TRANSPORTATION: Airlines have seen a 96% drop in passenger numbers but continue to fly near-empty planes, leading to a “huge environmental waste.” (The Guardian)

ALSO:
• New York’s transit authority seeks $39 billion in federal aid as transit agencies around the country face plummeting revenue. (Crain’s, Bloomberg)
• The city of Carmel, Indiana, is set to become the first in the U.S. to convert its fleet vehicles to run on hydrogen fuel technology. (Indianapolis Star)

***SPONSORED LINK: Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy has an exciting opportunity for an energetic and strategic leader to drive our climate work: Join our team as MCEA’s Climate Program Director! Apply here.***

POLLUTION:
• Environmental groups ask a federal court to force the EPA to respond to a petition for increased transparency around its decision to relax air and water quality enforcement during the pandemic. (Bloomberg Environment)
• As expected, the Trump administration guts an Obama-era rule designed to limit mercury emissions from coal- and oil-fired power plants. (Associated Press)
• Chicago community leaders demand environmental justice reforms after a coal smokestack demolition coated a neighborhood in dust. (Energy News Network)

WIND:
• Wind turbine makers are finding it increasingly difficult to get necessary parts as suppliers are disrupted by lockdowns and coronavirus spread. (Bloomberg)
• Wind energy accounted for 39% of new utility-scale U.S. capacity last year, the largest of any generation source, according to an industry group’s report. (Power)
• Wind turbines installed in the U.S. last year were also larger, taller, and more productive than ever before, according to the same report. (Recharge)

TECHNOLOGY: A Minneapolis nonprofit partners with a company to make it easier to buy and sell renewable energy credits with blockchain. (Energy News Network)

PIPELINES:
• A federal court’s decision to cancel a key Keystone XL Pipeline permit could have impacts on other projects like the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines. (Bloomberg Law)
• A federal judge “reluctantly” rejects an environmental group’s effort to require inspections of thousands of miles of pipelines on public lands. (Bloomberg Environment, subscription)
• Native American tribes urge a federal judge to shut down work on the Keystone XL pipeline, citing land damage and coronavirus risks from worker camps. (Associated Press)

NUCLEAR:
• Pennsylvania officials ask federal regulators to delay the license transfer of the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor due to a shortage of funds for site cleanup and the coronavirus pandemic. (WHYY)
• Georgia Power cuts about a fifth of its Plant Vogtle workforce, nearly 2,000 workers, as COVID-19 spreads among employees. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

GRID: FERC rejects requests to reconsider its order forcing state-subsidized resources to bid higher prices in PJM’s capacity market, a decision that a dissenting commissioner called “just plain garbage.” (Greentech Media, Utility Dive)

OIL & GAS: Advocates of a ban on natural gas home heating say it is a major source of greenhouse gas pollution while gas supporters point out its affordability and carbon reductions compared to oil. (Boston Globe)

UTILITIES: Members of Congress call for language in the next stimulus bill that would prohibit utilities from disconnecting customers during and immediately after the pandemic. (Utility Dive)

***YOUR AD HERE: Join a dynamic and growing organization that works to deliver Midwest renewable energy through policy, technical, and regulatory avenues. Clean Grid Alliance is hiring a Vice President—State Policy to be part of our team. Learn more and apply today!***

CLIMATE:
• A study finds that a vast region of the western U.S. is in the grips of the first climate change-induced megadrought, more severe than some of the worst in 1,200 years. (Washington Post)
• The coronavirus pandemic is compounding pollution and climate risks to low-income and minority communities across the country. (InsideClimate News) 

COMMENTARY:
• Democrats have leverage in Congress to demand support for clean energy but they are unwilling to use it, writes David Roberts. (Vox)
• Don’t fall for Shell’s new climate pledge, which leans on unproven carbon capture and storage technologies, a journalist writes. (Earther)