"If the Obama administration has its way, $2 billion in new revenue from offshore oil drilling will fund research into how to wean American drivers off imported oil."

"BILLINGS, Mont. -- A mining company plans to start exploratory work this spring on an estimated 400 million tons of coal beneath Montana's Crow Indian Reservation, adding to a spate of recent interest in the region's huge coal reserves despite flagging domestic demand for the fuel."

"Federal judges ruled [Friday] that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission does not have the authority to assess fines for manipulating natural gas futures markets."

"A new report says you’re likely to be feeling less pain at the pump than in years past – and not just because gas prices are down a bit this week. Cars and trucks are getting better mileage than ever, and the air is cleaner as a result."

"WASHINGTON -- The Shell Oil Company must provide a detailed plan addressing numerous safety and operational issues that plagued its efforts to extract oil beneath the Arctic Ocean last year if it wants to resume drilling off the coast of Alaska, the Interior Department said Thursday."

"KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is ordering Enbridge Inc. to do additional dredging in the Kalamazoo River to clean up oil from a massive 2010 spill."

"NEW ORLEANS -- BP's cement contractor on the Deepwater Horizon rig has discovered cement samples possibly tied to the ill-fated drilling project that weren't turned over to the Justice Department after the 2010 oil spill, a lawyer for the contractor said Thursday."

"Partly driven by an oversupply of cheaper panels from China, the domestic solar market had its best year in 2012, with the growth in installations outpacing that of the global market, according to an annual report to be released Thursday."

"The U.S. approved three renewable- energy projects to be built on federal land in California and Nevada."

"Hulking, pitch-black mounds resembling coal have grown exponentially in the last week along the banks of the Detroit River in southwest Detroit, prompting concern about potential pollution from residents and legislators on both sides of the river."

"Republican lawmakers pressed President Barack Obama on the Keystone XL pipeline in a meeting on Wednesday. Initial reports suggested Obama would approve the pipeline, but he did not offer a definitive answer."

Japan has successfully extracted natural gas from methane hydrates ("fire ice") 1,000 feet below the seabed.

"Two advocacy groups have come up with a new tactic to show how climate change—and laws to deal with it—could make investments in fossil fuel companies riskier and rock financial markets."

"State Department assessment focused on market response to rejection, rather than the climate impact and environmental cost of a pipeline approval."

"The U.S. is in the midst of an energy transformation. Technologies that free fossil-fuel reserves, once trapped in shale, have radically shrunk natural gas imports. By 2020, the nation is expected to produce more gas than it needs. As the country approaches this milestone, it faces a question long asked in other countries with abundant energy resources: How much should we use at home and how much should we sell abroad?"