Algae startup Sapphire Energy pays off its loan for algae farm Tech News and Analysis

Algae fuel startup Sapphire Energy says it's reached a milestone: it's paid back a large loan to the U.S. government. Some energy-focused startups are actually doing OK.
http://gigaom.com/2013/07/31/algae-startup-sapphire-energy-pays-off-it

Aviat Flies World's First CNG Airplane at Oshkosh 2013

Avgas costs nearly $6 per gallon these days, and the lead-enriched petroleum-based fuel is highly, highly toxic. So, why not build a plane that runs on low-emission, high-octane CNG? Aviat has done just that, and they’ve released their new, clean-burning aircraft at the Oshkosh 2013 aviation show!
http://gas2.org/2013/07/29/aviat-flies-first-cng-airplane-at-oshkosh-2

2014 Ford F-150 Natural-Gas Readiness Package For Half-Ton Pickup

Ford is the latest automaker to offer a natural gas fuel option for its best-selling pickup truck range. The 2014 Ford F-150 will be offered with a natural gas (CNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) preparation option aiding installation of a suitable fuel system at qualified third-party installers
http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1085910_2014-ford-f-150-natural-ga

Green Car Congress: Ford to offer 2014 F-150 with natural gas option

CNG Ford F-150. Click to enlarge. Ford will offer the 2014 F-150 with the ability to run on compressed natural gas, making Ford the only manufacturer in the US with an available CNG/LPG-capable half-ton pickup. GM offers a CNG bi-fuel...
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/07/ford-20130731.htm

Tar Sands Oil Has Been Leaking Into Alberta For 10 Weeks And No One Knows How To Stop It | ThinkProgress

The first leak was reported on May 20, with three others following in the weeks after -- making it at least 10 weeks that oil has been flowing unabated. The post Tar Sands Oil Has Been Leaking Into Alberta For 10 Weeks And No One Knows How To Stop It appeared first on ThinkProgress.    
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/07/29/2283411/tar-sands-oil-has-

Solar Energy and US State Leadership | The Energy Collective

A solar energy revolution is dawning in America, led by twelve states whose progressive policies dominate the US solar industry and illuminate the path forward to a nationwide clean energy economy. This “Dazzling Dozen” represent 85% of US solar energy capacity.
http://theenergycollective.com/silviomarcacci/254416/dazzling-dozen-us

President Obama acknowledges Keystone XL not a job creator and that tar sands pipeline decision rests on climate impacts | Elizabeth Shope's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC

Elizabeth Shope, Advocate, Washington, D.C.: This blog was jointly written with Danielle Droitsch, Senior Attorney and Canada Project Director at NRDC. In an interview last week with the New York Times, President Obama outlined in remarkable detail how the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline would...
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/eshope/president_obama_acknowledges_

Antinuclear Actions Costly at San Onofre | The Energy Collective

Dan McSwain, a business columnist and investigative reporter, has published an article about closing the San Onofre nuclear plant that estimates consumers will be required to pay least $13.6 billion in additional costs as a result of the unplanned, early retirement.
http://theenergycollective.com/rodadams/254626/mcswain-calculates-cost

See-through film could turn phones, windows into solar panels Tech News and Analysis

UCLA researchers have improved upon their previous research by building a transparent solar film that is twice as efficient as the one they produced a year ago.
http://gigaom.com/2013/07/29/see-through-film-could-turn-phones-window

Soft Costs and Community Solar Projects | The Energy Collective

Despite the solar industry's best efforts, solar power remains unavailable to hundreds of communities across the country. The simple question is: Why? The answer lies in two words: soft costs, including permitting, inspection, connection, and other indirect costs.
http://theenergycollective.com/eco-branding/254851/solar-friendly-comm

Obama and Keystone Pipeline Statement | The Energy Collective

In his big June climate speech, president Obama said he would approve the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline only if it “does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution.” In an interview with The New York Times this week, Obama repeated that point.
http://theenergycollective.com/josephromm/254676/obama-keystone-jobs-b

Obama Calls Out Republicans For Wasting Time On Keystone: 'That's Not A Jobs Plan' | ThinkProgress

Job creation? Keystone's not it, Obama says. The post Obama Calls Out Republicans For Wasting Time On Keystone: ‘That Not A Jobs Plan’ appeared first on ThinkProgress.    
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/07/30/2384551/obama-keystone-job

Nuclear Energy Plant and Efficient Creation and Completion | The Energy Collective

Anyone who claims that they can design and build a nuclear reactor in less than 10-15 years is considered to be naive or hopelessly unrealistic. However, there is no reason to believe that everyone with the technical capacity for completing the task will follow the same rules.
http://theenergycollective.com/rodadams/254651/nuclear-plant-designed-

Nuke experts blast Fukushima operator over toxic leaks

Foreign nuclear experts on Friday blasted the operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, with one saying its lack of transparency over toxic water leaks showed "you don't know what you're doing".
http://phys.org/news/2013-07-nuke-experts-blast-fukushima-toxic.htm

Green Car Congress: JBEI researchers engineer bacterium to produce diesel-range biofuel using CO2 as sole carbon source

A team of researchers with the US Department of Energy (DOE) Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI) has engineered the bacterium Ralstonia eutropha—a microbe now used to produce biodegradable plastic—for the production of fatty acid-derived, diesel-range methyl ketones. A paper on their...
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/07/jbei-20130726.htm

Earthquake Damaged Nuclear Energy Plant Faces Problems | The Energy Collective

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has found itself thrust into the spotlight again over the last two weeks as a series of events at and around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear station have triggered negative press, government commentary, and regulatory backlash.
http://theenergycollective.com/ansorg/253536/tepco-faces-new-setbacks-

Solar farm company BrightSource raising another $35M Tech News and Analysis

As BrightSource moves ever closer to finishing its massive solar thermal farm near Las Vegas, the company is raising more money.
http://gigaom.com/2013/07/26/solar-farm-company-brightsource-raising-a

Energy Efficiency Can Help Deliver President Obama's Climate Plan | Dale Bryk's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC

Dale Bryk, Director, Air & Energy Program, New York: As America considers how to ramp up energy efficiency as part of President Obama promising new climate action plan, there much we can learn – and build on – from a wide variety of encouraging energy-saving programs already under way...
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dbryk/energy_efficiency_can_help_del

Green Car Congress: Full genome map of oil palm indicates a way to raise yields and protect rainforest; single gene controls oil palm yield

A multinational team of scientists has identified a single gene, called Shell, that regulates yield of the oil palm tree. The Shell gene is responsible for the oil palm three known shell forms: dura (thick); pisifera (shell-less); and tenera (thin),...
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/07/palm-20130725.htm

Green Car Congress: Alaska Airlines to buy sustainable biofuel from Hawai`i BioEnergy

Alaska Airlines and Hawai`i BioEnergy LLC signed an agreement for the carrier to purchase sustainable biofuel for its aircraft. Founded in 2006, Hawai`i BioEnergy is a consortium of three of Hawai`i largest landowners and three venture capital companies who plan...
http://www.greencarcongress.com/2013/07/aa-20130725.htm

BBC News - Gas drilling rig on fire in Gulf of Mexico

A fire breaks out on a rig drilling for gas in the Gulf of Mexico, off the Louisiana coast, US federal officials confirm.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/23430161#sa-ns_mchannel=rss&ns_source=Public

Natural gas rig burns in Gulf of Mexico - CNN.com

A natural gas platform exploded in the Gulf of Mexico late Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard reported.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/24/us/gulf-rig-explosion/index.htm

Gulf rig partially collapses in fire off Louisiana: U.S. government| Reuters

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A shallow-water Gulf of Mexico drilling rig has partially collapsed off the coast of Louisiana after catching fire because of a ruptured natural gas well, U.S. regulators said on Wednesday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/24/us-usa-gulfofmexico-well-idU

Village-swallowing MUDCANO was no accident, say boffins • The Register

Forget 'Sharknado': the Mudcano is real, destroyed 10,000 buildings and is still erupting In early 2006, miners drilling a new natural gas well in the Indonesian district of Porong struck a problem. Not far from their workings and not long after they did some drilling, hot mud started bubbling to t
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/07/24/indonesia_mud_volcano

Nobody Extracting Tar Sands Has Any Idea How to Clean Them Up : Compass

Last week, it was confirmed that there have been four recent tar sands oil spill sites identified in Alberta, Canada with some containing leaks that have been spewing toxic oil as long as six weeks -- all while the oil...
http://sierraclub.typepad.com/compass/2013/07/nobody-extracting-tar-sa

California Needs a Moratorium on Fracking Now

Damon Nagami, Senior Attorney, Santa Monica: A recent poll shows a majority of Californians want a moratorium on fracking. Governor Jerry Brown should give the people what they want. Leadership doesn’t mean sitting out tough battles. Governor Brown should use his executive power to direct DOGGR,...
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/dnagami/california_needs_a_moratoriu

DOE fracking study does not ease concerns about drinking water threats

Kate Sinding, Senior Attorney, New York City: Last week the AP reported that a study on fracking being conducted by the National Energy Technology Lab (NETL) in Pennsylvania “shows no evidence that chemicals from the natural gas drilling process moved up to contaminate drinking water aquifers at...
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/ksinding/doe_fracking_study_does_not

Fracking and Earthquake Risk | The Energy Collective

Last week, new research published in Science discovered that earthquakes can trigger seismic activity near injection wells – activity that, according to the studies, was going to occur anyway.
http://theenergycollective.com/saeverley/252581/wastewater-seismic-act

July 24 News: Offshore Natural Gas Rig Ablaze After Blowout In Gulf Of Mexico | ThinkProgress

A natural gas blowout aboard an offshore rig in the Gulf of Mexico caused a fire and forced the evacuation of 44 workers. [NBC News] A fire erupted on a drilling rig off the Louisiana coast that was surrounded by a “major cloud of gas” after it experienced a blowout, officials said late Tuesday. The
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/07/24/2346861/july-24-news-offsh

How Twelve States Are Succeeding In Solar Energy Installation: New Report | ThinkProgress

A dozen states are leading the way on solar energy policy — what can the other 38 learn from them to reap the benefits? Solar power in America is growing quickly, generating nearly half of all new electric generating capacity in the beginning of 2013. The technological efficiency is improving by the
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/07/23/2341551/how-twelve-states-

Australian Growth in Solar Energy Industry | The Energy Collective

The Australian Photovoltaic Association announced last week that 2012 had been a great year for the industry, installing over 1 GW of capacity and employing approximately 11,000 people.
http://theenergycollective.com/joshshill/252436/over-1-gw-and-11000-jo

The Future Of US Solar Power: Opportunities In Soft Costs | ThinkProgress

Solar power “soft” costs remain the United States’ greatest opportunity for cost reductions in solar energy deployment. These costs — which include permitting, inspection, interconnection, financing, customer acquisition, and others — represent approximately half of the total installed cost of reside
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2013/07/24/2345511/the-future-of-us-s

Tar sands well blowout raises questions about Alberta's regulatory oversight | Danielle Droitsch's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC

Danielle Droitsch, Director, Canada Project, Washington, D.C.: As a tar sands well blowout enters its 10th week contaminating a large area of Canada Boreal Forest killing dozens of animals, a new report reveals that Alberta regulatory system to prevent and enforce tar sands operations is lax and.
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/ddroitsch/tar_sands_well_blowout_rai

Tar Sands Regulation and Inspection and Public Safety | The Energy Collective

Canada is under pressure to prove the tar sands can be cleaned up, but a new report finds that environmental protection and enforcement on infractions to be abysmal.
http://theenergycollective.com/kgrandia/252506/new-report-less-1-perce

The Alberta Oil Sands Have Been Leaking for 9 Weeks : Climate Desk

And no one knows how to stop it. Nine weeks ago, an oil leak started at a tar sands extraction operation in Cold Lake, Alberta, and it  showing no signs of stopping. On Friday, the Toronto Star eported that an anonymous government scientist who had been to the spill site—which is operated by Canadi
http://climatedesk.org/2013/07/the-alberta-oil-sands-have-been-leaking

Fracking Earthquakes

Website: http://MrEnergyCzar.com This video is about man-made fracking earthquakes. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MrEnergyCzar.PeakOil Twitter: https://T...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GczgDNNJRuU&feature=youtube_gdat

Credit: mrenergyczar

A German solar battery startup comes to America Tech News and Analysis

A German company has engineered a lithium-ion battery system with wireless communication to enable homeowners to manage their solar electricity generation and use and control appliances.
http://gigaom.com/2013/07/23/a-german-solar-battery-startup-comes-to-a

New analysis: As a driver of tar sands expansion, Keystone XL fails President Obama's climate test | Susan Casey-Lefkowitz's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC

Susan Casey-Lefkowitz, Director International Program, Washington, D.C.: In June President Obama laid out a plan for the U.S. to tackle climate change including a climate test for the proposed Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. A new economic and environmental analysis from NRDC makes it clear that the.
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/sclefkowitz/new_analysis_keystone_xl

Peak Oil News: 7/16/13 Tesla Battery Swap, Oil Train Crash, Fukushima Radiation & More

Website: http://MrEnergyCzar.com This is Peak Oil News. I'm your host, MrEnergyCzar. We're covering Peak Oil, Renewable Energy, Electric Cars and everything ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyUuqaR03Os&feature=youtube_gdat

Credit: mrenergyczar

Oil War: China vs. Japan

Website: http://MrEnergyCzar.com Hi everybody, MrEnergyCzar here. This video is about the potential oil wars in the East and South China seas. Facebook: http...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plIBDxkc4gI&feature=youtube_gdat

Credit: mrenergyczar

Peak Oil News: 7/2/13 Honda's EV, Wireless Car Charging, Peak Oil Resort, Wind Powered Car.

Website: http://MrEnergyCzar.com This is Peak Oil News. I'm your host, MrEnergyCzar. We're covering Peak Oil, Renewable Energy, Electric Cars and everything ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LBqNYEan8M&feature=youtube_gdat

Credit: mrenergyczar