UPDATE 2-US proved natural gas, crude oil reserves soar-EIA

By Selam Gebrekidan and Joshua Schneyer NEW YORK, Nov 30 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas reserves increased by the most in history last year, and crude reserves also rose, as companies drilled frantically into shale rock formations with new technology, the Energy nformation Administration said in an annual report on Tuesday.

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U.S. net proved natural gas reserves rose 11 percent, or 28.8 trillion cubic feet (tcf), in 2009 to total 284 tcf, underscoring the dramatic impact that new gas pumped from shale rock formations is having on world energy supply. Louisiana, whose statewide reserves grew quickest, saw its economically viable gas reserves surge by 77 percent, or 9.2 tcf, led by developments in its Haynesville Shale. More...

Lewis to EPA: We’ll gut your funding

By Ed Morrisey Lewis might get a chance to do something about the FY2011 budget, too, if Democrats don’t stop focusing on the DREAM Act and other nonsense Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) wants to get the chair of Appropriations once Republicans take control of the House, and he’s campaigning hard to demonstrate his commitment to conservative causes. In an attempt to move the conversation away from earmarking, Lewis has fixed his sights on the EPA and its “arbitrary interpretations of the Clean Air Act,” warning EPA head Lisa Jackson that he intends on stripping the agency of funding for her climate-change agenda:

Rep. Jerry Lewis is hoping to strengthen his bid to chair the House Appropriations Committee by threatening to strip funding from the Obama administration’s controversial environmental rules. The California Republican vying for the gavel of the powerful spending panel sent a letter Monday to the Environmental Protection Agency chief Lisa Jackson warning that the GOP-led House plans to strip funding for agency regulations and conduct “unprecedented levels of oversight,” with a particular focus on the administration’s climate change policies. “In addition to scrutinizing the agency’s entire FY 2012 budget, with particular attention on the agency’s rulemaking process, the House Appropriations Committee will be exercising its prerogative to withhold funding for prospective EPA regulations and de-fund through the rescissions process many of those already on the books,” wrote Lewis, who chaired the spending panel in 2005 and 2006.

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Green energy development will hit wall as subsidies dry up

By Carl Mortished The pursuit of new energy technologies is high-risk and non-cash generative. It’s cold in Britain. Not the cold Canadians would recognize, but subzero temperatures with heavy snowfalls so early in winter are unusual. The stock of Victorian housing is ill-equipped for cold, which puts extra pressure on National Grid, the utility that runs the gas and electricity network, to maintain supplies. More than ever, electricity in Britain is about fossil fuels. About 80 per cent is produced by burning coal and natural gas (split roughly 50-50). The third main source is nuclear reactors, supplying 12 per cent; while the rest comes from pumped storage, oil, and imported electricity from French nuclear power stations. The final supply source, and most certainly least, is renewable energy. Britain has built 2,400 megawatts of wind-turbine generation capacity, but on an cold Monday the windmill fleet was generating less than 450 megawatts, about 0.8 per cent of total electricity demand. Notwithstanding their erratic performance, Britain is committed to increasing windmill capacity to 32 gigawatts by 2020, from the current 2.4 GW. More...

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