Inside Energy

With oil prices in the tank, oil workers can go from making a six figures to nothing, overnight. When they’re working, a 60 thousand dollar truck, for example, might be a reasonable purchase and maybe even a business expense. But the oil industry isn’t like most businesses. Our Inside Energy reporter Leigh Paterson looks at the challenges to budgeting in a boom and bust economy.

Sand is a key ingredient in hydraulic fracturing, but breathing in too much of it can be deadly. Many companies in the industry have responded by changing the way they handle frack sand. Reporting for Inside Energy, Anna Boiko-Weyrauch of Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting explains that the industry is the latest to confront the problems sand can cause for workers.

As a member of the American public, you own coal. Yes, coal. The black rock we burn for electricity. Many of the country’s biggest coal deposits are on federal land- land that belongs to the American public. So, when companies mine that coal, they make payments, called royalties, to the federal government and to the states. Those royalty payments, which many say are far too low, are at the heart of a conflict that pits coal against climate. Inside Energy’s Leigh Paterson reports.

Methane is one of the key components of natural gas. It is also a greenhouse gas that is around 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. And Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency unveiled the first-ever federal regulations to limit those emissions from oil and gas production. Our Inside Energy reporter Leigh Paterson has more.

Wyoming Town Built On Coal Contemplates Its Future by Inside Energy

Wyoming Governor Advocates Moving Beyond Climate Debate by Inside Energy

In The Bakken Oilfield, An Explosion In Electricity Demand by Inside Energy

Energy, is full of mysteries. Big ones, like, What’s the deal with fracking? And personal ones. Are home solar panels worth the money? This time we tackle the age old question: what’s better to beat the heat when you’re driving -- AC or windows down? We sent Inside Energy’s Catherine Roberts out to find the answer.

Major power outages have doubled every five years since 2000. That’s according to research from our Inside Energy team. Electric reliability is even a concern in the places often thought of as most secure--our military bases. Dan Boyce tells us the military has been experimenting with small, independent electricity systems as a way to increase reliability, in the name of national security.

Solar Storms: Beautiful To Look At, Dangerous To The Power Grid by Inside Energy

The ability to store energy could revolutionize the way we make and use electricity. But for many utility companies and regular folks, energy storage is still way out of reach. That because it is expensive, sometimes more expensive than building out old-fashioned infrastructure like power lines and power plants. At what point will that change? Inside Energy’s Leigh Paterson looks at storage experiments in Wyoming and Colorado for the answer.

Pope Francis made international headlines last month by calling on the world to proactively address human-caused climate change. The document, a so-called encyclical, is one of the most important statements a pope can issue. Shortly after the its release, our Inside Energy reporter Dan Boyce sat down with Paul Etienne, Catholic Bishop of Cheyenne. His diocese covers the entire state of Wyoming, the nation’s largest coal producer. In this interview, Etienne says the encyclical is an explicit call to action, for Wyoming’s faithful and non-faithful alike.

North Dakota Oilfields: One Place Without Enough Lawyers by Inside Energy

Ranchers Fight Against Nuclear Waste Storage Site by Inside Energy

Denmark's Road To Renewable Power by Inside Energy

The massive expansion of domestic oil and gas production over the last five or so years is rippling across the economies where that drilling is taking place. Think about it, more oil workers need more welders, more restaurants, and the topic of today’s story -- more clothes. Inside Energy’s Dan Boyce tells us about the hot new market in flame resistant clothing.

Texas Wind: Too Much Of A Good Thing by Inside Energy

How Becoming Grid Guinea Pigs Is Helping A Tiny Island Stay Afloat by Inside Energy

On A Tiny Danish Island: Making Electricity Demand Meet Supply by Inside Energy

Our electricity system is changing rapidly around us. New sources of renewable power are meeting technologies that can crunch unprecedented amounts of data. It’s all leading to a major shakeup for how utilities do business. In this next installment in our series on the US electricity grid, Inside Energy Reporter Dan Boyce takes us to Fort Collins, Colorado for a peek into our utility’s possible future.