WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House is reviewing the Environmental Protection Agency’s final rule on how much ethanol and other renewable automobile fuels will be sold next year.

The EPA proposed in July that such fuels would account for 7.95 percent of gasoline sales next year to meet a congressional mandate that at least 13.95 billion gallons of renewable fuels be produced in 2011.

LOS ANGELES/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A federal grant program aimed at spurring investment in the U.S. solar industry expires at the end of this year, and its supporters are scrambling to get it extended in the lame-duck session of Congress that started this week.

Prospects for renewal dim considerably come January when a new Congress takes over, with a Republican-controlled House of Representatives and a shrunken Democratic majority in the Senate. Many Republicans want to reverse the Obama administration’s U.S. energy policy of focusing on renewable energy sources like solar and wind power.

WASHINGTON, Nov 15 (Reuters) – A handful of energy tax
credits could be extended when the U.S. Congress returns this
week, but most energy legislation — from renewables to climate
– will be punted to 2011.

Ethanol producers, along with the solar and wind
industries, are pushing lawmakers to extend tax credits that
are set to expire at the end of this year.

WASHINGTON, Nov 9 (Reuters) – Global oil demand next year
will be higher than previously thought, thanks to stronger
economic growth, the U.S. government’s energy forecasting
agency said on Tuesday.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration boosted its 2011
world oil demand growth forecast by 33,000 barrels per day to
1.44 million bpd, with fuel use next year now pegged at nearly
87.8 million bpd.

WASHINGTON, Nov 8 (Reuters) – Improving economic conditions
may prompt the U.S. government’s energy forecasting agency to
increase its outlook for 2011 global oil demand, industry
analysts said.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration on Tuesday will
release its revised monthly forecast for U.S. and world oil
consumption, which will be followed later this week by two
other important oil demand outlooks from OPEC and the
International Energy Agency.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Pipeline leaks, like one that cut U.S. crude imports last month and pushed oil prices up $4 a barrel, may become more frequent as the U.S. delays safety reforms on its aging 2.5 million mile network of energy lines.

Following BP’s Gulf of Mexico spill, oil companies face a torrent of new offshore rules. But some advocates say making pipelines on land safer is just as urgent.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. energy policies face a big overhaul if Republicans, as expected, take control of the House of Representatives and make gains in the Senate in next week’s congressional elections.

After raising a ruckus on the campaign trail about the “Cap and Tax” energy policies of the Obama Administration, Republicans will want to move away from renewable energy and boost traditional energy sources like oil, nuclear and coal.

WASHINGTON, Oct 28 (Reuters) – U.S. energy policies face a
big overhaul if Republicans, as expected, take control of the
House of Representatives and make gains in the Senate in next
week’s congressional elections.

After raising a ruckus on the campaign trail about the “Cap
and Tax” energy policies of the Obama Administration,
Republicans will want to move away from renewable energy and
boost traditional energy sources like oil, nuclear and coal.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Energy is not aware of any U.S. clean energy companies experiencing disruptions in their rare earth metal shipments from China.

However, Diana Bauer, who heads the DOE’s Critical Metals Task Force, said some clean energy companies have contacted the department to express concern about future disruptions in such exports from China.

WASHINGTON, Oct 25 (Reuters) – The world’s biggest solar
plant that plans to provide power to more than 300,000 homes in
southern California was approved by the U.S. Interior
Department on Monday.

The $6 billion, 1,000-megawatt project, a joint venture of
Solar Millennium AG (S2MG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Ferrostaal AG, will be
located on federal lands near Blythe, in the southern tip of
California.