Energy & Fuel

From his deck, Bob Arrington can hear the rustle of aspens and the chirp of birds. He can see the golf course; Battlement Mesa, still spring green, to the south; and Roan Plateau, pink and tan, to the north. Soon he may also be able to see a drilling rig — right near the sixth hole."

"The Obama administration [Thursday] said a proposal from House Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) to expedite oil and gas leasing and energy infrastructure permitting in an Alaska reserve could force federal regulators to flout environmental laws and includes a costly, redundant resource assessment."

"[A House subcommittee] took a first step on Wednesday to fast-track a controversial Alberta tar sands pipeline, ordering Barack Obama to reach a decision on the project by 1 November."

"A Senate effort to take away ethanol subsidies came up short Tuesday but exposed weakened support for a $6 billion tax break, suggesting that the incentive could be eliminated."

"Obama administration officials, joined by electric power industry executives and state regulators, will unveil a new campaign [Monday] to push deployment of smart grid and clean energy technologies."

"In the wake of an unruly OPEC meeting, Saudi Arabia has decided to go it alone and raise production substantially in the coming weeks to meet rising global demand."

"Motorists could face higher costs at the gas pump, analysts said, as oil prices jumped after a meeting of OPEC ministers dissolved into bickering."

"Proposed federal clean-air rules could have a profound impact on American Electric Power, leading to an increase in electricity bills, the closing or partial closing of 11 power plants and the loss of 600 jobs, the company said."

"U.S. EPA raised significant concerns today with the environmental effects of a controversial $7 billion pipeline proposal, emboldening the plan's critics and upping the ante for political clashes over Canadian oil sands crude that risk derailing the project for good."