Energy and Environment News Roundup – 4.3.12

This post was originally published on Marcacci Communications, which provides a daily roundup of energy and climate news and opinion. Inclusion of articles does not mean endorsement. Client relationships are disclosed where applicable.

NATURAL GAS/FRACKING

EPA delays fracking air pollution rules (via The Hill)

North Sea gas leak costing Total $2.5 million a day (via New York Times)

Greenpeace scientists say oil sheen visible near leaking UK natural gas platform (via Wall Street Journal)

Colorado farms planning for dry spell losing water auction bids to fracking projects (via Denver Post)

Australia LNG boom threatened by US shale exporters (via Bloomberg)

RENEWABLES

Chinese company plans to build $5 billion Nevada solar plant (via Bloomberg)

Saudi Arabia to generate 10 percent solar power by 2020 (via Ynet News)

French decision on $13 billion in offshore wind farms project due this week (via Reuters)

Which countries get the most energy from solar panels? (via Greenbang)

NY Power Authority to fund $30M in solar energy projects (via Democrat and Chronicle)

Indiana residents reap benefits of generating their own electricity (via Indianapolis Star)

Wind turbines create economic windfall for counties, townships (via Worthington Daily Globe)

Eight companies bid to develop offshore wind in Virginia (via Virginian-Pilot)

Georgia cold toward solar firms (via Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Citizens plan protest of Ontario government’s wind power FIT program (via Energy Central)

ENERGY POLICY

Interior Department to speed up oil and gas drilling review process (via Houston Chronicle)

FERC Chairman Wellinghoff details his approach to power capacity market design (via AOL Energy)

PJM implements changes in compensation for demand response (via Energy Central)

For Utah, array of alternatives beat out nuclear power (via Salt Lake Tribune)

ENVIRONMENT/CLIMATE/EMISSIONS

India starts $15 billion program to curb fossil fuel use (via Bloomberg)

2000-2010 decade was warmest globally on record (via Facts of the Day)

Losses from natural disasters reach new peak in 2011 (via Worldwatch Institute)

Ocean temperatures have been heating up for over 100 years (via Mongabay)

EPA report to Congress finds strong foundation for mitigating black carbon emissions (via Green Car Congress)

Fishery managers could call for a review of massive Alaska underwater canyons (via Washington Post)

Study: more power for women means less climate pollution (via Grist)

Arctic sea ice loss tied to unusual jet stream patterns (via Weather Underground)

Indian man single handedly plants 1,360-acre forest (via Inhabitat)

98 percent of Colorado in a drought, say CSU climatologists (via Denver Post)

COAL

UK starts $1.6 billion competition for carbon capture funding (via Bloomberg)

Will Congress save coal after EPA carbon ruling? (via Forbes)

Biggest mountaintop removal project in West Virginia history moving forward (via Inhabitat)

A power plant, cancer, and a small town’s fears (via CNN)

Coal may not be king, but it still wields power (via Houston Chronicle)

TRANSPORTATION

EPA gives E15 go-ahead despite objections, approves production applications (via Autoblog Green)

GM will launch Volt demonstration fleet in China this month (via Autoblog Green)

Solazyme and Bunge plan Brazil factory to make oil from algae (via New York Times)

GREEN BUSINESS

China’s youth reveal ‘startling’ demand for low carbon goods (via BusinessGreen)

Now hear this: Army isn’t abandoning LEED (via GreenBiz)

Turning compliance into innovation and profit (via GreenBiz)

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

Using social networks to spur greener behavior (via GreenBiz)

How industry could become the next efficiency frontier (via Midwest Energy News)

On Facebook, some friendly energy rivalry (via New York Times)

OPINION

Everything that is good for the environment is a job (via Grist)

What agriculture can learn from the EPA carbon emissions plan (via GreenBiz)