Top Five Energy Industry Stories of 2011 (ContributorNetwork)

Fukushima Nuclear Meltdown: The Associated Press reported on December 27 that the towns near the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant are now ghost towns, left to wandering cows and stray dogs. On March 11, 2011, the area was hit by a 9.0 earthquake and a tsunami. The events caused a nuclear meltdown at the plant that subsequently led to worldwide concern over the safety of nuclear energy and calls for safety measures on new reactors that would help them to withstand the most rare and unimaginable circumstances. Like a 9.0 earthquake.

Solyndra: According to a December 27 article in the San Francisco Chronicle, when California solar startup, Solyndra, shut the doors of its brand new, $528 million federally-funded factory doors and fired its staff late August, the accusations flew. Investigations into the company's bankruptcy led to the discovery of federal loans that were granted due to political ties inside the Energy Department and the White House, preferential treatment, and a rushed approval of a project with questionable potential.

Keystone XL: After the Obama Administration made the decision to delay approval of a project permit for TransCanada's pipeline, which would tie Canadian oil sands to Texas refineries, the issue became a late-year political football. According to a December 23 Reuters article, Obama recently signed into law a temporary payroll tax extension that forces his decision on the pipeline to be made within 60 days. However, with environmentalists opposing the line and Obama facing an election year in which he needs the support of environmentalists, some - including White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer say that the bill forcing Obama's hand on Keystone will ultimately kill the project.

Fracking: It has been considered a shining star for companies such as Halliburton and Schlumberger. That is until the EPA released a draft report in which it blamed fracking fluids for the chemicals found in a Wyoming community's groundwater. Now, according to a mid-December article in Forbes, concerns over the damage that hydraulic fracturing may (or may not) cause - including water pollution, as well as seismic activity - has become a headache-inducing PR problem for oilfield services companies. With new fracking regulations in Colorado and Texas, public meetings to consider the issue in New York and the brink of an oil boom in the communities of the vast Marcellus Shale region, the pros and cons of hydraulic fracturing have become common conversation.

EPA Regulations: There was no shortage this year of discussions about the looming EPA regulations aimed at controlling pollution from coal-fired power plants in the U.S. According to a December 22 report from ABC's Good Morning America, health campaigners were praising the regulations, which would reportedly prevent such things as childhood asthma and bronchitis. However, industry officials were condemning the same regulations for imposing costly upgrades on power plants across the country and forcing the shutdown of older plants.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111229/bs_ac/10759409_top_five_energy_industry_stories_of2011

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