Energy & Fuel

"Move over, Solyndra. Conservatives opposed to the Obama administration's spending on clean energy have a new whipping boy.

The electric Chevrolet Volt is the new focus of angry conservative blog posts, testy congressional hearings and joking videos. And Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have taken shots at the car's puny sales and size, with Gingrich jeering, 'You can't put a gun rack on a Volt.'

"TransCanada said Monday that it would reapply for a permit to build the Keystone XL pipeline from Canadian oil sands formations in Alberta to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico, assuring that the fiercely contested project will remain a source of political heat throughout the presidential campaign.

"High levels of winter ozone air pollution have been recorded in a Utah oil and gas field — after the phenomenon was seen in Wyoming — raising concerns that such pollution could become more widespread."

"TRENTON, New Jersey, February 24, 2012 (ENS) - The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is downplaying the environmental impact of a large spill from an oil tank at the Paulsboro Refining Company facility in Gloucester County that started Thursday afternoon."

"DETROIT -- Average retail gas prices in Detroit have risen over 25.6 cents per gallon in the past week. According to GasBuddy.com this compares with the national average that has increased 11.3 cents per gallon in the last week to $3.64/gallon."

"AUSTIN -- The politically volatile Keystone XL pipeline is becoming embroiled in a widening controversy in Texas as supporters tout the promise of jobs and other economic benefits while increasingly vocal opponents say the project would trample property rights and endanger water supplies in East Texas."

"Suspicion is growing among Republican lawmakers that the Defense Department's efforts to move to renewable energy are more about politics than they are about saving lives and boosting security, as officials claim. The Pentagon's green push -- including outfitting Marines and soldiers with solar gear, testing aircraft and ships on biofuels and building renewable power plants at bases -- won supporters from both sides of the aisle over the past year as leaders drew a clear line between the technologies and military might."

"President Barack Obama hit back on Thursday at election-year Republican criticism of his energy policies, offering a staunch defense of his attempts to wean Americans off foreign oil and saying there is no "silver bullet" for high gasoline prices."