COAL: A Colorado utility pledges to shut down a coal plant 16 years early, leaving only two coal units in the state without closure dates in the near future. (Colorado Sun)
ALSO:
• An advisory panel recommends shutting down all of Colorado Springs’ coal-fired generation by 2030. (KOAA)
• A U.S. coal miners union is seeking an expedited order to force the federal government to protect miners from the coronavirus. (Associated Press)
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SOLAR: A new report says the Bureau of Land Management is largely overlooking the potential for utility-scale solar on federal lands in the Southwest. (AZ Big Media)
CALIFORNIA: As expected, PG&E pleads guilty to 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with 2018’s deadly Camp Fire. (New York Times)
UTILITIES: Tri-State Generation and Transmission’s CEO says FERC’s acceptance and suspension of its Contract Termination Payment methodology means the issue is “now properly before the appropriate regulatory commission.” (Utility Dive)
EMISSIONS: A California energy commissioner says a pilot program under development to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and customer bills in new residential buildings is “the start of something big” for the state. (Utility Dive)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• A bipartisan group of California legislators writes congressional leaders asking for clean energy legislation including tax incentives in coronavirus relief efforts. (Solar Power World)
• A California climate activist criticizes Democratic lawmakers for failing to urge House leaders to address the pandemic’s impact on clean energy jobs. (E&E News)
• Renewable energy projects in California and New Mexico are among five across the U.S. thriving despite the coronavirus crisis. (Greentech Media)
WIND: Two attorneys specializing in the permitting of large-scale energy projects across the western U.S. explore California offshore wind development. (North American Windpower)
OIL & GAS
• A federal appeals court upholds the cancellation of the last remaining federal oil and gas lease in a Montana region sacred to the Blackfeet Nation and critical for wildlife habitat. (Earthjustice)
• ConocoPhillips announces plans to resume normal production operations on Alaska’s North Slope next month. (Associated Press)
• California’s largest crude producer reaches agreement with its lenders to restructure and continue to operate. (S&P Global)
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EQUITY: A tribal coalition in Utah and Latinos in Los Angeles are featured in a roundup of environmental justice efforts around the country. (InsideClimate News)
COMMENTARY: “The call to ‘defund police’ isn’t that much of a stretch from divestment from the fossil fuel industry,” writes a Black climate activist. (Grist)