TRANSPORTATION: New emissions rules for commercial planes announced by the EPA yesterday are based on standards airlines are already meeting and are unlikely to result in emissions reductions. (New York Times)
OHIO:
• Republican and Democratic lawmakers are both drafting legislation to repeal HB 6, the nuclear bailout law at the center of a bribery scandal involving a top state lawmaker and FirstEnergy; Gov. Mike DeWine says the law should stay in place. (Cleveland.com, Associated Press)
• A law firm that specializes in securities fraud and shareholder litigation announces an investigation into whether FirstEnergy made false or misleading statements to investors. (WKYC)
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NUCLEAR: Two bribery scandals in Illinois and Ohio over the past week damage efforts to prop up struggling nuclear plants, experts say. (Bloomberg)
POWER PLANTS: Nebraska’s largest utility abandons plans to partially convert an aging fossil fuel power plant to run on hydrogen. (Energy News Network)
WIND:
• The Southwest Power Pool is expected to add about 5,000 MW of new wind capacity by the end of the year. (S&P Global)
• New Jersey regulators issue a draft document and seek public comment on a solicitation for 2.4 GW of offshore wind. (Windpower Engineering)
• New York weighs reviving plans to develop offshore wind projects in the Great Lakes that were seen as too costly nearly a decade ago. (E&E News, subscription)
GRID: Grid operators say at a national conference that natural gas power is still needed in the short term to maintain systems as they transition to more renewable energy. (Utility Dive)
SOLAR: California’s mandate requiring solar panels on the roofs of most new homes may take longer to implement due to construction slowdowns and fewer permits being issued as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. (Greentech Media)
OIL & GAS:
• Plugging Louisiana’s 4,300 abandoned oil and gas wells could cut methane emissions by 558 metric tons a year and employ 1,000 workers full-time for a year, according to an environmental think tank’s study. (NOLA.com)
• The companies responsible for a 2016 oil spill in Southern California agree to pay $1.6 million in civil penalties, costs, and natural resources damage. (Los Angeles Times)
• Chevron is using one of California’s clean energy programs to produce oil more cheaply, which environmentalists say could undermine the program’s aim to usher in more renewable fuels. (Bloomberg)
CLIMATE: Clean energy advocates say Vice President Mike Pence’s recent visit to Wisconsin criticizing climate change action doesn’t reflect growing concern among the state’s residents. (Wisconsin Examiner)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Tesla posts a fourth-quarter profit despite coronavirus setbacks, with the company valued higher than Coca-Cola and Disney. (CNN)
• A Rivian executive explains why the company is heavily investing in lobbying despite not having produced any vehicles yet. (E&E News)
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ACTIVISM: The Sierra Club confronts the racist views held by its 19th-century founder, John Muir. (Los Angeles Times)
COMMENTARY: An author and clean energy researcher says the Ohio bribery scandal, part of an effort that also included rolling back clean energy laws, is an “unfortunately common pattern” among large utilities. (Vox)