WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) – The Obama administration is
divided over a proposed pipeline that would ease U.S. reliance
on oil from politically unstable regions but boost dependence
on crude from Canada’s environmentally unfriendly oil sands.

The State Department may begin deciding as early as next
month whether the $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline would be
necessary to bolster U.S. energy security. The oil would cut
dependence on imports from Venezuela and Middle Eastern
countries such as Saudi Arabia.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s new plan to double U.S. clean power output could provide the kind of compromise needed to pass a divided Congress because it offers benefits to lawmakers who want to cut planet-warming emissions and those who want more jobs in energy-rich states.

The plan Obama introduced in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday would require power plants to generate 80 percent clean electricity by 2035.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama’s new plan to double U.S. clean power output could provide the kind of compromise needed to pass a divided Congress because it offers benefits to lawmakers who want to cut planet-warming emissions and those who want more jobs in energy-rich states.

The plan Obama introduced in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday would require power plants to generate 80 percent clean electricity by 2035.

WASHINGTON, Jan 25 (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama
set a target for power plants to produce mostly clean
electricity by 2035 — including power from sources like clean
coal and natural gas — in his State of the Union address on
Tuesday.

Obama also called for investment in clean technologies and
urged Congress to eliminate billions of dollars in subsidies
for oil companies.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. government on Thursday gave four biofuel companies loan guarantees of nearly $650 million to help build plants that will make motor fuels from sources like animal fat, orange peels and trash.

The government is supporting the development of new feedstocks for ethanol to ease dependence on corn. Nearly 40 percent of the U.S. corn crop goes to making ethanol, which has spurred concerns from environmentalists and food groups that production of the fuel can raise food prices.

WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) – The U.S. government on
Thursday gave four biofuel companies loan guarantees of nearly
$650 million to help build plants that will make motor fuels
from sources like animal fat, orange peels and trash.

The government is supporting the development of new
feedstocks for ethanol to ease dependence on corn. Nearly 40
percent of the U.S. corn crop goes to making ethanol, which has
spurred concerns from environmentalists and food groups that
production of the fuel can raise food prices.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Cooperation on clean energy could be a high point in U.S.-China relations leading to benefits for both countries, government and business officials said ahead of a summit between Chinese President Hu Jintao and President Barack Obama.

Disputes between the world’s two largest economies and energy consumers over China’s wind power subsidies and its slowdown in exports of rare earths minerals, used in everything from wind turbines to cell phones, have dominated headlines in recent months.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Cooperation on clean energy could be a high point in U.S.-China relations leading to benefits for both countries, government and business officials said ahead of a summit between Chinese President Hu Jintao and President Barack Obama.

Disputes between the world’s two largest economies and energy consumers over China’s wind power subsidies and its slowdown in exports of rare earths minerals, used in everything from wind turbines to cell phones, have dominated headlines in recent months.

WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) – American and Chinese energy
companies will sign several commercial agreements next week
during Chinese President Hu Jintao’s state visit to Washington,
a U.S. official said on Friday.

The deals will involve trade in renewable energy, an area
where the United States and China are competing for market
share.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Obama administration revoked a permit on Thursday for Arch Coal Inc’s proposed Spruce 1 mountaintop coal mine in West Virginia, effectively shutting one of the biggest in the United States.

“The proposed Spruce No. 1 Mine would use destructive and unsustainable mining practices that jeopardize the health of Appalachian communities and clean water on which they depend,” said Peter Silvan, an assistant administrator for water, at the Environmental Protection Agency.