Energy

Once known as the City That Lit the World, New Beford's whale oil powered candles and lamps around the country. Now, the Massachusetts city wants to become an energy capital again, but this time with offshore wind.

The Standard Heights neighborhood sits next to the nation's second-largest gasoline refinery. Recently, residents learned a new truth about the plumes of exhaust they see every day: Exxon Mobil's aging refinery and petrochemical facilities — like many others — are pumping out far more pollution than the law allows.

Supplies of oil have been surging this year, and U.S. drivers, who have been switching to more fuel-efficient cars, are using less gasoline. That would seem to be the right economic combination to push down prices at the pump, but gasoline prices have remained stubbornly high this summer.

In a speech in Germany Wednesday, President Barack Obama said it's time to take "bold action" on climate change. Many believe that major changes to policies on carbon emissions lie ahead, which would mean a host of new regulations for businesses.

California is about to become the first state to require shore power at its ports. A new law mandates at least half of a shipping line's fleet to shut down their diesel engines and plug into shore-side electric power when they unload their cargo. It's part of a larger effort to cut pollution at the state's busiest ports, but costs have been a sticking point.

Royal Dutch Shell is pushing ahead with plans for the world's deepest offshore oil and gas production facility. It will be nearly two miles beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Louisiana. It is testing the bounds of the oil and gas industry's capability to drill ever deeper.

The Bullitt Foundation's new Seattle headquarters, billed as the world's "greenest" building, is designed to be entirely self-sustaining. The developers hope it can inspire others to build this way.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency could soon issue a final ruling that aims to force oil companies to replace E10, gasoline mixed with 10 percent ethanol, with E15. This move could come just as widespread support for ethanol, which is made from corn, appears to be eroding.

Building huge turbine farms too close together might significantly reduce their power, some atmospheric scientists say. The problem is "wind shadow" — the turbulence created by one big cluster of turbines that steals wind from another cluster down the road.

Creators of a solar-powered aircraft hope to fly it day and night across the U.S. with no fuel, and eventually around the world. It's a quixotic — some might call it nutty — undertaking. But the creators hope the flight helps challenge assumptions about what solar technology can do.

Coal accounts for much of the world's energy supply, but the United States has seen a decline in coal production. The natural gas industry is booming in the U.S. and many in coal country fear for the future of their industry and their livelihood.

The energy giant says it has "thrown in the towel on solar." The industry has evolved since BP entered the ring, currently emphasizing cheap production rather than research and development. BP says it just wasn't making money, though it will continue investing in other renewable resources.