E2 Morning Roundup: Alaska drilling fight heats up, EPA expands gas ‘fracking’ probe, and much more

EPA is holding a series of public meetings related to its study — the next round begins next week in upstate New York.

Natural-gas companies are battling proposals to expand federal regulation of the practice, which the industry calls safe and adequately regulated by the states.

Several bills floating around Capitol Hill would increase federal oversight of fracking by ending an exemption from certain Safe Drinking Water Act rules that the industry won in a 2005 energy law.

Companies including ExxonMobil have argued that adding new federal rules would endanger the shale-gas boom by making some projects uneconomical. The American Petroleum Institute is holding a conference call for reporters Friday to make its case ahead of the public hearing next week.

In case you missed it:

Here are a few E2 posts that ran Thursday:

Steelworkers union wants Obama to sue China over green energy subsidies

Brown, Wyden back push for green trade case against China

Report: BP lawyers allowed to ‘review’ accident study

Alaska GOP Senate candidate Miller to attend D.C. fundraisers

World Bank hires new green-energy lending czar

White House pressed on fuel efficiency

Inhofe leans on EPA for greenhouse gas info

Senate Environment and Public Works ranking member James Inhofe (R-Okla.) is pressing EPA to release comments the agency received from 13 states about whether they have the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and other stationary sources under the Clean Air Act.

EPA — which is preparing to implement first-time climate rules — has said those states that do not have this authority would have to revise their permitting plans or the agency would assume responsibility.
 
Inhofe on Thursday said has not received an answer from EPA regarding a letter he sent the agency Aug. 18 regarding the comments from the states. “I think the agency would agree that this request is not complicated,” he said in a prepared statement. “The broader public, including Congress, should know the particular states’ perspectives, legal or otherwise, on this important issue.” He is asking the agency to respond “without further delay.”

DOE steers cash to ocean renewables projects

The Department of Energy on Thursday announced a list of marine renewable-energy projects that will share more than $37 million in funding. Renewables advocates see big potential in generating power from wave, tidal, current and river flows, but it’s a fledgling industry.

“This funding represents the largest single investment of federal funding to date in the development of marine and hydrokinetic energy technologies,” Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a prepared statement. “These innovative projects will help grow water power’s contribution to America’s clean energy economy.” The DOE cash will be blended with other funding sources.

Here’s an example of the projects, courtesy of DOE:

“Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (Pennington, New Jersey) will deploy a full-scale 150 kilowatt PowerBuoy system in the Oregon Territorial Sea and collect two years of detailed operating data. This project will obtain critical technical and cost performance data for one of the most advanced wave energy converters in the U.S. DOE Funding: $2,400,000. Total Project Value: $4,800,000.”

Checking the research on climate

Over at Time magazine, Bryan Walsh has a nice piece that explores two studies on future energy-related emissions. There’s good news and bad news, Walsh notes.

Tips, comments or complaints? Please send them to ben.geman@digital-staging.thehill.com and dgoode@digital-staging.thehill.com.
 
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