U.S. Energy News

White House set to challenge states’ authority on emissions

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TRANSPORTATION: The Trump administration is expected to announce that it is revoking California’s authority to set auto mileage standards, which threatens to produce a massive legal battle and prolonged uncertainty and turmoil in the nation’s auto market. (Associated Press, Washington Post)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• General Motors’ shift to electric vehicles may be propelling a workers strike around the country, as EV production requires fewer jobs. (Wired)
• The tension between labor and electric vehicle production is seen at auto plants elsewhere in the U.S. (E&E News, subscription)
• The United States is losing the global race to develop an electric vehicle supply chain and needs more domestic mining, a group of senators warns. (Reuters)
• Californians are buying electric cars in record numbers, but the state’s charging infrastructure is patchy and could limit the transition. (San Francisco Chronicle)

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Western Energy News

Trump EPA prepares to revoke California’s authority on emissions

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TRANSPORTATION: The Trump administration is expected to announce that it is revoking California’s authority to set auto mileage standards, which threatens to produce a massive legal battle and prolonged uncertainty and turmoil in the nation’s auto market. (Associated Press, Washington Post)

FOSSIL FUELS:
• The University of California system says it will eliminate fossil fuels from its $84 billion pension and endowment funds. (Associated Press)
• Colorado activists want state leaders to begin considering economic transition plans for the eventual end of the fossil fuel era. (Westword)

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NATURAL GAS: San Jose, California’s city council votes to ban natural gas in most new residential buildings, making it the largest city to do so.

Midwest Energy News

Indiana sees wind farm construction growth despite policy

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SOLAR: Xcel Energy wants to change how Minnesota calculates its “value of solar” rate as it faces a potential spike in payments to community solar operators. The complicated formula involves eight key variables. (Energy News Network)

WIND:
• Indiana has experienced a surge in wind farm construction during the past decade despite a lack of clear, uniform standards. (Associated Press)
• A judge schedules a hearing in lawsuit by NextEra and landowners challenging a Kansas county’s permit denial for a proposed wind farm. (Hutchinson News)
• Ohio regulators will hold a public hearing Thursday for Republic Wind’s application for a 200 MW wind farm.

Midwest Energy News

Solar industry booming in Illinois despite some obstacles

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OHIO: FirstEnergy Solutions’ lawsuit to block a referendum on power plant subsidies may hinge on who the court believes will benefit from them. (Energy News Network) 

BIOFUELS:
• The biofuel debate has become a volatile flashpoint for the Trump administration as it tries to please Big Oil and Midwest farmers. (Reuters)
• Ethanol giant Poet says it is moving forward with plans to open an Indiana refinery even as it idles production 50 miles to the west. (Shelbyville News)

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U.S. Energy News

Nebraska court approves Keystone XL pipeline path

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PIPELINES: In a long-awaited decision, the Nebraska Supreme Court upholds the route of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. (Omaha World-Herald)

CLIMATE:
• David Koch, the billionaire conservative activist who with his brother played a major role in funding climate-change denial groups, dies at 79. (NBC News)
• The Democratic National Committee formally rejects a proposal to hold a presidential primary debate focused on climate change. (NPR)

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COAL:
• While touring Wyoming, a top Energy Department official says carbon capture can still save the coal industry, and that the administration will continue to pursue export markets.