SOLAR:
• As states weigh changes to net metering laws to make rooftop solar more affordable and accessible, utilities are pushing back. (InsideClimate News)
• Puerto Rico’s latest long-term energy plan calls for 1,800 MW of solar and 920 MW of storage in its first five years. (Greentech Media)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• Virginia cities and counties have been slow to pass local ordinances establishing Property Assessed Clean Energy programs. (Energy News Network)
• New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy released the state’s clean energy master plan that includes support for nuclear power. (North Jersey Record)
• A county in the heart of Utah’s ski country might meet its goal of using 100% renewable energy by 2030, two years sooner than expected. (Park Record)
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CARBON:
• A Pennsylvania Democratic senator is proposing an emissions cap in a state with an expanding fossil fuel industry. (RTO Insider, subscription)
• An Alabama facility is the largest commercial direct air carbon capture project in the world. (Fast Company)
OFFSHORE WIND: As states vie for leadership in the offshore wind industry in the Northeast, industry leaders say port infrastructure is currently inadequate. (CommonWealth Magazine)
EFFICIENCY: Hawaii launches a program aimed at allowing renters, homeowners and small businesses to pay back the cost of installing energy efficiency equipment through their monthly utility bills. (Greentech Media)
COAL:
• A monthly infrastructure report by FERC indicates a new 850 MW coal-fired plant is expected to come online in Georgia in April 2022, though it doesn’t appear the project is actively under development. (Utility Dive)
• Three U.S. senators urge the IRS to crack down on a $1 billion-a-year subsidy for burning chemically treated refined coal after a study linked it to surging smog and mercury pollution. (Reuters)
PIPELINES:
• North Dakota’s congressional delegation asks the Trump administration to address the state’s year-old request for $38 million to cover the cost of policing Dakota Access pipeline protests. (Bismarck Tribune)
• Two companies plan to move forward with a new pipeline to transport Bakken crude oil to Oklahoma, but a route is not yet clear. (Bismarck Tribune)
OIL & GAS:
• Low-income Californians could be hit hard by rising natural gas prices as demand for the fuel declines, according to a draft study presented to state regulators. (Utility Dive)
• A federal judge dismissed an antitrust lawsuit against New England utilities that accused them of manipulating natural gas supplies to drive up prices. (Reuters)
BIOFUELS:
• A U.S. refiner group sues the U.S. EPA to block its decision to allow year-round sales of higher ethanol blends of gasoline, a move that’s angered both the oil industry and environmentalists. (Reuters, Grist)
• President Trump and EPA administrator Andew Wheeler are in Iowa today touting the administration’s ethanol policy. (Cedar Rapids Gazette)
• Ethanol will likely be a prominent campaign issue for Democratic presidential contenders in Iowa. (Reuters)
UTILITIES: A recent bankruptcy judge’s ruling allowing PG&E to dump some of its older, more expense clean energy contracts will likely trigger an appeal, analysts say. (Greentech Media)
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CLIMATE:
• Several states have recently enacted new laws aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and more could be on the way. (Grist)
• Democratic voters in Iowa say climate change is one of their top priorities in next year’s election, according to recent polling. (Grist)
COMMENTARY:
• Commitments to deeply decarbonize electric power production are on the rise across the Midwest, advocates say. (Natural Resources Defense Council)
• An editorial board writes that tree-sitting pipeline protesters deserve neither adoration nor the 20-year federal prison sentences recently floated by the Trump administration. (Roanoke Times)