CLEAN ENERGY: While experts say the long-term transition to clean energy will continue, it’s still unclear how the coronavirus pandemic will impact the energy sector over the next few years. (Washington Post)
OVERSIGHT: A Trump administration order citing the coronavirus pandemic to cut regulations will likely face multiple court challenges. (The Hill)
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CLIMATE:
• Houston will begin a five-year contract in July with NRG Energy to power all city-owned properties with renewable energy. (Bloomberg)
• A new Colorado regulation requires some operations to report their greenhouse gas emissions to the state. (Colorado Public Radio)
• A Minnesota power agency plans to reduce its carbon emissions 90% by 2030, driven by the retirement of a large coal plant that is the utility’s largest source of electricity. (Energy News Network)
SOLAR:
• A recent petition could prompt federal regulators to take control of how solar customers are compensated, which could boost distributed generation in states that have resisted net metering. (Greentech Media)
• A Sioux man seeking to bring energy sovereignty to U.S. tribes is the driving force behind a new solar project on the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota. (Al Jazeera)
WIND: Costs continue to fall for floating offshore wind turbines, which can be placed out of sight of coastlines. (Yale E360)
COAL:
• A Wisconsin utility plans to retire a coal plant on Lake Michigan years ahead of schedule, which is expected to save ratepayers hundreds of millions of dollars long term. (Wisconsin State Journal)
• A lawsuit aiming to revive an Obama-era moratorium against BLM coal sales on Western public lands is thrown out by a federal judge. (Associated Press)
EFFICIENCY: Plagued for decades with reliability issues, an island off New England wants to continue its energy transformation with an efficiency program added to its interconnection to the mainland and a nearby offshore wind farm. (Energy News Network)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Oklahoma’s network of supercharger stations positions it to become a leader in electric vehicles, an advocate says. (Tulsa World)
TRANSPORTATION:
• Maine advocates say the shift to workers telecommuting forced by the coronavirus pandemic can account for a change in the state’s emissions profile even if only partially made permanent. (Portland Press Herald)
• The pandemic has been a boon for bicycle sales as people seek alternatives to transit and ways to exercise away from others. (Associated Press)
GRID: California’s grid operator announces four Colorado utilities are joining the Western Energy Imbalance Market. (news release)
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STORAGE: A new interactive data visualization resource showing the emissions impacts of existing and proposed peaker units could be useful to storage developers. (PV Magazine)
COMMENTARY: An energy analyst says we can honor those who’ve lost their lives to coronavirus by committing to a cleaner energy future. (Greentech Media)