STUFF

Admin approved BP's plan for GOM drilling. They can pursue permits for 4 wells about 200 miles off LA in >6K feet of water.

Fisker (EV maker) got $529M DOE loan guarantee but assembling first line of cars in Finland, saying no US manufacturer was suitable. But plant being built in Delaware.

Denver fed appeals court upheld Clinton-era rule protecting nearly 50M acres of national forests from most logging and roadbuilding.

VA utility ready to restart quake-rattled nuke plant.

Duke E raised price tag by $200M for new Indiana coal plant.

Lake Mead levels spiking after decades of decline.

Kalamazoo River oil spill cleanup to spill over into '12.

China govt warning of winter power cuts.

Koch-backed research effort looking to defute global warming science found the same warming trend as NOAA, NASA and UK Meteorological Office.

UK cut wind subsidies and boosted wave and tidal. $2B in savings.

Shale gas test drilling in Wales blocked over groundwater pollution concerns.

Next EU president - Denmark next year - will push for more clean/renewable energy R&D funds. Current budget E2.2B for non-nuke, E287M for fission. EU recovery plan also provides E1B for carbon capture/storage and E570M for offshore wind.

World's largest investor groups called for end to fossil fuel subsidies. Global CO2 emissions from energy production reached highest ever recorded in '10: EIA. Yet investment/spending in clean and low-carb energy falling far short of need. That's from 3 orgs representing 285 of the world's largest global investment comps. $500B/y needed from '10 to '35. That's in addition to govt commitments to date.

Calif's cap and trade program got the green light. Begins mid-'12. Aiming for '90 levels of emissions by '20. Follows in footsteps of Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative that covers utilities in NE and mid-Atlantic states. Forecasts are for a ton of CO2 to go for $30-36.

For almost an hour last Thursday night wholesale electricity in TX cost nothing because of strong wind at windfarms and low demand. Also in part because nuke plants - hard to shut down and restart - bid their power down as low as they have to rather than shut down.

Trade pacts signed into law. S. Korea, Panama (when will the canal expansion be done?) and Columbia (cheaper coke?). Predicted $13B more/y in US exports, 70k jobs created or held (AFL-CIO disputes). Some say Korean pact will cost us 160K jobs. Repubs say we will gain 250K jobs. We shall see the truth.

Another Chinese wind comp - Guangdong Ming Yang (sub of MY) - getting up to $5B in financing from China Dev Bank.

Onward and upward, my pards.