CLIMATE: Tesla and SolarCity co-founder Elon Musk criticizes the CEO of Murray Energy for his denial of climate science after the coal baron called his automotive company “a fraud.” (Huffington Post)
SOLAR:
• Solar permits issued on the Hawaiian island of Oahu are down 40 percent compared to last year, according to a new report. (Pacific Business News)
• The Republican chairman of the Georgia Public Service Commission fought to make solar part of the state’s energy mix and says it’s not a partisan issue. (Yale Climate Connections)
• A Georgia solar industry group says Georgia Power has failed to meet a requirement to have 100 MW of solar power under contract by the end of the year, but the utility has denied the allegations. (Utility Dive)
• The Missouri Public Service Commission approves a major utility’s proposal to build a 500-kilowatt community solar array, giving residential and small-business customers the option of buying up to half of their energy from the project. (Midwest Energy News)
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POLLUTION: Occupational health experts believe the oil released in the 2010 BP spill and a cleaning chemical that followed created a toxic stew in the Gulf of Mexico that sickened thousands of locals with untreatable illnesses. (Newsweek)
OIL & GAS:
• Texas park officials say they haven’t conducted any research on the effects of oil drilling in Balmorhea State Park, despite prior statements that there was “no evidence to indicate concern” about a company’s plans to drill in the area. (FuelFix)
• A town in California’s wine country is fighting to get parked railroad tanker cars filled with hazardous petroleum products out of the neighborhood. (San Francisco Chronicle)
PIPELINES:
• Tribal members say they plan to hunker down at a protest camp in North Dakota as they continue to fight the legal case against the Dakota Access Pipeline, despite a three-judge panel granting permission to continue construction along part of the pipeline’s route. (New York Times/The Hill)
• Twenty-seven protesters are arrested during mass demonstrations against the Dakota Access Pipeline at two work sites in North Dakota, including “Divergent” actress Shailene Woodley. (Bismarck Tribune)
• An 83-year-old widow is fighting a pipeline company that wants to survey her Virginia land to chart a route for a natural gas pipeline. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
FRACKING: An 80-year-old nun in Texas is leasing mineral rights to fracking developers and using the proceeds to fund industry watchdog initiatives. (The Guardian)
NATURAL GAS: A Texas utility files an application to build a $937.3 million, gas-fired power plant. (FuelFix)
COAL: North Dakota taxpayers and coal companies continue to fund efforts to promote the coal industry in Minnesota. (Midwest Energy News)
COMMENTARY: Corporations interested in boosting their renewable energy portfolios could develop clean energy projects on contaminated lands with the help of various governmental incentives. (Energy Collective)