydrogen gas for commercial use
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The Transboundary Agreement is not just about the cost of gas and the environment
The Transboundary Agreement, which the United States and Mexico reached on 20 February, regulates oil and gas development in the Gulf of Mexico; before the agreement is ratified, there is a need to address serious security issues related to building more oil rigs in the Gulf – for example, the fact that the Mexican government cannot control its powerful criminal organizations, and that it will be easy for terrorists in a small boat to overrun one of these deepwater rigs
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A long-term low carbon energy strategy is essential for a prosperous U.K.
An urgent remodeling of the U.K. energy infrastructure is vital if the country wants to decarbonize without “the lights going out” and not be reliant on imported energy supplies, says a new report
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Researchers develop record-breaking plastic solar cell
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have made a breakthrough with plastic solar cells, creating a record-breaking polymer cell that converts 10.6 percent of the sun’s energy into electricity
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Pepco buys solar competition prize-winning building for display
WaterShed, a prize-winning, energy-saving house designed by a team from the University of Maryland, has been bought by Pepco; the utility will maintain the building and open ot for public display
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