Archive for April, 2009

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Feds to Review Sage Grouse Status in Wyoming

The overall sage grouse population is actually on the rise in Wyoming as part of the bird’s cyclical trends, according to local wildlife officials. Yet the BLM, which oversees a bulk of sage grouse habitat in the state, has not come forward with its own comprehensive sage grouse conservation plan.

30Apr2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Salazar Seeks to Vacate Bush-Era Mining Rule

The Interior instructed the Justice Department yesterday to seek a court order to overturn a Bush administration regulation allowing mining companies to dump their waste near rivers and streams, calling the regulation “legally defective.”

28Apr2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Waiting for the Wind Boom

Many potential bottlenecks to commercial wind generation in Wyoming need to be resolved. Infrastructure is at the top of the list. “You can’t go forward without transmission lines,” said Rob Hurless, the governor’s adviser on technology.

27Apr2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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DOE Releases New Oil Shale Development Report

The primer’s publication comes at an important time, according to the Independent Petroleum Association of America. It shows that the current state-federal hydraulic fracturing regulatory partnership is working despite suggestions from some members of Congress that the EPA should take over enforcement, said IPAA President Barry Russell earlier this month.

23Apr2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Natrona County Wind Regulations Need More Work

Proposed revisions for commercial wind energy projects will receive more revisions themselves, according to the Natrona County Planning and Zoning Commission. The sheer volume of public comments forced the body to extend the time to rework the revisions.

16Apr2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Sage Grouse Suit Targets Grazing, Drilling in West

Conservationists say federal rules that allow livestock grazing and oil and gas development across 25 million acres of public land in the West are illegal because they fail to acknowledge the harm being done to sage grouse.

12Apr2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Carbon is a Four-Letter Word:
A Treatise to Fuel the Flame (and by doing so, regrettably, discharge some CO2)

Here’s where the science, in some people’s minds, falters. In the big scheme of things, can a case sans reasonable doubt be made that fossil fueled electric generating plants are causing the Wilkins ice shelf to break off and float away? After all, 40% of 3.2% is just 1.3%.

11Apr2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Carbon County Wind Farm Could Generate 1,000+ Jobs

The construction and operation of two major wind farms in the south-central region of the state will create more than 1,000 jobs, according to the project’s owner - Power Company of Wyoming.

11Apr2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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EnCana Looking to Sell Green River Basin Assets

“Although the Green River Basin is a solidly performing asset, keeping it in our portfolio would limit future opportunities for the asset and for EnCana in other areas,” company spokesman Randy Teeuwen said in a prepared statement.

8Apr2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Suzlon Wind Energy to Supply Turbines for
Duke Energy’s Latest Wyoming Project

The contract will provide 20 units of the S88-2.1MW wind turbines for the Silver Sage project, located next to the Happy Jack wind development, in Cheyenne.

7Apr2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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When Energy Becomes the Real Currency

The long-term trend is just the opposite: scarcity leading inevitably to rising prices. Writing on EconBrowser, James Hamilton provides a painstaking analysis of the energy economics of the last few years. Two points are worth highlighting –

6Apr2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Google Shows Renewable Energy Firms the Way –
Pinpointing Best Locations for Solar, Wind Installations

Solar and wind companies badly want to avoid fights that could slow down their projects, “The maps make it clear that there is plenty of room for green energy,” said Brian Rutledge, executive director of Audubon Wyoming.

3Apr2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Latest State Jobs Report Reflects Energy Slowdown

Wednesday’s report shows Wyoming’s employment slowed in February, but it still managed to increase faster than in any other state. Reflecting the slowdown in oil and gas activity, the January to February seasonal employment pattern increased by only 100 jobs, compared to a normal year of roughly 1,400 jobs.

2Apr2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued
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Duke Launches Another Wind Power Project
in Wyoming

The 42-megawatt Silver Sage wind-power project will be home to 20 turbines, with completion expected by the end of this year. Duke already has a 29-megawatt facility in Cheyenne and is planning to complete an another project near Casper by 2010.

1Apr2009 | admin | 0 comments | Continued