Energy

Environment

Shell Digs Deep To Tap Into Lucrative Oil, Gas Reserves

5:56am May 09, 2013

by Debbie Elliott

Royal Dutch Shell is pushing ahead with plans for the world's deepest offshore oil and gas production facility. It will be nearly two miles beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Louisiana. It is testing the bounds of the oil and gas industry's capability to drill ever deeper.

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Photovoltaic cells on the office building's roof.

This Building Is Supergreen. Will It Be Copied?

10:18am April 22, 2013

by Wendy Kaufman

The Bullitt Foundation's new Seattle headquarters, billed as the world's "greenest" building, is designed to be entirely self-sustaining. The developers hope it can inspire others to build this way.

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A decal advertising E85 ethanol is displayed on a pump at a gas station in Johnston, Iowa.

EPA's Push For More Ethanol Could Be Too Little, Too Late

8:50am April 05, 2013

by Tracy Samilton

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could soon issue a final ruling that aims to force oil companies to replace E10, gasoline mixed with 10 percent ethanol, with E15. This move could come just as widespread support for ethanol, which is made from corn, appears to be eroding.

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Wind turbines at the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm in Whitewater, Calif., in 2012.

Science

Is The Sky The Limit For Wind Power?

9:55pm March 27, 2013

by Christopher Joyce

Building huge turbine farms too close together might significantly reduce their power, some atmospheric scientists say. The problem is "wind shadow" — the turbulence created by one big cluster of turbines that steals wind from another cluster down the road.

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The Solar Impulse, a solar-powered plane, flies over Switzerland. The makers will be journeying across the U.S. this spring, hoping the flight helps challenge assumptions about what solar technology can do.

Solar-Powered Plane Uses Its Lightness To Fly In The Dark

7:54am March 27, 2013

by Steve Henn

Creators of a solar-powered aircraft hope to fly it day and night across the U.S. with no fuel, and eventually around the world. It's a quixotic — some might call it nutty — undertaking. But the creators hope the flight helps challenge assumptions about what solar technology can do.

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As Natural Gas Creeps In, King Coal's Reign Fades

4:29pm March 12, 2013

Coal accounts for much of the world's energy supply, but the United States has seen a decline in coal production. The natural gas industry is booming in the U.S. and many in coal country fear for the future of their industry and their livelihood.

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BP Bows Out Of Solar, But Industry Outlook Still Sunny

12:50pm March 07, 2013

by Jeff Brady

The energy giant says it has "thrown in the towel on solar." The industry has evolved since BP entered the ring, currently emphasizing cheap production rather than research and development. BP says it just wasn't making money, though it will continue investing in other renewable resources.

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American Electric Power's natural gas-burning plant in Dresden, Ohio, is one of the energy company's new investments in alternatives to coal-burning plants.

Natural Gas Dethrones King Coal As Power Companies Look To Future

8:01pm March 01, 2013

by Christopher Joyce

It's a brave new energy world, with two major opponents: natural gas and coal. As prices fluctuate and renewables, such as wind and solar, fight for a share of energy generation, there's heated competition for access to your wall socket.

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A natural gas drilling rig just east of downtown Fort Worth, Texas. A new decade-long study finds the region's Barnett Shale formation has sufficient gas reserves to last another 25 years.

Texas Study Points To A Longer Natural Gas Boom

6:59pm February 28, 2013

by Wade Goodwyn

A new study of the Barnett Shale formation in Texas shows that the natural gas reservoir there will last for at least another two decades. "Turns out, what we learned is that there's a lot of good rock left to drill," says geology professor Scott Tinker, the study's author.

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A Ford Focus electric concept car with a home charging unit on display at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Mich., in January.

Flipping The Switch: What It Takes To Prioritize Electric Cars

10:48am February 24, 2013

by Dana Farrington

Estonia now has the world's first nationwide electric car charger network. What would the U.S. have to do to make a similar leap?

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