COAL:
• Peabody Energy, the world’s largest coal company, posted a net loss of $1 billion for the last quarter, suspended dividends and will cut 550 jobs. (Responding to Climate Change)
• Senators Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) and Tom Udall (D-New Mexico) introduced a bill Wednesday to raise government revenues from coal mined on federal land. (The Hill)
CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• President Obama is prepared to defend the EPA’s Clean Power Plan with his veto pen, even if riders come attached to must-pass legislation, a White House Chief spokesman said Wednesday. (Greenwire)
• With the EPA set to unveil its final rules to cut emissions from power plants, some companies that support the plan are pressing for a carbon trading program so costs don’t surge. (Bloomberg)
CRUDE EXPORTS: House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) called Wednesday for Congress to lift the 40-year ban on crude oil exports, which likely sets the stage for a major policy battle this fall on Capitol Hill. (The Hill)
BIOFUEL: UPS will buy as much as 46 million gallons of renewable diesel made from bio-waste over the next three years, with the aim of displacing 12 percent of the petroleum-based fuels used by its ground fleet by 2017. (The New York Times)
WIND: Climate change is likely to make U.S. prairie states windier, which could be a boon to the nation’s energy supply and the region’s already thriving wind industry, according to a new study. (Climate Central)
SOLAR: SolarCity’s operating costs climbed 80 percent in the second quarter, as CEO Lyndon Rive increased spending to maintain the company’s position as the top provider of U.S. rooftop solar systems. (Bloomberg)
NATURAL GAS: New plants coming online are set to drive industrial natural gas growth by more than 3 percent in the next two years, according to a U.S. Energy Information Administration analysis released Wednesday. (FuelFix)
OIL:
• ConocoPhillips, the third-largest U.S. energy producer, reported a second-quarter loss of $179 million as a result of falling oil prices, the Houston-based company said today. (Bloomberg)
• Shell is preparing for a “prolonged downturn” by cutting 6,500 jobs and reducing capital investment by $7 billion, the company announced today. (Bloomberg)
• Anadarko’s CEO says a shale oil comeback remains uncertain not just because of oil prices but also because oil field service companies haven’t cut prices for equipment and other work enough yet. (FuelFix)
EFFICIENCY: Missouri’s utility regulator is considering whether to institute a “decoupling” policy to ensure utilities will not lose money as a result of encouraging customer energy efficiency. (Midwest Energy News)
ARCTIC DRILLING: Environmental activists rappelled off Portland, Oregon’s tallest bridge early Wednesday in an effort to stop a Shell icebreaker from leaving the city for Alaska. (Associated Press)
PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Hillary Clinton said she has “doubts” about whether oil and natural gas drilling should be allowed in the Arctic Ocean. (NH1)