What’s Behind Tesla’s Demand For $500 Million In Gigafactory Incentives

Tesla Motors has been playing a game of economic development poker for its $5 billion Gigafactory with five states — Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas. Last week, Tesla’s billionaire CEO Elon Musk revealed the bid he expects from the winning state. Musk, speaking on a conference call with analysts, said the place that gets the Gigafactory will need to put up 10 percent of the total cost, meaning $500 million.

Survey looks at effects of energy boom

Located in the middle of Marcellus Shale development, Washington & Jefferson College appropriately is at the center of an interesting shale study. W&J’s Center for Energy Policy & Management teamed with the Environmental Law Institute of Washington, D.C., on “Getting the Boom Without the Bust: Guiding Southwestern Pennsylvania Through Shale Gas Development.”

 

Springdale First in Northwest Arkansas To Get CNG Fuel Station

Heath Ward wanted Springdale to be first in line — more specifically, he wanted the city’s water utilities department to be first. Ward, the executive director of Springdale Water Utilities, said it was an easy decision to commit to buy two vehicles that run on compressed natural gas. The sewer and water commission agreed and voted unanimously to purchase a light-duty and a heavy-duty truck for the Water Utilities on July 16.

 

Natural Gas Futures move Higher in Early Trade

U.S. natural gas futures edged higher on Monday, though gains were likely to remain limited as short-term weather forecasts kept calling for mild summer temperatures across much of the U.S. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, natural gas for delivery in September tacked on 0.82%, or 3.1 cents, to trade at $3.829 per million British thermal units during U.S. morning hours.

 

A Dozen States File Suit Against New Coal Rules

Twelve states filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration on Friday seeking to block an Environmental Protection Agency proposal to regulate coal-fired power plants in an effort to stem climate change. The plaintiffs are led by West Virginia and include states that are home to some of the largest producers of coal and consumers of coal-fired electricity.

Oil spill damage to Gulf was deeper, wider than thought, say scientists

Four years after a BP oil rig exploded and flooded the Gulf of Mexico with an estimated 170 million gallons of oil, scientists have discovered further evidence of coral communities affected by this environmental disaster. Scientists at Pennsylvania State University, in State College, Pa., found coral communities that show signs of damage from 2010’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill more than 12 miles (20 kilometers) from the disaster site. The new findings suggest that the oil spill’s footprint is both deeper and wider than was previously thought.