Gulf Coast
Experts warn oil and gas can’t save Louisiana’s economy — even under Trump
As state lawmakers consider even more tax breaks for fossil fuels, a new report says the state can no longer rely on the industry for growth
Pam Radtke/Floodlight
Pam is an environment, energy and climate reporter. A long-time New Orleans resident, Pam was part of the Times-Picayune team that published after Hurricane Katrina.
Polluting Democracy
Private calls and campaign cash: Louisiana regulators’ ties to the utilities they oversee
The state is tied for dead last in renewable energy adoption. Little surprise, with so much fossil fuel money flowing to its commissioners.
Polluting Democracy
Utility regulators take millions from industries they oversee. What could go wrong?
The clean energy transition, for one, a Floodlight analysis of campaign finance data reveals.
Gulf Coast
California calls plastics recycling tech a ‘stunt’; to Louisiana it’s economic development
ExxonMobil wants millions in tax breaks for a Baton Rouge project that would create no jobs, pollute the environment and recycle few plastics
Gulf Coast
Crowd size forces Louisiana to postpone hearing on proposed ammonia plant
The public hearing for the St. Charles Clean Fuels Plant will be rescheduled after more than 200 people show up in space meant for 60
Gulf Coast
Fishers, environmental groups fight massive LNG terminal in court
In the last two months, judges rejected approvals on three Gulf Coast methane facilities, sending them back to a federal agency for further review
Gulf Coast
Louisiana utility commission OKs major donor’s plan to buy Entergy gas system
A Bernhard Capital Partners subsidiary — new to the natural gas business — is buying gas systems in Louisiana, Mississippi and New Mexico
Carbon Capture
A company wanted to store carbon under US forests; it may get its wish
The U.S. Forest Service said ‘no’ when CapturePoint asked to put carbon capture projects under national forests. The agency is now reconsidering.
LNG
Flouting Biden pause, agency OK’s largest LNG terminal in US
Whether the Louisiana project is built may hinge on federal study of climate and economic impact of the burgeoning liquefied natural gas industry
Gulf Coast
Is US offshore wind dead in the water — or just poised for the next big gust?
The Biden Administration wants to boost offshore wind. But other forces, including cost, political opposition and disinformation, have slowed adoption.
Gulf Coast
Louisiana energy company plans to float above climate damage — literally
Utility argues natural gas plant would keep offshore oil and gas servicing companies, and nation’s only deepwater oil port, operational.
Utilities
Will bitcoin and data centers risk US climate goals?
US energy use has been flat. But new industries are forcing a boost in utility forecasts for demand, potentially harming efforts to cut emissions.
Gulf Coast
Secrecy around gas export terminals leaves public in the dark on dangers
As liquefied natural gas terminals grow exponentially along the U.S. Gulf Coast, experts raise alarm on low-risk, high-consequence events
Gulf Coast
Plan to stash planet-heating carbon dioxide under U.S. national forests alarms critics
Around 140 groups have called for an extension of public comment period over U.S. Forest Service proposal amid questions about safety and impact.
Gulf Coast
LSU’s new energy institute faces global challenges, local skepticism
In Louisiana, the energy transition away from high-intensity carbon fuels is focused on things such as creating lower-carbon hydrogen and capturing climate-warming carbon from industry and directly from the air.
Gulf Coast
A known risk: How carbon stored underground could find its way back into the atmosphere
Generous federal tax credits are driving the onrush of carbon capture and storage projects being proposed in the U.S. But like a game of whack-a-mole, there’s a chance the planet-warming emissions could seep back up into the atmosphere after they are injected underground.