Energy

Guillermo Gomez, husband of Vilma Marenco, holds his daughter in their home in Northeast Houston. Marenco was killed in April after being hit by an uninsured trucker who ran a red light.

National

In Texas, Traffic Deaths Climb Amid Fracking Boom

1:14pm October 12, 2014

by Andrew Schneider

Texas is in the midst of a fracking boom, which is opening up huge energy reserves and bringing in jobs. But traffic fatalities, some involving inexperienced and fatigued truck drivers, have surged.

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Science

Despite New Sources, Europe Still Relies On Russian Oil

2:20pm October 11, 2014

Suma Chakrabarti, president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, tells NPR's Scott Simon about efforts to reduce Europe's energy dependence on Russia.

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A screen shows the laureates of the Nobel Prize in physics at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm on Tuesday.

3 Scientists Win Nobel In Physics For Development Of Blue LED

12:49pm October 07, 2014

by Scott Neuman

American Shuji Nakamura, and Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano of Japan, will share the prize for co-developing a blue light-emitting diode that triggered a revolution in lighting technology.

Five industrial wind turbines form part of the Gorona del Viento power plant on the island of El Hierro. By the end of this year, the power plant is set to generate 100 percent of the energy El Hierro needs, making it the world's first energy-independent

Tiny Spanish Island Nears Its Goal: 100 Percent Renewable Energy

3:21pm September 28, 2014

by Lauren Frayer

El Hierro, the most remote of Spain's Canary Islands, used to import thousands of tons of diesel each year. Now a new power plant will let the island run entirely on renewable energy.

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An engineer oversees the gas distribution system of Hungary's gas pipeline operator FGSZ in Kiskundorozsma, in August. The distributor announced that it would cut off gas supplies to Ukraine.

World News

Hungary Shuts Off Re-Export Of Natural Gas To Ukraine

4:29pm September 26, 2014

by Scott Neuman

Hungary's national gas operator says the "indefinite" cutoff is over domestic supply concerns, but the move comes just days after the CEO of Russia's Gazprom monopoly visited Budapest.

Environment

Rockefeller Brothers Fund Forsakes Its Legacy

4:18pm September 23, 2014

by Yuki Noguchi

On Monday, at the U.N. climate change conference in New York, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and several dozen other groups will announce their divestment from fossil fuels.

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Pump jacks are seen in an oil field over the Monterey Shale formation near Lost Hills, Calif. Much of the U.S. oil industry wants to lift an export ban that followed the 1970s energy crisis.

With U.S. Oil Supply Climbing, Some Call For End To Export Ban

7:15pm September 18, 2014

by Jeff Brady

Much of the U.S. oil industry wants to lift a ban that followed the 1970s energy crisis. But those worried about the possibility of higher gas prices and climate change want to keep the ban in place.

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In Del Norte, Colo., Public Works Supervisor Kevin Larimore shows off solar panels that provide electricity for the town's water supply. Despite generating its own solar energy, the town is still at risk of a blackout if its main power line goes down.

When The Power's Out, Solar Panels May Not Keep The Lights On

7:50pm September 17, 2014

by Dan Boyce

With the price of solar panels falling, more municipalities and homeowners are installing them. But having solar panels doesn't mean you won't lose power in a blackout — at least not yet.

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A soldier guards a pipe en route to the Kawergosk Refinery near Irbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, in July. Fighting in northern Iraq forced the closure of the country's largest oil refinery, Baiji, and cut production fr

With Turmoil Roiling Abroad, Why Aren't Oil Prices Bubbling Up?

8:32am September 16, 2014

by John Ydstie

Conflict in oil-producing regions usually sends oil prices higher. But the cost of oil has actually dropped, despite turmoil in the Middle East. Economists say it's a matter of supply and demand.

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A worker repairs electrical lines in Plainview, N.Y., after Superstorm Sandy in 2012. A proposed plan to overhaul the state's power grid could help the system better withstand severe weather and enable energy to be stored and managed more efficiently.

National

New York Says It's Time To Flip The Switch On Its Power Grid

11:18am September 10, 2014

by Yuki Noguchi

Officials want to overhaul the state's energy grid. Experts say the plan would help utilities withstand severe weather events, but it would also require a massive re-engineering of the power system.

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