Energy & Fuel

"Republicans successfully overrode [NC] Gov. Bev Perdue’s veto of a fracking bill during a dramatic vote taken just after 11 p.m. Monday."

"Natural gas is causing angst and excitement in local communities across the country, but the rise of fracking will have an impact on an issue that affects everyone on the planet: climate change. Gas Planet, a special hour of radio, explores whether unconventional natural gas can help or hinder efforts to solve climate change."

"Nearly two years after the pipeline explosion that killed eight people and devastated a neighborhood in San Bruno, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. considers 239 of its natural-gas transmission lines to be at risk of a similar failure, according to a company assessment obtained by The Chronicle."

"The Obama administration's Bureau of Land Management auctioned a major tract of Wyoming coal to Peabody Energy at a bargain-basement price of $1.10 per ton yesterday."

"Alpha Natural Resources announced Wednesday it’s permanently closing two mines and a coal preparation plant in Logan County [WV], and scaling back operations at two other southern West Virginia operations."

"Abound Solar, a solar panel maker that received a $400 million loan guarantee from the federal government, announced on Thursday that it would file for bankruptcy amid plummeting prices and intense competition from Chinese manufacturers in the solar equipment market."

"U.S. oil companies will be allowed to drill in more areas of the Gulf of Mexico but won only limited access to the Arctic under the final version of the Obama Administration's five year drilling plan that was slammed by industry and some environmentalists."

"OTTAWA — Alberta-based Enbridge can't say what impact millions of dollars in cuts to federal environmental emergency staff would have on its oil-spill response plan for the Northern Gateway pipeline project, even though the plan relies partly on federal help if a spill were to occur."

"Two massive Shell Oil Co. drilling rigs left a Seattle dock early Wednesday, starting the long trek to Alaska's Arctic waters and leaving behind years of legal battles and regulatory hurdles in a quest for riches under the sea."