Inside Energy

Do We Need Coal To Keep The Lights On? by Inside Energy

Some of the world’s biggest data companies—Google, Microsoft and Facebook—have joined a new coalition that is pushing for easier access to renewable energy. Through that push, they are trying to change the nation’s energy landscape— even in states that haven’t fully embraced that change.

With the help of a few more delegates from a handful of states, including North Dakota, Donald Trump on Thursday finally gathered enough to clinch the republican nomination. And with that news, the official Republican Presidential nominee rolled into Bismarck, North Dakota on Thursday. Our Inside Energy reporter Leigh Paterson was there and has this report.

The people who run our electricity grids are trying to figure out what to do with solar and wind power that is generated when no one needs it. Take California – there’s enough solar there now to serve more than three million homes. But during the day, especially in the spring, demand is low and generation is high. So…that clean power has to be sent elsewhere. Right now, its going across state lines to Arizona. For Inside Energy Will Stone of KJZZ in Phoenix reports.

When it comes to energy policy, presidential candidate Donald Trump has left a lot to the imagination. But today he’s traveling to Bismarck, North Dakota to address energy industry professionals from all across the country. For energy-rich states, there’s a lot on the table right now, from low energy prices to new federal regulations. Inside Energy’s Leigh Paterson reports.

A political organization created to fight anti-oil and gas ballot measures in Colorado has raised more than $6 million dollars in the first quarter of 2016. It shows an industry preparing for a potential battle this fall against a much less well-funded foe. Inside Energy’s Dan Boyce reports supporters of the ballot measures have raised just tens of thousands of dollars.

There’s a polarized debate going on in this country about the future of fossil fuels- specifically coal. Nationwide, we are using less and less coal but we still burn hundreds of million of tons of it each year for electricity. And so beneath that debate is a real disconnect between the people who produce coal and those who consume it. The debate and the divide were very much on display recently at a public event in Casper, Wyoming. Inside Energy’s Leigh Paterson reports.

Road Tripping on North Dakota's Oil Bust Alley by Inside Energy

In another blow to the U.S. coal industry, the Army Corps of Engineers on Monday denied approval for a new coal terminal in the Pacific Northwest. The Gateway Pacific Terminal would have doubled total U.S. coal export capacity and would have been the largest export terminal in the country.

The poorest among us pay more than they can afford for their power bills. Economists call it an “affordability gap” when a household spends more than 6 percent of annual income on utilities. Many low-income households pay a much higher percentage. That means energy bills force hard decisions in other areas. Inside Energy’s Dan Boyce says the most desperate time can be the spring when power bills from the winter start piling up.

It’s election season, which means politicians are busy promising lots of things, including lots of new proposals when it comes to energy. Hillary Clinton has pledged to give $30 billion to coal communities if elected; Donald Trump has promised energy independence. We wondered, if these policies actually came to pass, what would the world look like? Are they good ideas or bad ideas? So, we decided to ask the experts, at a live Inside Energy event in Laramie, Wyoming in April. We invited four energy economists to weigh in on the presidential candidates’ policy proposals as well as on proposals floated by Wyoming Governor Matt Mead. Rob Godby and Chuck Mason joined us from the University of Wyoming, Ian Lange from the Colorado School of Mines and Tim Fitzgerald from Texas Tech.

America’s coal industry is hurting, facing layoffs and bankruptcies. The drop off in coal production over the past year is staggering. But what does it sound like? We've mapped the data to music so you can hear coal production fall off a cliff.

The Colorado Supreme Court has struck down limits on fracking in two Colorado cities. Inside Energy's Dan Boyce tells us the rulings could have big implications for future drilling in the state.

The debate about whether or not humans are warming the planet is essentially over 97% of climate scientists agree that we are. But the debate over tactics, how to reduce our carbon emissions, is just starting to heat up. For Inside Energy, Amy Martin explains.

Wyoming’s powerful coal industry is starting to feel the full force of the market’s decline. Three of the state’s four largest producers are now in bankruptcy. Last month, two of the country’s largest coal mines, both in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, laid off 15% of their workers. And that’s on top of hard times in both oil and gas. As the state’s energy booms go bust, Wyoming is facing the colossal task of having to replace some- or live with less- of its main economic drivers. Inside Energy’s Leigh Paterson reports from Gillette, Wyoming’s coal capital.

The massive fall in the price of crude oil means hundreds of thousands of people are no longer working in the business...and many smaller energy companies are in a footrace against bankruptcy. Yet, up until now, oil production has NOT dropped in places like the Permian Basin of west Texas the nation's highest-producing oilfield. For Inside Energy, Lorne Matalon reports.

Solar energy is booming in California—so much so that on some days, there's too much. California would like to send that extra solar to its neighbors in the West, but other western states aren't sure they want California's power.

Picture the wind turbine technician, a worker with a hard hat and climbing harness perched atop a tall white tower, making sure those power-generating blades are spinning just right. That job, maintaining wind turbines--that’s the fastest growing profession in the country right now. Inside Energy reporter Dan Boyce puts that in context.

The cost of wind and solar power have fallen dramatically in recent years. Still, renewables only account for a fraction of the energy produced in the United States. One person confronting this issue sits in an office in Golden, Colorado. His name is Martin Keller and he is the new boss at the National Renewable Energy Lab. Keller, who hails from Germany, tells Inside Energy’s Dan Boyce the lab needs to spur more innovation to increase the amount of renewable energy available.

North Dakota Heritage Center's Director on Closing the Green Revolution Exhibit by Inside Energy