Six of the nation's 10 largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions are coal-fired power plants in the South, but year after year Southern lawmakers balk at pushing utilities toward cleaner renewable energy. Last month, Republican senators from the South provided about half the votes that defeated federal legislation to require power companies to get 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Nationally, almost half the states have adopted their own renewable mandates, but only one, Texas, is in the South. Southern lawmakers -- responding to heavy lobbying from local utilities -- argue their region isn't conducive to solar or wind power like the sun-baked Southwest or the open plains of the West.

According to Friday's Nuclear Market Review (NMR), many market participants were left stunned by the recent record jump in the weekly spot uranium price. The market has increasingly diverged between those who have U3O8 and those without. Utilities with existing supply contracts "are heaving a sigh of relief," NMR editor Treva Klingbiel wrote. And those trying to find uranium in today's climate "are forced to face the reality of a seller's market," she said.

H.R. 5427 provides funding for research into a variety of alternative energy technologies, including biomass, hydrogen, solar, wind, and clean coal. It contained a $200 million reduction in earmarks compared to last year's bill..... Among other things, H.R. 5427, will provide the following: € $24.37 billion dollars for the Department of Energy, including fully funding the American Competitiveness Initiative and $2 billion for energy supply and conservation programs.

Minnkota and Square Butte also would underwrite $5 million in renewable energy development projects, including wind power projects in North Dakota and Minnesota to save energy and cut pollution further.