Greenwire

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. -- When tourists enter Yosemite National Park, they'll confront a scene different from the vacation spot they might have envisioned. Just off Highway 120, the pines are blackened and denuded, and the ground lies barren and covered with ash.

The Obama administration is moving closer to approving a plan that would allow a West Virginia wind farm to harm or kill nearly 70 endangered bats during construction and operation of a 100-turbine plant.

Bipartisan House legislation introduced yesterday would open up production tax credits to manufacturers of chemicals made from renewable sources like plants, algae and waste.

A political action committee steered by billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer today plans to spend $500,000 on a new ad hitting Virginia's Republican attorney general, now locked in a close gubernatorial race, for his ties to a natural gas company.

California's Legislature yesterday approved a sweeping rewrite of electricity rates, passing a package of legislation that would allow prices to rise while expanding a program that gives bill credits for renewable energy.

American Indian tribes have emerged as vocal opponents of an Obama administration plan to allow wind farms to harm or kill a limited number of eagles.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission released an environmental assessment today in support of a new rule that would allow hot, radioactive waste to be stored near reactors for up to 60 years after plants are closed, a proposal that's drawn the ire of states and environmental groups.

U.S. EPA may be poised to introduce a proposal for new power plant carbon dioxide emissions that is legally sturdier than the one it issued last year but that still relies on a costly emissions-reduction technology that coal-fired utilities say is not commercially viable.

U.S. EPA is attempting to fire a longtime whistle-blower for the second time, characterizing the senior chemist as an intimidating employee who once threatened to kill her supervisor.

With U.S. EPA expected to release its re-proposed rule for greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants this week, how will the agency address coal-fired power? During today's OnPoint, Scott Segal, a partner at the Policy Resolution Group at Bracewell & Giuliani and director of the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council, previews his expectations for the rule and subsequent litigation.

Johnson Controls Inc. plans to build a new regional corporate headquarters and 11 more factories in China.

German carmaker Volkswagen AG is the latest auto company with plans to sell electric cars in the United States.

The Department of Transportation announced today that it will make $30 million in emergency relief funds available to help Colorado repair miles of roads and dozens of bridges damaged or destroyed by last week's catastrophic flooding.

St. Louis-based Foresight Energy LLC is siding with environmentalists over a waiver dispute involving another company.

A Virginia-based coal producer is shutting down several mines in Kentucky and laying off hundreds of workers.

In its latest and largest energy-industry venture so far, Google is purchasing the output of a future North Texas wind farm.

American Electric Power announced yesterday that it will retire a 500-megawatt coal-fired unit at an Indiana power plant, following plans to shut down the three other generating units at the plant.

The city of Louisville, Ky., will have to invalidate months of air quality data after a U.S. EPA audit identified "severe deficiencies" at the city's agency that monitors air pollution.

The Energy Department said it would auction off Fisker Automotive Inc.'s unpaid loan balance after giving out $192 million to the now-dormant electric automaker.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has tapped former congressional staffer Brian Baenig to be his next chief of staff.

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