Inside Energy

A southwestern Wyoming region has some of the strongest emissions regulations on the oil and gas industry in the country. Companies operating in the Upper Green River Basin are required to reduce air pollutants that may lead to ozone — a dangerous greenhouse gas. This week, a federal court mandated the Environmental Protection Agency begin enforcement of similar standards nationwide. Cooper McKim reports on how Wyoming’s plan to clean up their air has worked.

A changing climate may be bad PR for fossil fuels, but it could help their bottom line. Two major coal companies released earnings reports last week stating how higher temperatures could mean more energy use, which could ease some coal stockpiles.

n most parts of the country, solar energy has been having a great decade.

Estimates puts the industry’s growth at 16-hundred percent over the last

8 years.

A great decade, maybe, but solar’s been having a really bad year -- especially residential rooftop solar.

There’s been a big-time slowdown in that market, and bankruptcies abound from the likes of SunEdison, Sungevity, Suniva, and at least one company not starting with Sun -- SolarWorld.

Inside Energy’s Dan Boyce looks into what’s going on.

Millions of gallons of salty wastewater are produced each day wherever there’s oil and gas production. Most states inject wastewater deep underground. But in Wyoming, above-ground wastewater ponds are still used. Regulators now want to make sure the state will not be left scrambling to pay for and figure out cleanup, once the ponds are shut down. Inside Energy’s Madelyn Beck reports.

A Toxic Legacy: North Dakota Looks To Clean Up Old Oilfield Waste by Inside Energy

A new coal mine may be opening in the Powder River Basin -- if it does, it would be the first to open in Wyoming in 50 years. Before that can happen, they have to obtain a permit. Local groups are arguing against one. They say the mine's proposed permit is lacking and worry about the environmental impacts of a new mine.

The wind energy industry is growing worldwide, and so is the global competition between turbine-makers. That battle is now playing out in Wyoming, a state with some of the best wind potential in the nation. In the next few years two massive wind power projects are slated to come on line. To get an edge, a Chinese company is trying to win over the state’s scant pool of workers through free training to become a wind turbine technician. Inside Energy’s Madelyn Beck reports.

Oil markets are turbulent --

Still, prices are high enough right now that oil companies are expanding their drilling operations here in the US.

Of all the problems to have, though, companies aren’t getting as much oil out of the ground as they want because they can’t find enough workers for their highly paid jobs.

Inside Energy’s Dan Boyce picks up the story from the side of a highway near oil country.

Coal used to be the dominant resource to feed power generation, but it's fallen to natural gas and renewable energies. With a drop in coal demand, a Kentucky-based company is looking for a new way to use the resource. They're hoping to find a way to make coal as versatile as oil, creating new products like car parts, building material, and much more.

The US Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, is recommending a reduction in the size of the controversial, and brand new, Bears Ears National Monument in Utah.

That follows a directive from President Trump to review all large monuments designated since the late 90s.

Trump argues some of these monuments actually restrict access to public land and burden both local governments and local economies.

Inside Energy’s Dan Boyce reports from another of these monuments under review in North Central Montana.