Energy & Fuel

"North Carolina regulators have cited five more Duke Energy power plants for lacking required storm water permits after a massive spill at one of the company’s coal ash dumps coated 70 miles of the Dan River in toxic sludge."

"The state department of environment and natural resources announced Monday that Charlotte-based Duke had been issued formal notices of violation for not having the needed permits, which are required to legally discharge rainwater draining from its plants into public waterways.

"TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — A freshwater channel that separates Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas is a premier Midwestern tourist attraction and a photographer's delight, offering spectacular vistas of two Great Lakes, several islands and one of the world's longest suspension bridges. But nowadays the Straits of Mackinac is drawing attention for something that is out of sight and usually out of mind, and which some consider a symbol of the dangers lurking in the nation's sprawling web of buried oil and natural gas pipelines."

"The Energy Department today rolled out new energy efficiency standards to make commercial refrigeration equipment in grocery and convenience stores about 30 percent more efficient -- providing another bump for President Obama's Climate Action Plan."

"A surge in US oil and natural gas production has lifted hopes about North American energy security, but that growth will plateau and will be difficult to replicate elsewhere, says Maria van der Hoeven, chief executive of the International Energy Agency, in an interview with the Monitor."

WASHINGTON — Despite rising anxiety over the possibility of a cyberattack on the power grid, the industry and government are not set up well to counter the threat, according to a report produced by leading energy security experts. Companies are reluctant to share information with one other, a critical step in reducing vulnerability, because they are afraid of being accused of failing to comply with cybersecurity rules, committing antitrust violations or giving away proprietary information, the report found."

"WASHINGTON, DC -- Police arrested more than 370 young people who tied themselves to the White House fence on Sunday to protest the proposed Keystone XL tar sands oil pipeline."

"ALBANY — On a clear December morning two years ago, a 600-foot oceangoing oil tanker called the Stena Primorsk left the Port of Albany on its maiden voyage down the Hudson River laden with 279,000 barrels of crude oil. It quickly ran aground on a sandbar."

"WASHINGTON — The Obama administration moved closer to allowing oil and gas exploration off the Atlantic coast by releasing an environmental report Thursday that details how companies should protect marine wildlife if they want to start seismic testing in the area."

"Following a wave of good news for the company, Tesla Motors yesterday released details for its plans to build a massive battery manufacturing facility in the United States.

"A federal judge in Waco has ruled in favor of power generator Luminant against claims from the Sierra Club it had broken state and federal air pollution laws."