House Natural Resources Water and Power Subcommittee hearing on pending bills, including Bureau of Reclamation Conduit Hydropower Development Equity and Jobs Act.
A study concluded continued deforestation of rain forests could hurt hydroelectric output in developing nations like Brazil, The New York Times reports.
Energy efficiency and hydropower legislation advanced Wednesday to the Senate floor from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, but not before conservatives registered their concern about new federal spending.
The Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, was approved on a 19-3 voice vote, with Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Tim Scott, R-S.C. voting against.
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Ron Wyden is set on Wednesday to pass bipartisan hydropower and energy efficiency bills through the committee.
If approved, they would mark the first energy-related bills sent to the Senate floor under Wyden's chairmanship. Committee passage could set the stage for enactment of non-controversial energy legislation into law that skirts larger partisan and regional differences over fossil fuel and renewable energy policies.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Planning will move ahead this summer on a proposed south-central Alaska dam that, if built, would be one of the largest dams constructed in the United States in decades.
The Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act, a bill that would ease requirements for hydropower developers, passed the House by a vote of 416-7, The Hill reports.
The Interior Department released an impact statement recommending that Congress authorize the removal of four aging hydroelectric dams from the Klamath River in Oregon, The Associated Press reports.
Ocean Power Technologies, a company planing a wave energy project off the coast of Oregon, could face delays as it completes government-mandated reports and studies, The Associated Press reports.
Norwegian regulators approved Statkraft AS's plan to build a 2-megawatt osmotic pilot plant, the world's first attempt to generate energy from exploiting differences in salt levels between sea water and fresh water, Bloomberg reports.
Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said growing stocks of U.S. natural gas can serve as a bridge to develop more renewable energy capacity, The Verge reports.
The State Department released the first batch of 100,000 public comments on its draft environmental impact study of the Keystone XL pipeline, Bloomberg reports.
Employees at the Environmental Protection Agency and three other agencies will take their first furloughs stemming from budget cuts today, Politico reports.
Current and former U.S. officials say Iranian hackers have boosted cyberattacks against computer networks at energy companies, Dow Jones Business News reports.
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell is in Portland, Ore., on Friday to announce new energy cooperation with Gov. John Kitzhaber and a representative of Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, The Hill reports.
Attorneys general in four Northeastern states announced they would petition the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a new review of regulations governing nuclear waste storage, The Associated Press reports.
A panel of infrastructure experts in New Jersey criticized Gov. Chris Christie for remarks that suggested there was no evidence of a link between climate change and Hurricane Sandy, E&E Publishing reports.
Participants in the Energy Department's Better Buildings Challenge, designed to reduce energy consumption at buildings, saved about $58 million in energy costs last year, The Journal Sentinel reports.
Commodities firm Prime International Trading Ltd., filed lawsuits against BP, Statoil and Royal Dutch Shell for alleged price manipulation, Reuters reports.
