FRACKING: Oil and gas drillers ran afoul of regulators on average 2.5 times a day in three energy-intensive states for things like wastewater spills, well leaks and pipeline ruptures during the fracking boom, the Natural Resources Defense Council said Thursday. (Bloomberg)
ALSO: California oil producers use nearly 70 million gallons of water in fracking for oil and gas in the state last year, which is less than previously projected, state officials said Thursday. (Reuters)
TAR SANDS: TransCanada on Thursday announced cancellation of its plans to build a controversial export terminal in Quebec, citing concerns over the endangered beluga whale, and a five-year delay in completion of its Energy East pipeline. (The New Republic)
EPA RULE:
• The vast majority of their top corporate partners for environmental NGOs – companies like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, FedEx, UPS, Target and Walmart – aren’t backing them up in supporting the president’s Clean Power Plan, according to a new survey. (Guardian)
• The Tennessee Valley Authority’s vice president for environment said she’s concerned about how the EPA will devise an inexpensive, uncomplicated compliance program to keep track of emission reductions mandated for power plants. (EnergyWire)
WIND: GE plans to deliver its newest gas turbine for electricity generation in July, after investing $2 billion developing the new 433-ton unit, which can power 400,000 homes with net efficiency greater than 61 percent. (Bloomberg)
SOLAR:
• The Obama administration aims to train 75,000 workers — many of them military veterans — for the solar power industry, marking a 50 percent increase from the president’s last commitment on solar training announced last May. (The Hill)
• Duke Energy plans to install as much as 500 megawatts of solar power in Florida by 2024, a proposal that would more than triple the capacity of the Sunshine State. (Bloomberg)
• Officials in Rochester, New York, are calling for proposals to transform a former city dump into a model 13-acre solar array. (Democrat & Chronicle)
GAS PIPELINE: A company seeking to run a 300-mile natural gas pipeline through West Virginia has filed a law against 103 property owners in the state who have refused to allow access to their properties. (The Register-Herald)
COAL: Northwest utilities are fighting pressure to end to all use of coal-fired power—even when it’s generated in places like Utah and Montana. (Oregon Public Radio)
HYDRO POWER: The Crow tribe is teaming up with the Bureau of Reclamation to build a 9-megawatt hydroelectric dam in southeastern Montana. (Billings Gazette)
ETHANOL: Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) is staking out pro-ethanol terrain in Iowa without backing renewable fuel mandates by introducing legislation aimed to pare back EPA restrictions the ethanol industry finds burdensome. (National Journal)
UTAH: President Obama will stress the importance of investing in and training workers for clean energy technology when he visits Hill Air Force Base in Utah on Friday. (Salt Lake Tribune)
HAWAII: Utility Hawaiian Electric said is has approved all the delayed rooftop solar applications on the islands of Maui and Hawaii and that 90 percent of the 2,749 pending applications on Oahu would be cleared by the end of April. (Greentech Media)