All Energy Voices

Despite the risks, Afghanistan is drawing in energy investors, Graeber writes. Without the proper safeguards in place, however, oil and gas extraction in Afghanistan could lead to more conflict in the country.

New research suggests offshore wind turbines can absorb significant energy from hurricanes, reducing winds, waves, and storm surge. A bank of wind turbines strategically placed off the coast could have reduced hurricane Sandy flooding by up to a third and the winds of Katrina by up to 92 miles per hour.

Tesla Motors gigafactory will produce more lithium-ion batteries per year by 2020 than all that were built globally last year, according to the company. The $5 billion plan for a Tesla Motors gigafactory is a big bet on an evolving energy technology that is vital to the carmaker's future.  

The US Army has made some impressive commitments to renewable energy, Daly writes, in an effort to procure reliable and locally generated energy sources.

Natural gas is cleaner than coal, but only if the industry can control its methane releases. A new report says it's doing OK, but methane releases are underestimated. 

The Keystone XL pipeline suffered a legal setback Wednesday when a state court voided the Nebraska governor's approval of the project. After more than five years of review, the fate of the Keystone XL pipeline still hangs in the balance.  

The 'Three Amigos' at Wednesday's North American Leaders Summit Meeting will have a lot to talk about when it comes to energy. The region is in the middle of an oil and gas boom, and analysts say better cooperation between the three NAFTA countries on energy could help grow their economies. 

A new nuclear project in eastern Georgia – one of a handful of nuclear projects to be built in recent decades – will receive $6.5 billion in federal loan guarantees, the Energy Department announced Wednesday. It's a boost for a nuclear industry that has suffered amid high-profile disasters and a weak economy.  

Many islands are blessed with large amounts of sun, wind, and water, making renewable energy a promising solution, Guevara-Stone writes. One small island off the coast of Africa has embraced these resources, most notably through an innovative hybrid hydro-wind system.

The next major attack against the energy sector may be by a state actor, Graeber writes, and it may come from a computer.

Nuclear negotiations got underway between six world powers and Iran Tuesday, after reports show that Iran increased oil exports by 100,000 barrels per day in January. The interim nuclear deal with the United States and its western allies has breathed some life into Iran’s oil sector, Cunningham writes.

President Obama announced Tuesday plans for tightening the fuel-efficiency standards of medium- and heavy-duty trucks by 2016. Amid high-profile energy issues like clean-energy subsidies and the Keystone XL pipeline, Obama has quietly made efficiency a cornerstone of his 'all-of-the-above' energy policy. 

Just as with organic supermarket produce, green power programs remain a niche market, Bronski writes. But the ability for consumers to pay a premium for 'organic electricity' is increasingly making inroads to mainstream markets.

As more people move to solar energy, states like Colorado are in a quandary. Should they force those homeowners to pay more to a utility so it can upgrade the grid with more green energy – keep those net payments low so more homeowners will move to solar?

Another winter storm is descending on the East Coast where New Yorkers are paying record prices for natural gas and heating oil. The weeks-long cold snap and continued winter storms are draining fuel inventories and driving up prices.

Atlanta ice storm took out power for more than 100,000 Georgians Wednesday. Officials warned outages could continue as the Atlanta ice storm brought down tree limbs and weighed on power lines.

The Iranian nuclear deal has struck an optimistic tone in the Middle East, Ayyub writes, and officials in the United Arab Emirates are taking the opportunity to increase energy cooperation with Iran. That collaboration threatens to further erode Saudi Arabia's influence over the region's oil.

Exploiting the world’s unconventional natural gas holds the key to a golden age of gas, says IEA executive director Maria van der Hoeven, but there are legitimate public concerns about the associated environmental and social impacts.

Climate change and clean energy are among key themes French President Francois Hollande is highlighting in his state visit to the US this week. Mr. Hollande and President Obama say a 'renewed alliance' between the US and France will help expand a global clean-energy push.

A Duke Energy coal-ash facility accidentally poured 100,000 cubic feet of muck this week into the Dan River on the North Carolina-Virginia border, turning it gray. The EPA is likely to tighten disposal rules on coal ash, but it won't designate it 'hazardous.'