SUPREME COURT: How another, more obscure case could have a major impact on clean energy development. (SNL Energy)
CLIMATE: A group of leading climate scientists warn that the worst effects of climate change could be felt in decades, not centuries. (New York Times)
***SPONSORED LINK: Join venture capitalists, civic leaders, and industry executives to recognize cleantech innovation at the Clean Energy Trust Challenge on April 12th. The Chicago-based accelerator has grown 60+ businesses throughout the Midwest.***
SOLAR:
• Solar advocates sue to overturn net metering changes in Nevada. (Nevada Appeal)
• National solar companies organize to stop a compromise between utilities and installers in Maine. (Associated Press)
• Rooftop solar companies push Arizona’s governor to veto a bill that would impose new requirements on their industry. (Arizona Republic)
• South Carolina’s state-owned utility approves a community solar program and increased rebates for solar panels. (Charleston Post and Courier)
• Utilities across the country are seeing opportunities in community solar. (Greentech Media)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• Maryland lawmakers advance a bill to increase the state’s renewable energy standard to 25 percent by 2020. (Capital Gazette)
• Apple says that 93 percent of its facilities worldwide run on renewable energy. (Greentech Media)
• Nevada business and environmental leaders say a revived state task force offers the best path forward for clean energy in the state. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• New York regulators increase the size of projects qualifying for interconnection to 5 MW. (Platts)
WIND: Federal officials are evaluating plans for an 800 MW offshore wind farm in California. (Bloomberg)
COAL:
• A former Peabody executive says “there’s never been a better time to be investing in coal.” (SNL Energy)
• Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan asks Peabody Energy to prove it has the resources to pay for mine reclamation in Southern Illinois. (Associated Press)
• Researchers attempt to tally the impact of mountaintop removal mining in West Virginia. (The Atlantic)
FINANCE: A new report shows that a $105 million public investment in Michigan could leverage roughly $3 billion in private spending on clean energy through the creation of a “green bank.” (Midwest Energy News)
CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Sen. Mitch McConnell sends a letter to governors urging them to stop work on the Clean Power Plan. (The Hill)
• An EPA official says it would be “premature” to speculate about compliance deadlines changing. (Bloomberg BNA)
NUCLEAR: An industry group wants more “efficient” rules for decommissioning power plants. (Utility Dive)
OIL AND GAS:
• Environmental groups reach a tentative agreement with the Department of Justice on greenhouse gas emissions from federal oil and gas leases in Montana. (Associated Press)
• Fracking opponents in Pennsylvania question the climate benefits of natural gas. (NPR)
• Major institutions struggle to meet sustainability goals by transitioning away from natural gas. (EnergyWire)
GRID: A Texas utility’s pilot project promise solar plus storage at 14 cents a watt. (Greentech Media)
TECHNOLOGY: Developers pull the plug on a tidal power project in Washington state. (Energy Policy Update)
COMMENTARY:
• “Saying this is a war on coal is (like) saying the Internet is a war on typewriters.” (New Republic)
• Arizona agencies “appear beholden to the fossil fuel industry” as they fight the Clean Power Plan. (Arizona Republic)
• How California utilities, lawmakers and industries teamed up to promote energy storage. (Renewable Energy World)