Energy

Boom Town Presses Pause Amid Dramatic Drop In Oil Prices

4:13pm January 07, 2016

by David Kestenbaum

Two years ago, in January 2013, oil was about $100 dollars a barrel. At that time, towns near new oil fields expanded rapidly, filling up with workers and overflowing revenue. But how are those towns doing now that oil is worth about half what it was then? The Planet Money team checks in with oil workers and residents in Williston, N.D.

Prices, as seen at a gas station in Woodbridge, Va., on Tuesday, are 21 cents a gallon cheaper than this time last year. The drop violates the historic rule that tension such as that currently between key producers Saudi Arabia and Iran causes the cost of

Troubles Are Up In The Middle East, But Oil Prices Are Down. Huh?

7:27pm January 05, 2016

by Marilyn Geewax

In the past, when political tensions increased, oil prices went up too amid supply risks. But now OPEC's power is down and U.S. oil supplies are much greater, helping hold prices steady.

Justice Department Files Lawsuit Against Volkswagen Over Emissions Software

2:52pm January 05, 2016

by Sonari Glinton

On Monday, the Department of Justice, acting on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, filed a civil complaint in federal court in Detroit against Volkswagen. The DOJ alleges that nearly 600,000 diesel engine vehicles had illegal defeat devices installed that impaired emission control systems and caused emissions to exceed EPA's standards, resulting in harmful air pollution.

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Steam rises from the stacks of the coal-fired Jim Bridger Power Plant outside Point of the Rocks, Wyo., in March 2014.

Using Technology To Keep Carbon Emissions In Check

5:39pm January 04, 2016

Renewable energy is only one of the steps toward achieving the goals set by the Paris climate deal. We take a trip around North America to explore other ways of keeping carbon out of the atmosphere.

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Oil Production Fuels Earthquake Surge In Oklahoma

4:29pm January 01, 2016

NPR's Audie Cornish talks with Todd Halihan, a professor in the school of geology at Oklahoma State, about how Oklahoma has now surpassed California for seismic activity.

The Heartland Biogas facility in Weld County, Colo., is one of the country's largest waste treatment plants that converts methane to natural gas.

From Poop To Power: Colorado Explores New Sources Of Renewable Energy

4:28pm January 01, 2016

by Dan Boyce

Europe has extracted natural gas from organic waste for about a decade, and now it's spreading to the U.S. In Colorado, efforts are under way to produce natural gas from human waste and food scraps.

A SolarCity employee installs a solar panel on the roof of a home in Los Angeles in 2014. California's utilities want to pay new solar customers less for their extra electricity and to add new monthly fees.

Like Night And Day: How Two States' Utilities Approach Solar

2:22pm January 01, 2016

As homeowners embrace solar, utilities are making less money, and that's shaking up their business model. Companies in California and Georgia are handling the growth in dramatically different ways.

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A Physicist Dreams Of Catching Dark Matter In The Act

4:55am January 01, 2016

by Joe Palca

Hold out your hand for a century, and 100 million particles of dark matter will pass through each second without leaving a trace. Still, a physicist in South Dakota thinks he may be able to catch one.

Wind turbines dot the landscape in Mojave, Calif. The recent extension of federal tax credits is expected to give the wind and solar energy industries a big boost.

Tax Breaks, Falling Costs Are Boosting Wind And Solar

8:10pm December 29, 2015

by Chris Arnold

Congress has extended tax credits for clean energy as part of a $1.8 trillion spending bill. Solar and wind power companies say it will catapult the industry at a time when costs are already falling.

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Massive Methane Gas Leak Displaces Thousands In Los Angeles County

4:18pm December 24, 2015

by Ingrid Lobet

A major methane leak from a Los Angeles County natural gas storage field is spewing huge amounts of the potent climate change chemical into the air. Nearly 2,000 elementary students whose schools are nearby will have to enter different schools by mid-year. Low flying aircraft have been instructed to steer clear, and about 3,000 families have sought relocation. Several lawsuits have been filed on behalf of residents who say they've been harmed. Neither efforts to capture the leaking gas nor to seal off the damaged well have been successful.