OIL & GAS: Cars are becoming the de facto means of transportation amid the pandemic as people are afraid to use public transit and airlines. (Bloomberg)

ALSO:
• The Rockefeller Brothers Fund largely dumped its oil and gas investments five years ago over climate change concerns, which now appears to have been a smart financial move. (Washington Post)
• Congressional Republicans are accusing some major financial institutions of stopping fossil fuel investments to “placate the environmental fringe.” (Reuters)

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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Tesla CEO Elon Musk files a lawsuit and threatens to move the company’s headquarters to Texas or Nevada after California officials tell the company it cannot reopen its factory yet because of coronavirus restrictions. (Dallas Morning News)

GRID:
• Stay-at-home orders could put a strain on residential-only distribution feeders as air conditioning load rises, making residential demand response events necessary. (Greentech Media)
• A new report says fossil fuel peaker plants are dirty, expensive to operate, and should be replaced with storage and renewables. (Grist)

EFFICIENCY: Virtual home energy inspections are increasing in Minnesota after the pandemic suspended in-person visits in March. (Energy News Network)

WIND:
• Illinois and Indiana saw significant increases in wind power last year despite pockets of vocal opposition and, in the case of Indiana, a lack of robust incentives. (Energy News Network)
• The CEO of American Electric Power expects final state regulatory decisions this month on the company’s 1,500 MW wind project in Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. (Utility Dive)

PIPELINES:
• Alabama lawmakers advance legislation to add new criminal penalties to nonviolent protests against pipelines and other fossil fuel projects. (HuffPost)
• A virtual rally is held against an undersea pipeline to transmit natural gas into New York City as a deadline for a key environmental permit looms on May 17. (Grist)
• Enbridge shuts down three of its pipelines after an explosion and fire at a Kentucky pipeline. (Reuters)

OVERSIGHT:
• The Trump administration is diligently weakening environmental protections amid the pandemic, including easing fuel-efficiency standards and weakening air pollution regulations on power plants. (The Guardian)
• Four employees at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission test positive for the coronavirus, according to the agency. (E&E News, subscription)

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CLIMATE: A group of young Republicans who embrace climate change action and clean energy draft the American Climate Contract — their more modest response to the Green New Deal. (InsideClimate News)

COMMENTARY: Proposals for a clean energy and climate-driven recovery plan are likely to be blocked by the Trump administration and Republican-controlled Senate, a columnist writes. (Axios)

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Dan Haugen

Dan has two decades' experience working in print, digital and broadcast media. Prior to joining the Energy News Network as managing editor in December 2017, he oversaw watchdog reporting at the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, part of the USA Today Network, and before that spent several years as a freelance journalist covering energy, business and technology. Dan is a former Midwest Energy News journalism fellow and a member of Investigative Reporters and Editors. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and mass communications from University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.