*The U.S. State Department has delayed a decision on TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL project to at least the end of the year. Among other requests, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has asked that the State Department consider the greenhouse-gas impact of extracting Alberta bitumen before giving Keystone a regulatory nod.

*Calgary-based Enbridge Inc.'s second-quarter earnings rose to $232 million, or 63 cents a share, from $195 million (54 cents per share) in the same quarter last year. Net income slid to $138 million, or 37 cents per share, from $393 million, or $1.08 a share, in the same period last year. The results come as the company grapples with a pipeline rupture on the Kalamazoo River in southwest Michigan. Approximately 19,500 barrels of oil have spilled along the route that transports crude from Griffith, Ind., to Sarnia, Ont.

*Husky Energy reports a 23 per cent drop in second-quarter profit.

*The largest out-of-control fire in Alberta is being contained north of Fort McMurray. The blaze, which has consumed 3,300 hectares of bush, is being held at bay roughly 13 kilometers northeast of Suncor Energy's Firebag operation.

*Ex-BP boss Tony Hayward's $1.6-million "golden parachute" pales in comparison to the sums given out to other deposed corporate titans. When former ExxonMobil chief Lee Raymond left that company in 2005, he walked away with $400 million, including a $98 million lump-sum pension and use of the company jet.

Interesting news, notes and tidbits from around the web:

*Researchers from Siemens Corporate Technology want to use induction to heat and separate bitumen from sand.

*The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is setting its sights on hydraulic fracturing. The method of cracking dense layers of rock to release deposits of natural gas is under increased scrutiny as companies flock to newfound basins like the Marcellus Shale.

*Forget about the Hoover Dam. Industrial design graduate Tom Broadbent has invented a nifty device that can harvest energy from falling waste water in high-rise buildings.

*Andrew Nikiforuk is on the offensive again. The perennial oil sands antagonist recently joined The Tyee, an independent online news  magazine based in B.C., as a writer-in-residence. This time around, the author wants to know why a Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development abruptly canceled a report on oil sands impacts.

*U.S. Congressman Ted Poe (Texas) is sticking up for TransCanada Corp.'s embattled Keystone XL pipeline. In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Poe writes, "This project is vitally important to the energy security of the United States, and I encourage you to approve the permit without further delay."

Keystone XL continues to face an uphill climb. Two weeks after U.S. Congressman Henry Waxman dismissed the proposed bitumen conduit as "a multi-billion dollar investment to expand our reliance on the dirtiest source of transportation fuel available," the country's Environmental Protection Agency is calling a draft assessment of the pipeline's environmental impacts "inadequate."

Before approving the export pipeline, the EPA wants the U.S. State Department to consider how the development of advanced biofuels, electric cars and potential changes to fuel-economy standards will affect U.S. demand for crude oil. As these things go, the EPA is also concerned about oil sands-related greenhouse gas emissions and the implications of wedding domestic energy policies to increased production from Alberta's bitumen belt.

In a letter to the U.S. State Department dated July 16, Cynthia Giles, a compliance and enforcement administrator with the EPA, writes, "Alongside the national security benefits of importing crude oil from a stable trading partner, we believe the national security implications of expanding the nation's long-term commitment to a relatively high carbon source of oil should also be considered."

The document also urges decision-makers to assess what impact the Keystone project will have on aboriginal communities, plus examine air aquality issues, pipeline safety and spill response mechanisms.

Have a look at the letter below:

We're busy putting the final keystrokes on the August edition of Alberta Oil. Watch for stories on:

*Chinese investment in the oil sands. As the Middle Kingdom looks to the bitumen belt to sate its future energy needs, we do what few people have: actually talk to the Chinese.

*A related piece examines how prospects for a Pacific pipeline will test the resolve of Alberta's upstream producers.

*Risky Business? Despite its hyperbolic billing as a disaster-in-waiting, drilling offshore is a comparatively safe way to get oil.

*Tera Environmental Consultants Inc. repackages a feel-good cliche as a professional business conducting environmental impact assessments.

*Enmax vs. King Coal: can distributed generation unseat a proven power monarch?

In AO news, August marks the beginning of our monthly circulation. Please, hold the applause. We're proud to bring you unique insight on Canada's energy sector that you can't find anywhere else. Cheers.

New electricity from wind and solar installations surpassed fresh output from conventional fossil fuels in both Europe and the U.S. for the second year in a row, according to twin reports released by the United Nations Environment Program and the Paris-based Renewable Energy Policy Network.

In 2009, renewables accounted for 60 per cent of newly installed capacity in Europe and 50 per cent in the U.S. Globally, about 80 gigawatts of renewable power capacity was added, including 31 GW of hydro and 48 GW of non-hydro.

China lead the way in public and private investment in renewable energy sources. Investment leapt 53 per cent in the Middle Kingdom, which also generating an additional 37 gigawatts of renewable power capacity (more than any other country).

The reports, titled Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment 2010 and Renewables 2010 Global Status Report, show that countries with policies promoting renewable energy doubled from 55 in 2005 to more than 100 in 2009. About $188 billion was set aside by government stimulus programs for renewable energy, but only nine per cent of that total had been spent by the end of 2009.

Investment in wind installations reached $59 billion, or nearly half of new spending on sustainable electricity. Investments in solar photovoltaic technology climbed to a record $40 billion, with Germany accounting for about half of the total. In 2009, renewable energy represented 25 per cent of global power (electricity) capacity, or 1,230 gigawatts, out of 4,800 gigawatts, including coal, gas and nuclear. View the press release here.

By now you will have seen the Rethink Alberta campaign created by the California-based advocacy group, Corporate Ethics International. You will have read about it in the news, or else heard the Alberta government's response.

Amid the clamor, maybe you've thought: "Gee, that's a bit disingenuous, attacking small communities dependent on tourism like that." Never mind that U.S. consumers, like their Canadian cousins, are energy gluttons. Forget about the fact that the U.S. slurps up 1.8 million barrels of Canadian crude oil per day. Ignore the quiet reality that Americans are still hopelessly hooked on coal.

No, none of that really matters. The Rethink campaign points to a wider disconnect. Take this pledge, where visitors to the website are encouraged to boycott Alberta until the provincial government a) halts production in the oil sands b) stops spending money on PR efforts "designed to keep the United States addicted" to Alberta bitumen and c) takes meaningful steps to transition its economy away from dirty oil to clean energy alternatives.

Did we mention that the U.S. produced 1.17 trillion tonnes of coal in 2008? No? Well, there you have it. Another omission: Alberta's carbon tax. Argue all you want about whether the price is right, but Alberta actually has a levy on GHG emissions. Money derived from the $15 per tonne tax goes into a tech fund designed to spur clean energy solutions.

But there's no sense in arguing about who's got the bigger ... wind turbine, although oil sands facts are widely available. Far better to take a closer look at that second bullet in the Rethink pledge, the one that implies it's Alberta's fault that Americans are hooked on oil. It's classic addict-speak.

To recap: Americans don't like deepwater drilling. They don't much like imports from the Middle East, either. And now, amazingly, they're against so-called dirty oil. (The Rethink campaign comes on the heels of mounting opposition to TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL export scheme, which would shuttle Alberta bitumen south to Texas refineries.)

Opposition on all three fronts is curious. Not only is it reminiscent of a junkie-turned-evangelist, it's enough to make a level-headed Canuck wonder where, precisely, American consumers think their energy will come from in the not-too-distant future.

Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach is having a tough summer, Gary Mason writes over at the G & M today. The latest stab in the eye has come from U.S. Congressman Henry Waxman, who chairs the House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Committe.

Waxman, he of Waxman-Markey fame, the Bill otherwise known as the American Clean Energy and Security Act, this week took a shot at TransCanada Corp's proposed Keystone XL pipeline, a 3,200-kilometer express line that would ship Alberta bitumen to Texas refineries.

In a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Waxman writes: "This pipeline is a multibillion-dollar investment to expand our reliance on the dirtiest source of transportation fuel currently available."

Here's Stelmach's rebuttal:

There goes the bridge theory. While some argue the end of coal-fired electricity is nigh, a new report sponsored by the American Public Power Association (which represents some 2,000 utilities) reveals that the cost of a wholesale switch to combined-cycle gas-fired generation is probably more expensive than previously thought.

Replacing 335,000 megawatts of coal-fired electricity (current U.S. consumption) with electricity derived from natural gas would cost about $335 billion, says the report, simply titled Implications of Greater Reliance on Natural Gas for Electricity. Factor in $360 billion for pipelines and storage capacities, plus $40 billion for new pipeline-gathering systems, and the tab starts to look a bit daunting.

The U.S. currently consumes roughly 23 trillion cubic feet of gas per year, depending on the weather. Coal produces some 72 per cent, or 1.9 million GWh, of the country's electricity. In 2008, replacing that amount of electricity with combined-cycle gas-fired units would require an additional 14.1 trillion cubic feet of gas per year, or more than half of current consumption levels.

Add to that existing natural gas-fired generation and that number goes to 21 Tcf. When commercial and residential heating requirements are thrown in, the amount of gas required shoots up to 37.1 Tcf, or 61 per cent larger than the current electric resource portfolio.

Where would all that gas come from? Why shale, of course. Maybe ... Read the report here.

Alberta's Climate Change Emissions Management Corporation continues to deliver the goods. The environmental investment house today announced $28.1 million in funding to clean up fossil fuel production and bolster carbon capture and storage technology.

The money comes from a $71 million pot drawn from the province's $15 per tonne levy on errant emissions from industrial sites. Again, here's a breakdown of the recipients:

• Calgary-based E-T Energy received $6.86 million to develop its electro-thermal dynamic stripping process in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region
• The Enhanced Solvent Extraction Incorporating Electromagnetic Heating consortium received the biggest chunk of change: $16.4 million. This venture is a partnership between Florida-based Harris Corporation, Laricina Energy Ltd., Nexen Inc. and Suncor Energy Inc. As its long-winded name suggests, the group aims to pilot a combination of solvents and electromagnetic heating to replace steam at in situ underground extraction operations
• HTC Purenergy Inc. received $315,000 to study the feasibility of a proprietary method of capturing Co2 at Devon Energy's Jackfish underground SAGD site
• Global infrastructure, finance and media giant GE got $2 million to develop and demonstrate the viability of a ceramic membrane-based technology for the capture of Co2 from synthetic gas streams
• Suncor Energy Inc. received $2.5 million for a carbon capture scheme called the Oxy-fuel Demonstration Project. A pilot plant is planned for Cenovus Energy's Christina Lake in situ operation site

The CCEMC awared $5.7 million for energy efficiency projects last week and $37.5 million for renewable energy projects the week before that. Looking ahead, another $40 million has been earmarked for commercially proven energy efficiency schemes.

Another week, another round of funding. Alberta's Climate Change Emissions Management Corp. today announced $5.7 million in funding for six energy efficiency projects. The money comes from a $71 million pot collected via the province's $15 per tonne tax on greenhouse gas emissions.

Here's a breakdown of today's recipients:

• $250,000 for Evergreen Energy Technologies Inc. for a device called a Power Pod, which promises to reduce emissions and eliminate losses of natural gas at well sites.
• $569,700 for May-Ruben Technologies, which is developing a thermally driven refrigeration system.
• $700,000 for Nova Chemicals Corporation. The firm is working to reduce energy use in ethylene manufacturing.
• $790,000 to Suncor Energy Inc. to develop the Alberta Oil Sands Energy Efficiency and GHG Mitigation Roadmap.
• $1.57 million to Great Northern Power Corp., which aims to convert waste-heat from reciprocating engines into electricity.
• $1.849 million to Genalta Power Systems Inc. for a waste energy to power utilization scheme at an amine facility

The CCEMC is now accepting submissions for a new round of projects. Fully $40 million is being made available for energy efficiency projects that are at or near commercialization. The deadline for submissions is Aug. 13. The CCEMC fund has amassed $187 million to date. Go here to see the suite of renewable energy projects that received $37.5 million last week.

Shale gas is just about everywhere these days. If you're in the energy business, you know the story: enough gas for 100-plus years thanks to the technical advances of horizontal drilling. American companies are looking farther afield, to Europe, in the hunt for mammoth supplies of natural gas trapped in densely compressed rock layers. Northeastern British Columbia is another hot spot for frontier gas exploration.

But not everybody is as keen to jump on the shale bandwagon. A groundswell of criticism is afoot. Filmmaker Josh Fox recently spoke to National Public Radio in the U.S. about his latest effort in this vein, Gasland. Billed as part travelogue, part expose, the film examines the proprietary 'fracking' fluids used by companies to unlock gas from dense geological formations. The documentary won a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival and recently premiered on HBO.

Now, the NY Times called Fox a "less manic Michael Moore," complaining that the filmmaker "capitalizes on people's refusals to be interviewd." Still, concern about the secret stew of chemicals used to tap stores of shale gas is likely to intensify as interest in the unconventional fuel accelerates. Here's the trailer:

Initial reports from the Gulf of Mexico were that as much as 25,000 barrels per day of crude oil was gushing from the sea floor following the Deepwater Horizon wreck. Visualizing and contextualizing that much oil is nigh-on impossible. Here's how video game developers think 25,000 bpd might look if each barrel were stacked one on top of the other. (Not sure about the scale or methodology here, but an interesting visual exercise all the same).