Energy & Fuel

"January 1 is the end of the era of your standard, soft white Edison-designed incandescent bulb in the United States. Or at least, in theory."

"Scientists have found a more than 7,300-square-mile ring of land and water contaminated by mercury surrounding the tar sands in Alberta, where energy companies are producing oil and shipping it throughout Canada and the U.S."

"More analysts are urging investors to buy shares in Vestas Wind Systems A/S (VWS) than at any time since October 2010 after the stock soared more than 400 percent over the past 12 months."

"CASSELTON, N.D. – Officials urged people in Casselton and the surrounding area to evacuate their homes as they dealt with the fallout from a massive fire when two trains collided Monday."

"VICTORIA, B.C. -- More than seven billion litres of water were used for fracking in B.C. last year. If the government’s liquefied natural gas sector takes off, the water needed to get shale gas out of the ground in the northeast corner of the province will likely increase by 500 per cent, or more."

"WASHINGTON — To stave off climate change, sources of electricity that do not emit carbon will have to replace the ones that do. But at the moment, two of those largest sources, nuclear and wind power, are trying to kill each other off."

"In energy, next year promises to be just as unconventional as the last."

"North America's boom in unconventional oil and gas will continue to expand and the shale success could spread elsewhere. Easy-to-reach conventional oil is dwindling, but 2014 could see a reprieve as production from Iraq, Libya, and other war-torn oil nations seems to be stabilizing. And easing relations with Iran has the potential to bring major amounts of oil back onto global markets.

"SAN DIEGO — In an unmarked greenhouse, leafy bushes carpet an acre of land here tucked into the suburban sprawl of Southern California. The seeds of the inedible, drought-resistant plants, called jatropha, produce a prize: high-quality oil that can be refined into low-carbon jet fuel or diesel fuel."

"The Department of Energy has reached a deal with environmental and business groups on new energy efficiency standards for cable and satellite television boxes."

"As the rest of the world prepares to toast the new year, the wind industry is hard at work on its own year-end tradition, rushing to make sure projects qualify for an important subsidy before it is set to vanish at the stroke of midnight on Tuesday."