U.S. government officials urged residents of a Wyoming farming community near natural gas drilling sites not to use private well water for drinking or cooking because of chemical contamination.

"Sample results indicate that the presence of petroleum hydrocarbons and other chemical compounds in groundwater represents a drinking water concern," the Environmental Protection Agency said in a statement about tests of 19 water wells around the town of Pavillion...

State Senate Republicans have begun drafting legislation for a sweeping overhaul of Pennsylvania's oil and gas law that includes proposals for a new tax on the extraction of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation and limitations on municipal zoning that affects drilling.

Senate President Joe Scarnati said Friday the GOP plan is a sincere effort to keep the pledge Gov. Ed Rendell and lawmakers made in this summer's budget agreement to enact a severance tax by Oct. 1...

Smart meters to boost energy efficiency in homes do not automatically achieve a significant reduction in energy demand, research showed on Wednesday.

Smart meters record energy or water consumption and send the readings back to the utility for monitoring and billing...

Residents and businesses in a county in Hebei Province are in an uproar over a measure taken by the local government aimed at reducing emissions by regularly cutting off power supplies.

China National Radio (CNR) reported Sunday that Anping county began limiting electricity supplies to local residents and industries on August 27 in order to achieve power consumption targets set by authorities under the country's 11th Five-Year Plan, which stipulates that carbon dioxide emissions from 2006 to 2010 should be reduced by 1,500 million tons...

Germany's renewable energy future hinges on the fast expansion of power transmission grids, but planning authorities are dragging their feet, the head of the country's energy regulator said on Monday.

"Many of the planned lines are waiting in local queues, among them ones that have priority," Matthias Kurth of the Bundesnetzagentur (BnetzA) told reporters during an energy conference...

A Scottish start-up believes private industry can make millions of pounds annually, and help reduce the UK's carbon footprint, by selling spare electricity to the National Grid.

Flexitricity has patented technology that brings together the capabilities of standby generators, combined heat and power units and heavy users of power such as commercial greenhouses, cold stores and distribution centres...

The German government today agreed to extend the working lives of its nuclear reactors by an average of 12 years, in a controversial move that will shape the energy strategy of Europe's largest nation for decades to come.

Having put the seal on a deal that was hammered out after lengthy talks between politicians and power companies, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, hailed it as a "revolution in energy provision". She said it would help to ensure Germany's place at the forefront of "the most environmentally and worldwide most efficient" energy policy...

"Floating Chernobyls-in-waiting" are coming to a sea near you after a major international agreement was signed last week, according to critics of nuclear power.

China and Russia agreed to expand co-operation over nuclear power, specifically on uranium exploration and safer power plants – but also on floating nuclear reactors...

The state-owned utility Scottish Water is to be given new powers to build windfarms, hydro schemes and "green" power stations in partnership and competition with established energy companies.

The company, one of the country's last remaining state-owned firms, could generate £300m or more in extra revenues by using its 80,000 acres of land and vast pipe network for renewable energy projects...

Government plans to subsidise green heating are challenged today by the largest ever field study of "heat pump" devices in the UK, which reveals 80% perform so badly they would not qualify as renewable energy under proposed European standards.

The report, from the Energy Saving Trust, reveals the prevalence of badly installed heat pumps that are consequently under-performing. The controversial report could affect the government's plans to launch its Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) next April to pay householders for generating heat from such "green" ground and air source heat pumps. There are already fears the RHI could be a victim of spending cuts announced next month...

China overtook the U.S. to lead a quarterly index of the most attractive countries for renewable energy projects for the first time, according to a list compiled by the global accounting firm Ernst & Young.

After sharing the lead with the U.S. in the first quarter, China moved ahead of the world's largest economy to rank as the most appealing nation for investing in wind and solar power projects, according to the report released today. The move follows the failure of U.S. Congress to pass legislation that would have required utilities to use clean energy...

The government will this month sound the death knell for the world's largest tidal energy project – to be built across the Severn estuary between Somerset and south Wales – when it rules out public funding for the controversial £20bn plan.

The announcement will please some environmentalists, who were worried about the impact on bird life in the estuary, but others say such spending cuts will make a mockery of David Cameron's pledge to be the "greenest government ever"...

Energy policy in the UK is at a crossroads, and the decisions made now will reverberate for decades. At least 43 gigawatts of new electrical generation capacity, equivalent to half of Britain's current total, will be needed by 2020, as all but one of its nuclear plants are retired and coal-fired power stations closed to meet EU air pollution standards.

A staggering £200bn of investment will be needed not only to maintain energy security against price spikes as North Sea resources dwindle and energy imports grow, but also to deliver the largest single contribution to a low-carbon economy...

The ways cities around the globe can make themselves smarter are as varied and multi-layered as the different sizes and shapes of the world's urban areas.

Cities face different problems. For one it might be dealing with transport, or crime, while for another sustainability, or streamlining public service provision and access to technology for all, might be important. There is no one-size-fits-all model...

The soaring price of wheat has raised questions about the UK's commitment to biofuels as it attempts to wean itself from its dependence on oil.

A network of biorefineries that convert wheat and other crops into bioethanol that can then be blended with petrol are being developed as the UK looks to meet its EU renewable transport fuels obligations...

The Australian Greens plan "fast and furious" action to establish a climate change committee and impose a price on carbon emissions under a government led by the Labor Party's Julia Gillard.

"This is the best political opportunity collectively we've ever had," Christine Milne, deputy leader of the Greens Party, said in Sydney today before Gillard won the support needed to form a government. With Labor retaining power, "this committee will be on track fast and furious," Milne said...

As global growth picks up after the economic crisis, carbon emissions are going back up too. With China and India back on track to double their gross domestic product every decade, and with coal providing nearly 30 per cent of global energy, the chances of stabilising and reducing emissions are low. Indeed, little progress has been made in the last two decades. Only recessions lower emissions – and then only for a short time.