Inside Energy

With oil prices in the tank, oil workers can go from making a six figures to nothing, overnight. When they’re working, a 60 thousand dollar truck, for example, might be a reasonable purchase and maybe even a business expense. But the oil industry isn’t like most businesses. Our Inside Energy reporter Leigh Paterson looks at the challenges to budgeting in a boom and bust economy.

Sand is a key ingredient in hydraulic fracturing, but breathing in too much of it can be deadly.

Many companies in the industry have responded by changing the way they handle frack sand. Reporting for Inside Energy, Anna Boiko-Weyrauch of Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting explains that the industry is the latest to confront the problems sand can cause for workers.

As a member of the American public, you own coal. Yes, coal. The black rock we burn for electricity. Many of the country’s biggest coal deposits are on federal land- land that belongs to the American public. So, when companies mine that coal, they make payments, called royalties, to the federal government and to the states. Those royalty payments, which many say are far too low, are at the heart of a conflict that pits coal against climate. Inside Energy’s Leigh Paterson reports.

Methane is one of the key components of natural gas. It is also a greenhouse gas that is around 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. And Tuesday, the Environmental Protection Agency unveiled the first-ever federal regulations to limit those emissions from oil and gas production. Our Inside Energy reporter Leigh Paterson has more.

Wyoming Town Built On Coal Contemplates Its Future by Inside Energy

Wyoming Governor Advocates Moving Beyond Climate Debate by Inside Energy

In The Bakken Oilfield, An Explosion In Electricity Demand by Inside Energy

Energy, is full of mysteries. Big ones, like, What’s the deal with fracking? And personal ones. Are home solar panels worth the money? This time we tackle the age old question: what’s better to beat the heat when you’re driving -- AC or windows down? We sent Inside Energy’s Catherine Roberts out to find the answer.

Major power outages have doubled every five years since 2000.

That’s according to research from our Inside Energy team.

Electric reliability is even a concern in the places often thought of as most secure--our military bases.

Dan Boyce tells us the military has been experimenting with small, independent electricity systems as a way to increase reliability, in the name of national security.

Solar Storms: Beautiful To Look At, Dangerous To The Power Grid by Inside Energy