All Energy Voices

A global transition to clean energy would cost $44 trillion but save $115 trillion in avoided fuel costs, according to a new report. Such benefits would be spread out over the course of decades. A broad shift to clean energy will require more holistic, long-term approaches to policy and financing.  

Hawaii and California utilities are moving to add storage on their grids to accommodate 'green' energy and better match energy production and consumption. But storage is still expensive. 

Tensions between China and Vietnam over oil in the South China Sea continue to escalate. The two sides are fighting over control of the Paracel Islands, Cunningham writes, but the problem is that China’s claim to territory in the South China Sea has no basis in international law.

White House solar panels are back at the First Family's residence, the Obama administration announced Friday. The White House solar panels cap off the Obama administration's week of energy and climate change initiatives, aimed at raising public awareness of the threats posed by carbon emissions.  

Much of the US oil boom story has been about the inland shale basins in Texas and North Dakota, but the Gulf of Mexico is showing renewed promise as more platforms come online.

Once touted as the next oil superpower, Brazil's oil production has flattened out entirely, due in part to mismanagement and allegations of corruption. 

Gas prices were up in April on the Ukraine crisis and refinery maintenance, but that should change as Memorial Day approaches, according to AAA. Gasoline production is projected to outpace demand, which will put downward pressure on gas prices.

Climate change poses threats to the extraction, production, and distribution of energy across the US, according to a new climate-change report from the Obama administration. Much of the challenge for the energy industry revolves around its reliance on water for cooling and production needs. 

Russia is in the midst of its longest streak of declines in oil and gas production in years, its economy is in shambles and its leverage on the international stage is in question. Its energy-dominated economy may not sustain Russia's ambitions in Eastern Europe for much longer, Graeber writes.

Ukraine violence escalated over the weekend and into Monday as pro-Russian militants clashed with Ukraine forces in the east and the Black Sea port city of Odessa. The threat of another natural gas shutoff intensified, too, with Russia and Ukraine failing to agree on terms for paying down Ukraine's gas debt.

Using an aggressive bet on the direction of natural gas prices, Energy Future Holdings (formerly TXU) went from big deal to bankrupt. But it still has the utility assets to emerge as a much more stable entity.

Western sanctions on Russia over Ukraine have so far avoided targeting Russia's state-owned natural gas company Gazprom. That's largely because Europe relies heavily on Russian natural gas imports and would suffer economically if sanctions are ratcheted up in the Ukraine crisis.

The Ukraine crisis has spurred new interest in Europe finding alternatives to Russian natural gas imports. Spain is not exactly an energy powerhouse, but it could serve as a conduit to the rest of Europe for supplies of non-Russian natural gas. 

Gas prices are high in the US, but they could be even higher if it weren't for a boom in US oil production, according to AAA. US drivers are frustrated by the high gas prices, but they probably shouldn't expect a return to the days of cheap gas. 

The Supreme Court upheld a federal regulation Tuesday that limits the amount of air pollution that can cross state lines, handing a victory to the Obama administration's efforts to limit air pollution. The Supreme Court ruling deals a blow to the US coal industry, but the biggest hit is yet to come.

New Western sanctions on Russia over Ukraine early this week did little to deter the world's leading energy firms from moving ahead with major oil and gas projects in Russia. That could change as Washington and Brussels mull broader sanctions on Russia's energy industry.

Google and other top US corporations are switching to renewable energy as a way to burnish their brands. The corporate push – and government mandates – are encouraging utilities to provide that energy, although it's not a risk-free proposition.

Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz visited Boston Tuesday to commemorate Earth Day at the New England Aquarium. Before heading to Fenway Park to throw out the first pitch at a Red Sox game, he sat down with the Monitor's David J. Unger to talk about the Ukraine crisis, oil exports, methane leaks, and his optimism about tackling climate change. Here are excerpts (edited for clarity): 

US crude oil exports have been offered as a way to help Ukraine and Europe wean off Russian oil as tensions rise in Ukraine. But exporting US oil would do little abroad and have a perverse impact domestically, Cobb writes, leading to greater US imports of foreign oil.