Jim Pierobon is Founder and principal writer of The Energy Fix. He is a policy, marketing and social media strategist who has reported on, testified and consulted about smarter grids, cyber-security as it affects the power grid, fossil fuel shortages, price spikes, energy efficiency and the rise and fall -- and the rise again of nuclear and renewable energy sources.Updated draft rules for hydraulic fracturing deserve the chance to work
Complaints by both sides over the Obama administration’s newly updated draft rules regulating the hydraulic fracturing of shale natural gas and oil on public and Indian lands signals the Interior Department has found enough common ground to raise the bar — albeit slightly — on drilling operations. Because the updated draft rules would only apply [...]
To export LNG or not? If so, how much is prudent?
President Obama is preparing to decide how much liquified natural gas (LNG) from the the U.S. boom in shale natural gas production it makes sense to export. Economically and geo-politically a LOT hangs in the balance. If Obama’s first term on energy was mostly about incentivizing renewable energy, his second term is all about whether [...]
Center for Sustainable Shale Development – peeling back the packaging
Since its launch about one month ago (see The Energy Fix, March 22), the Center for Sustainable Shale Development has been met with accolades from entities such as The Washington Post to harsh rebukes by the likes of the Sierra Club. It’s not surprising that these and other parties differ on the Center’s potential for [...]
Collaborative set to forge workable rules for shale hydraulic fracturing shows promise
Led in part by Chevron, Shell, the Environmental Defense Fund and the Clean Air Task Force, these and seven other organizations are now on record having identified “shared values” in an intriguing effort to better manage the risks of hydraulic fracturing of natural gas and crude oil from shale developments throughout Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia [...]
Bids to Repeal Renewable Energy Standards Getting Traction in AZ, NC, OH & TX, Not in KS
A bid by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Heartland Institute to roll back or repeal state Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requirements is getting traction, including in Arizona, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas. But not in Kansas. The Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) Marita Mirzatuny calls their tactics “sneaky.” Heartland’s energy senior fellow, James [...]
Wind power could be a cost-effective hedge against rising natural gas prices
That’s the conclusion of a new report by researcher Mark Bolinger at the U.S. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). He’s done an enviable job of scouring public sources for wind energy supply contracts at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, state utility commissions and long-term power-purchase agreements in various wholesale markets. This question is front-of-mind for [...]
Bloomberg to natural gas industry: stop resisting sensible regulations, join with renewables
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg used the 2013 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit near Washington, DC to prod the oil and gas industry to stop resisting efforts to forge “sensible” regulations. “We need sound regulation and we need it soon,” he said. While he’s been on the bandwagon for enabling responsible hydraulic fracturing for natural [...]
Boone Pickens: focus energy innovation more on cheap, plentiful natural gas made in the U.S.
You may have heard it before from Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens about the potential for natural gas produced in the U.S. But featuring him at this year’s ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit Tuesday near Washington, DC put a new spin on the benefits of America becoming more energy self-sufficient on the backs of the lower-emitting [...]
Collaboration on Illinois legislation could achieve standards for regulating hydraulic fracturing
Illinois is on track to go where no push for hydraulic fracturing has gone before in the U.S.: a consensus on how to regulate the controversial practice of injecting chemicals and large amounts of water deep underground to flush out large quantities of natural gas and crude oil. As states such as New York and [...]
‘Energy Security Trust’ concept provides glimmer of bipartisan cooperation-but check the details
To hear Republican Lisa Murkowski, the ranking Republican on the U.S. Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee, agree with President Barack Obama on a major plank of blueprint initially outlined by a forward-thinking coalition of business and military leaders — the Energy Security Leadership Council — could lead one to think maybe a rock peeled [...]