Even while New Yorkers debate the merits of hydrofracking, and the Department of Conservation mulls over a permitting process for natural gas drilling, the state is investing in fracking, through its pension plan. Jon Campbell reports for Gannett that the Office of the Comptroller has about $1 billion of the state pension fund's money invested in energy companies:
Records show the fund's investments in several gas companies have risen significantly since 2008, when many of those companies began expanding aggressively after technological advancements made the massive Marcellus formation more accessible. An additional $15 million went to Chesapeake and Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation in that time frame, as well as $30 million to Southwestern Energy Company Some of the investments have led to big returns, including Schlumberger. The fund's 4.2 million shares were worth $296 million as of 2010, after the fund bought $145 million worth of shares over the years.
Laura Legere writes at the Times-Shamrock that a new study shows that hundreds of natural gas wells are located or planned for sites near hospitals and schools in Pennsylvania, causing some to worry that vulnerable populations might be at risk:
State law restricts drilling within 200 feet of an occupied building regardless of its use, but local and state elected officials have introduced bills and ordinances to expand that buffer. The PennEnvironment study found that the closest day care is 400 feet from a permitted well site, the closest school is 900 feet away and the closest hospital is half a mile away. Although the study shows that a school and day care in Lackawanna County are each within two miles of permitted well sites, the permits for those wells expired without drilling taking place.
Efficiency
National Grid customers will soon be able to keep up with the Joneses in a new way: energy use. Vincent Sherry reports at the Buffalo News that a pilot project will show about 14,000 subscribers how they stack up against their neighbors, in the hopes that it'll encourage them to become more efficient:
“This program is a new tool for our customers,” said Edward White, National Grid’s vice president for energy products. The home energy reports “show what simple changes [customers] can make to reduce energy use and their carbon footprint.” Those changes might include washing clothes with cold water and carefully arranging lighting. Customers were chosen for the program according to their location, the availability of similar homes with similar occupancies and the type of energy source they use.
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