REGULATION: A federal appeals court says the EPA must enforce Obama-era regulations on methane emissions from oil and gas operations. (New York Times)
POLICY:
• President Trump makes a speech vowing to “unleash American energy,” but his plans exclude renewables. (Washington Post, ThinkProgress)
• A House subcommittee approves a bill that would slash funding for renewable and efficiency programs, while completely eliminating the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). (ThinkProgress)
CAP-AND-TRADE:
• California’s Supreme Court refuses to hear a challenge to the state’s cap-and-trade law, handing a victory to environmentalists. (Reuters, Greentech Media)
• California’s governor is under pressure to reach a deal this week to extend the state’s cap-and-trade program. (Associated Press)
RENEWABLES: Six energy experts explain how the U.S. can transition away from fossil fuels. (Grist)
CLEAN TECH: Clean energy pioneer Jigar Shah discusses why his new company is interested in re-opening a shuttered food waste-to-energy facility in west Michigan. (Midwest Energy News)
STORAGE: Massachusetts releases an energy storage procurement target of 200 megawatt-hours by 2020. (Greentech Media)
SOLAR:
• Washington state lawmakers pass a bill to extend incentives for solar energy beyond 2020. (Seattle Times)
• The outcome of Suniva’s trade dispute could upend the U.S. solar industry, and the final decision may be in President Trump’s hands. (New York Times)
• Oregon regulators finalize rules for a community solar program that would give utility customers the option to buy solar power, potentially adding 160 megawatts of solar in the state. (Portland Business Journal)
WIND:
• North Carolina lawmakers pass a renewable energy bill that restores solar compromise provisions and reduces a wind moratorium to 18 months. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• Rocky Mountain Power says it plans to spend $3.5 billion on wind power and related infrastructure in Wyoming, Utah and Idaho over the next three years. (Associated Press)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Volvo announces that all of its cars will be electric or hybrids after 2019. (New York Times)
• Tesla starts production on its first mass market electric car, the Model 3, which will sell for around $35,000. (New York Times)
• Following complaints, Volkswagen says it will expand efforts to build electric car infrastructure in poorer California communities. (Reuters)
CLIMATE:
• EPA administrator Scott Pruitt tells coal industry executives that his agency is planning to reevaluate the scientific consensus on human-caused climate change. (New York Times)
• By the time President Trump’s term is over, it could be too late to act on climate change, according to a new commentary in Nature magazine from renowned climate experts. (ThinkProgress)
• A new International Energy Agency report says governments should take a more integrated approach with — and increase investment in — clean energy technologies in order to meet climate goals. (Midwest Energy News)
NUCLEAR: California’s shuttered San Onofre nuclear power plant is home to 1,800 tons of unwanted radioactive waste that has nowhere to go. (Los Angeles Times)
COAL:
• Developers of a troubled “clean coal” plant in Mississippi say the project will now use natural gas instead of coal. (New York Times)
• A law that cuts down on mine safety inspections goes into effect in Kentucky, as coal producing states seek to reduce industry oversight. (Associated Press)
• The EPA should not have to assess how its air regulations affect coal industry jobs, according to a federal appeals court ruling, but the agency says it will do it anyway. (Reuters, Associated Press)
• An NPR investigation has identified nearly 2,000 cases of black lung disease in Appalachia that have been diagnosed since 2010. (NPR)
OIL & GAS:
• Crews are working to clean up 40,000 gallons of crude oil that spilled during a train derailment south of Chicago. (Associated Press)
• New Jersey lawmakers push to keep the Atlantic Coast off limits to oil drilling. (NJ.com)
PIPELINES: Texas-based Enbridge suspends planning for a $3.2 billion natural gas pipeline project in New England. (Boston Business Journal)
COMMENTARY:
• Carbon capture technology won’t be a savior for coal-fired power plants, according to a Bloomberg editorial.
• Despite its progress on climate change, California is failing to combat local pollution, according to the Los Angeles Times editorial board.
• President Trump’s executive order on offshore drilling is risky, say the co-chairmen of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. (New York Times)