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Oil trains face scrutiny; Alaska votes on oil taxes; Australia waffles on renewables [Recharge]

Canada determined lax oversight and poor safety caused a deadly oil train explosion; Alaskans voted on a referendum they hope will revive falling oil production; Australia is shifting from renewable energy, just as it discovers oil offshore. Catch up on the week in global energy with Recharge.

From oil prices to solar innovation to gas wars, each weekend Recharge examines the big ideas in global energy. .

After Lac-Megantic: in Quebec last year, according to Canada's report on the disaster. In the US, record production has meant more crude traveling by rail. The US DOT last month , and .

Alaska's reset: Hoping industry-friendly policies will spark an oil renaissance, rather than reverting to a sliding-scale tax that taxed more heavily when oil prices rose. But Alaska still has the highest oil taxes in the country, and now that fracking powerhouses Texas and North Dakota have moved ahead in terms of oil production.

Down under: off its coast, just as the conservative government slashes spending on renewables and scrutinizes Australia's long-term renewable energy targets. for renewables – allowing for fossil fuels' continued reign in Australia, which is the world's second-largest coal exporter.

In the pipeline

• Monday, August 25: SAN DIEGO, CALIF. – A judge will decide if 110 US sailors and marines "can proceed with a and of lying about the levels of radiation from the stricken reactors, putting US personnel at risk."

• Tuesday, August 26: ARIZONA – The primary for Arizona's Public Service Commission could be a referendum on the state's rooftop solar potential. , while backing candidates who support policies that would make rooftop solar more expensive.

• Thursday, August 28: PARIS, FRANCE – The IEA's comes out next week, including "an investment outlook for renewable power capacity [and] ... a global biofuels supply forecast." GlobalÌýinvestment in renewables has reached $250 billion, according to the 2013 report.

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Drill deeper

[Bloomberg]
ÌýPrices for solar panels have remained low globally for the past two years, kept down by excess supply. But that's about to change. With solar installations projected to grow as much as 29 percent this year, heightened demand could mean supply shortfalls.

[The Guardian]
Ìý"Danish neighbourhoods do away with individual boilers and instead have their hot water piped directly into their houses from one ... shared boiler ... [T]hey also capture and redistribute heat ... eliminating waste, lowering carbon emissions, lowering fuel consumption and saving everybody money."

[º£½Ç´óÉñ]
ÌýScientists agree that oceans have played a role is slowing the pace of human-driven global warming. However, there's disagreement among researchers over which ocean – Atlantic or Pacific – is absorbing the lion's share of the heat.

Energy sources

• : "The derailed tank cars contained about 6.7 million litres of petroleum crude oil, about 6 million litres of which were released, contaminating approximately 31 hectares of land ... An estimated 100,000 litres of crude oil ended up in Mégantic Lake and the Chaudière River."

• : "[W]ind power has comprised 33% of all new U.S. electric capacity additions since 2007 [and] ... contributes more than 4% of the nation’s electricity supply, more than 12% of total electricity generation in nine states, and more than 25% in two states."

• : "[A]lthough the environmental impacts of shipping PRB coal to Asia are significant, ... superior energy efficiency among newer South Korean coal-fired power plants and lower emissions from U.S. replacement of coal with natural gas could lead to a greenhouse gas reduction of 21%."

Unplug

From oil prices to solar innovation to gas wars, each weekend Recharge examines the big ideas in global energy.Ìý.