EFFICIENCY: Boston continues to be the most energy efficient U.S. city, followed by New York, Washington, DC, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Minneapolis, Portland, Austin and Denver, according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. (ACEEE)
JOBS: More than 7.7 million people were employed in the renewables industry in 2014, an 18 percent rise from previous year, according to a new report from the International renewable energy agency. (PV Tech)
EMITTERS: Thirty-two energy companies, including Shell and ExxonMobil, account for almost a third of all manmade greenhouse gas emissions when the burning of all the fossil fuels they produce is taken into account, says a new study. (Reuters)
SPILL: A broken pipeline spilled 21,000 gallons of crude oil into the ocean before it could be shut off, creating a slick stretching about four miles along the central California coastline, the US coast guard said. (Associated Press)
R&D: A bipartisan group of senators introduced a federal bill Wednesday to bump up energy research funding and tweak the structure of American energy research programs. (The Hill)
SOLAR:
• As the solar industry weans itself off a waning federal tax credit, SolarCity is turning to the bond market, using solar-panel leases and installment financing receivables as an asset-backed security. (Bloomberg)
• Opposition is growing to Six Flags Great Adventure’s plan to build New Jersey’s biggest solar farm, which would require taking out 19,000 trees and 100 acres of wetlands. (Bloomberg)
• California’s Jackson Family Wines, among the first winemakers to install Tesla’s new energy-storage technology, expects to save approximately $2 million next year on electricity costs because of the battery system. (Sustainable Brands)
WIND:
• Thanks to a total disaster, the prairie town of Greensberg, Kansas, now supplies 300 percent of its electricity needs from a 12.5 megawatt wind farm and sends the excess to the state grid. (Guardian)
• There are more than 30,000 wind turbines in areas of the U.S. critical to the survival of federally protected birds, and an additional 50,000 turbines are planned for similar areas, according to the American Bird Conservancy. (Yale Environment 360)
FRACKING: A legal and bureaucratic struggle is underway over the Bureau of Land Management’s regulations of fracking on public land, as states weigh whether they will enforce the plan. (EnergyWire)
ETHANOL: Ethanol backers have launched a campaign to steer attention away from the corn-based fuel’s potential impact on food prices and toward air quality and public health. (Greenwire)
COAL: Concerned about impacts on air quality and residents’ health, Richmond, California, passed a resolution Tuesday opposing the transport of coal in open rail cars through the city. (Bay Aria New Group)
NUCLEAR: Oregon lawmakers are considering a bill that would create a task force to investigate the feasibility of including nuclear power in the state’s carbon-free energy portfolio. (Portland Business Journal)
ALL CLEAN: Kodiak Island, the second-largest island in the U.S., is now 99.7 percent powered by renewable energy from wind and hydro. (Rocky Mountain Institute Outlet)
PACT: Washington’s governor joined leaders of 11 other states and provinces in the U.S., Mexico, Europe and Canada in signing an agreement for steep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. (The Seattle Times)