Energy & Fuel

"CAPE GRIM, Tasmania — On the best days, the wind howling across this rugged promontory has not touched land for thousands of miles, and the arriving air seems as if it should be the cleanest in the world. But on a cliff above the sea, inside a low-slung government building, a bank of sophisticated machines sniffs that air day and night, revealing telltale indicators of the way human activity is altering the planet on a major scale."

"South Carolina’s republican governor has publicly come out in opposition to seismic testing off the southeastern coast, siding with the state’s fishermen, business community, and environmentalists."

"The lobbying fight over a House bill to revitalize coal country has heated up ahead of a key committee hearing on Tuesday."

"Leaders worry delisting could invite energy exploration in historic areas."

"The fight over former President Barack Obama’s methane agenda has moved to the courts."

"In a windsurfers’ paradise, turbines capture gusts that pick up at exactly the right time - or the wrong time, if you're trying to sell natural gas."

"Jeff Holmstead, a former top EPA official under President George W. Bush, is expected to be appointed as the No. 2 official at the EPA, according to two sources familiar with the decision-making process."

"It’s the holy grail for biofuel developers hoping to coax energy out of algae: Keep the organism fat enough to produce oil but spry enough to grow quickly. J. Craig Venter, the scientist who mapped the human genome, just helped Exxon Mobil Corp. strike that balance, with a breakthrough that could enable widespread commercialization of algae-based biofuels."

"The North American Electric Reliability Corp., in its 'State of Reliability 2017' report, noted there were no cybersecurity attacks that took down parts of the U.S. grid in 2016, but NERC officials took little comfort in the conclusion."