By Jonathan Fahey Associated Press New York — The high costs that for years made solar energy impractical as a mainstream source of energy are plummeting. Real estate companies are racing to install solar panels on office buildings. Utilities are ...

Tagged with: electricity Energy Information Administration solar solar power

By CHRIS KAHN AP Energy Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Oil started the new year Monday trading above $81 a barrel, almost double what it fetched at the beginning of 2009 even though the U.S. is using much less. Prices, ...

Tagged with: energy Energy Information Administration fuel gas Labor Department oil

By DINA CAPPIELLO Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) — When it comes to pollution, the economic downturn could have an upside. The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday reported that toxic chemical pollution from the nation’s industrial plants, mines and factories ...

Tagged with: coal Energy Information Administration Environmental Protection Agency EPA pollution Tennessee Valley Authority toxins

By CHRIS KAHN AP Energy Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Crude prices bounced above $80 per barrel once again on Wednesday, a level that even OPEC leaders have said is too high given the fragile state of the global economy. ...

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By Jeff Barnard AP Writer Wimer, Ore. — Vern and Gianaclis Caldwell do a lot of the typical things that make a small farm self-sufficient. Besides the 40-some dwarf Nigerian goats they milk to make artisanal cheeses, they also raise ...

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Judith Kohler AP Writer Denver — The promise of enough natural gas to last the United States more than 100 years based on discoveries of vast shale formations could be the country’s next speculative bubble to burst, a speaker warned ...

Tagged with: Energy Information Administration

Report predicts lower winter heating bills for consumers Washington (AP) — Consumers using natural gas this winter stand to save $105, compared with last year, and propane users will get even bigger savings, according to a government report. Households that ...

Tagged with: Energy Information Administration natural gas propane

Clarke Canfield AP Writer Portland, ME — Homeowners who heat with oil were feeling sticker shock just more than a year ago as prices soared close to $5 a gallon, but they’re breathing easier now. Heating oil prices are barely ...

Tagged with: Energy Information Administration natural gas propane

Paul Snyder [email protected] A new federal energy study says it is unlikely many new coal-fired power plants will be built in the next 20 years. The end of coal? Not quite, say utility companies. “I think it’s premature to go ...

Tagged with: Brian Manthey coal energy Energy Information Administration power plant We Energies