PIPELINES: Several environmental groups are suing the Trump administration for approving the Keystone XL pipeline, saying that project’s permit relies on an “arbitrary, stale, and incomplete environmental review completed over three years ago.” (Reuters)
ALSO:
• When the Dakota Access Pipeline comes online next month it will save the state’s oil industry at least $540 million in annual shipping costs. (Reuters)
• Georgia’s General Assembly passes legislation to make it harder for petroleum pipeline companies to seize private property using eminent domain. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
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COAL:
• Some 22,000 retired coal miners could lose healthcare coverage if Congress fails to act by the end of April. (Nexus Media)
• Many of the coal mining jobs that President Trump wants to bring back have been replaced by machines and explosives. (New York Times)
• Tribal leaders want the federal government to provide subsidies to help keep a troubled coal mine and power plant open in Arizona. (Arizona Republic)
EMISSIONS: Volkswagen will pay $157 million to 10 states to settle environmental claims that it installed software to disguise pollution from its 3-liter, six-cylinder diesel engine vehicles. (Portland Press Herald)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Critics say Volkswagen wants to invest hundreds of millions in settlement money designated to promote electric vehicle adoption exclusively on wealthier cities in California. (Forbes)
RENEWABLE ENERGY: Two bills in California could drive growth for wind, solar and battery storage by requiring an increasing proportion of peak demand electricity to come from renewables. (Utility Dive)
WIND: An Oklahoma Senate panel approves a bill to end a zero-emissions tax credit for wind power more than three years early. (The Oklahoman)
SOLAR:
• A California community solar program that aims for large utilities to procure 600 MW is off to a slow start with few interested bidders. (Utility Dive)
• Solar industry jobs grew by 34 percent in Texas in 2016, according to a recent study. (FuelFix)
• Oregon lawmakers are considering whether to extend a tax credit that gives residents up to $6,000 for the installation of a rooftop solar system. (Portland Business Journal)
• A new website wants to persuade more co-ops to add solar energy to their mix by featuring “the voices of solar champions within the co-op community.” (Midwest Energy News)
NUCLEAR:
• With the U.S. nuclear industry in turmoil, the Energy Department is paying close attention to Southern Co., which took an $8.3 billion federal loan to build the country’s first new nuclear plants in 30 years. (Bloomberg)
• Westinghouse receives tentative permission to take out an $800 million bankruptcy loan. (Bloomberg)
POLICY:
• President Trump’s executive order to roll back Obama-era climate initiatives will set off a wave of litigation that could take years to resolve. (Utility Dive)
• An Ohio legislative committee approves a bill to make renewable energy requirements voluntary for power companies, but it lacks a provision that could have crippled proposed wind and solar projects. (Columbus Business First)
CLIMATE: A federal judge moves a case about ExxonMobil’s knowledge of climate change from Texas to New York, dealing a setback to the Dallas-based company. (InsideClimate News)
POLITICS: The Oklahoma Bar Association is investigating an ethics complaint against EPA administrator Scott Pruitt over an alias email address he used while state Attorney General. (Associated Press)
COMMENTARY: President Trump’s anti-climate executive order will put him on the wrong side of history, says the Seattle Times editorial board.