E2-Wire

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) will introduce legislation Wednesday calling for increased drilling on U.S. federal lands to displace Iranian oil on the world market, according to a copy of the bill obtained by The Hill.

The bill requires the president to establish enough “Iranian Oil Replacement Zones” on federal lands to produce 1.25 million barrels of oil per day — approximately the amount Iran exports every day.

An Inhofe aide told The Hill that would divert oil the U.S. imports from Saudi Arabia and elsewhere to nations that still buy Iranian crude, such as China, India and Japan. The goal is to give President Obama wiggle room to enforce full sanctions on Iranian oil by ending waivers awarded to some nations. 

Acting Energy Department (DOE) Secretary Daniel Poneman said the Obama administration is not backing down from requests that India eschew solar policies that it says might violate international trade rules.

At issue are Indian requirements that solar energy firms buy all inputs from domestic producers. The subcontinent says that will help grow its solar industry, but the U.S. contends local-content requirements are outlawed by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“At this point our view is, we are in a discussion with India. Our views on … local content are clear, and we’re hoping we can work through this,” Poneman told The Hill on Tuesday after speaking at the U.S.-India Energy Partnership Summit in Washington, D.C.

“I have to say that I regret that my own country ... needs to do more,” the secretary said.

An Associated Press investigation finds that the Obama administration is allowing the wind industry to kill golden eagles and other protected species “with impunity.”

The AP probe opens with a story of a Wyoming wind farm that has proven fatal to a golden eagle about once a month. Here’s AP:

Killing these iconic birds is not just an irreplaceable loss for a vulnerable species. It’s also a federal crime, a charge that the Obama administration has used to prosecute oil companies when birds drown in their waste pits, and power companies when birds are electrocuted by their power lines.

But the administration has never fined or prosecuted a wind-energy company, even those that flout the law repeatedly. Instead, the government is shielding the industry from liability and helping keep the scope of the deaths secret.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. says the Eagle Ford shale formation in Texas could hold 342 million barrels of oil, writes the Houston Chronicle.

Slate says the United States need to double down on carbon capture and sequestration technology.

Green groups said a Monday federal order allows for a more thorough review for restarting a controversial nuclear power plant in California, The Associated Press notes.

Amory Lovins, a much-cited energy expert, debunks arguments regarding the wealth of newfound U.S. oil for the The Atlantic.

ON TAP TUESDAY: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold the first of three May “forums” on natural gas that could pave the way for legislation.

Tuesday’s session will have more than a dozen speakers, including a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and an array of industry officials. Check out the full list here.

Possibly on tap Tuesday: The Senate will vote as soon as Tuesday on Ernest Moniz, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology physicist who President Obama nominated to run the Energy Department.
 


Moniz, who directs the MIT Energy Initiative, is expected to clear the Senate with bipartisan support. The vote is slated to occur this week, but it’s not clear when, exactly, lawmakers will get around to it.

Possibly on tap Tuesday (or very soon): Groups on both sides of the battle over hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, are bracing for the Interior Department to release draft rules governing the practice on public lands any day now.

The federal rules are expected to require drillers to disclose chemicals used during fracking, while also establishing guidelines for well integrity and managing so-called flowback water.

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Officials warned cuts had harmed wildfire management as agencies prepare for a season with "above normal significant fire potential."

The group is under fire from the left for TV ads that back the Keystone XL pipeline and Arctic drilling.

A top biofuel trade group named a new communications director on Monday.

Dawn Schueller Moore joined the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) to lead its press shop, the organization announced Monday. 

Climate change and extreme weather disasters were the main drivers of human displacement worldwide last year, with Hurricane Sandy accounting for most of the forced migration in the United States, according to a report released Monday.

The devastating East Coast storm affected 24 states, forcing 776,000 people out of their homes, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre said in its report. Wildfires in the West and Hurricane Isaac also contributed to displacement, the report noted.

“The USA was among the ten countries worldwide with the highest displacement levels in 2012. Months before Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Isaac displaced 60,000 people in August. … Widespread forest fires forced over 39,000 people to evacuate their homes,” the report said.