EMISSIONS: Carbon emissions from transportation are expected to surpass emissions from power plants in the U.S. in 2016, according to a new analysis. (MIT Technology Review)
CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Ten federal judges will hear oral arguments on the legality of the Clean Power Plan on Tuesday. (The Hill)
• Conflicting amendments on power plant regulation included in the Clean Air Act in 1990 could render the Clean Power Plan illegal. (New York Times)
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POLITICS: A California agency will investigate whether the state’s Democratic Party made “dirty energy contributions” by directing money from the oil and energy industry to Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2014 reelection campaign. (Los Angeles Times)
SOLAR: A solar power plant in Arizona is fined $1.5 million for over 20 emissions violations, which include failing to conduct performance tests and removing emissions control systems. (KJZZ)
TECHNOLOGY: California’s Energy Commission will spend $2 million to determine whether small crystals, which generate energy when compressed, could be used to produce electricity from vehicles driving on the state’s roadways. (Associated Press)
UTILITIES:
• Power is restored to most of Puerto Rico after an island-wide blackout caused by a fire at a power plant. (Associated Press)
• An Illinois commission votes in favor of a utility’s plan to install advanced metering systems for all of its 1.2 million customers. (Midwest Energy News)
• The director of an energy and environmental policy firm shares her thoughts on the slow shift toward performance-based utility regulation. (Midwest Energy News)
OIL & GAS:
• Donald Trump’s plan to roll back environmental regulations would benefit coal and cut the amount of natural gas burned at power plants by 11 percent, according to recent estimates. (Bloomberg)
• Pennsylvania would have lost nearly 118,000 jobs and $13 billion in annual GDP under certain oil and natural gas industry regulations, according to a report released by the U.S Chamber of Commerce. (Pittsburgh Business Times)
• An Oklahoma gas company faces up to $1.5 million in fines for a gas line explosion in January that caused $500,000 in property damage in Oklahoma City and left one person in the hospital with severe burns. (The Oklahoman)
• Colorado’s oil and gas industry falls short on worker protection, with at least 51 fatalities reported since 2003. (Denver Post)
• Landowners in Pennsylvania and other gas-producing states are feeling cheated as royalty payments from drilling operations dwindle. (Associated Press)
• The American Geophysical Union says accepting money from Exxon does not violate its mission, despite claims that the company has spread doubt about climate change. (InsideClimate News)
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PIPELINES:
• Sunoco Logistics, which is set to operate the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, has experienced more than 200 crude oil leaks since 2010, topping all of its competitors. (Reuters)
• The energy company building the Dakota Access Pipeline buys over 6,000 acres along the line’s route in North Dakota, part of which may contain Native American burial grounds, dealing a blow to protestors. (Reuters)
COMMENTARY: Two former EPA administrators who served under Republican presidents speak out in support of the Clean Power Plan. (New York Times)