PIPELINES: The Canadian company behind the controversial Keystone XL pipeline submits a new presidential permit application to revive the project. (Associated Press)
ALSO:
• What the Keystone XL pipeline could mean for the environment, the U.S. oil industry and Canada. (New York Times)
• Companies behind the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which is slated to run from West Virginia to North Carolina, say they “are very encouraged” by the Trump administration’s support of oil and gas infrastructure projects. (Triangle Business Journal)
• Environmental advocates say a 138,600 gallon diesel spill in Iowa this week highlights the risk posed by pipelines. (Associated Press, The Guardian)
• The leader of North Dakota’s Standing Rock Sioux tribe sends a letter asking President Trump to reconsider his order to revive the Dakota Access Pipeline, saying the decision can’t be made “simply by the president’s whim.” (The Guardian)
• President Trump is trying to require that U.S. steel be used to construct the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, but such an order may be illegal. (Huffington Post)
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OIL & GAS: Two opposing coalitions are gearing up to fight over a ban on new bulk fossil-fuel terminals in Portland, Oregon. (Portland Business Journal)
COAL: Amid opposition from regulators and environmentalists, a judge approves a bankruptcy plan from coal giant Peabody Energy. (Reuters)
UTILITIES:
• A federal judge punishes California’s largest utility for its role in a deadly natural-gas explosion in 2010 by imposing a $3 million fine and ordering the company to publicize its crimes through TV commercials. (Los Angeles Times)
• An Ohio utility is working on a plan with lawmakers to improve the state’s electricity market, which includes building new power generation using natural gas and renewables, while not subsidizing its four remaining coal-fired plants. (Columbus Business First)
GRID: Utilities are using “smart-switching” technology that make the grid more reliable by detecting and correcting outages along their distribution systems. (Midwest Energy News)
CARBON TAX: A new carbon tax bill in Washington state would fund clean energy by raising gas prices by about 15 cents per gallon. (Seattle Times)
REGULATION: President Trump names Democratic nominee Cheryl LaFleur to be the acting chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. (The Hill)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Utility customers on the Hawaiian island of Kauai will qualify for a $10,000 rebate on the Nissan Leaf electric sedan. (Pacific Business News)
• Tesla’s shares surge as Elon Musk gets closer to the Trump administration. (New York Times)
SOLAR:
• New York regulators vote to change interconnection requirements in an effort to boost solar development in the state, including community solar. (PV-Tech)
• Hawaii’s largest solar farm goes online in Oahu and will generate enough electricity to power about 11,000 homes per year. (Pacific Business News)
• Apple Inc. plans to buy power from a proposed 200-megawatt solar farm in Nevada. (Bloomberg)
• Arizona’s decision to end net-metering could cut compensation for rooftop solar power in half. (Utility Dive)
• Residential solar only increases electricity rates for non-solar customers in places where solar adoption is high – such as Hawaii, California and Arizona – according to a new Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study. (Arizona Republic)
CLIMATE:
• The Trump administration’s efforts to weaken the country’s climate change programs won’t be easy. (InsideClimate News)
• A climate change conference that was abruptly canceled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is back on with help from Al Gore. (Washington Post)
POLICY: The Trump administration’s list of infrastructure priorities includes transmission expansion, wind and energy storage. (Utility Dive)
COMMENTARY:
• Columnist Jay Ambrose argues that President Trump’s orders to revive the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines are in the nation’s best interest. (Tribune News Service)
• A protester explains why she broke the law to shut down pipelines carrying tar-sands oil from Canada into the U.S. (Seattle Times)