CLIMATE:
• As part of a climate fraud investigation, an attorney for Exxon Mobil tells a New York state court that emails sent by former Exxon CEO and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson from an alias email account have gone missing due to a “unique issue.” (Huffington Post)
• A Maine state representative introduces a bill to protect climate change deniers from “discrimination,” saying it’s intended to protect against “a faith-based ideology of climate change hysteria.” (Portland Press Herald)
RENEWABLES:
• California lawmakers introduce a bill requiring utilities to deploy more clean energy during peak demand times. (Utility Dive)
• Frustrated by high electric bills and frequent shutoffs, one of Colorado’s poorest cities passes a resolution to generate 100 percent of its power from renewables by 2035. (Nexus Media)
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GRID: The Southwest Power Pool is running into transmission constraints as it breaks records for wind power penetration without enough new customer demand. (Utility Dive)
WIND: A 2014 Ohio bill that increased property line setbacks for wind turbines has also cost schools hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue. (Nexus Media)
SOLAR:
• A new plan aims to expand Oregon’s solar power production to 4,000 megawatts by 2027, providing 10 percent of the state’s electricity needs. (Portland Business Journal)
• A Nebraska utility that serves more than 350,000 customers is accepting input for its first community solar project. (Midwest Energy News)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• New York state launches a program that gives rebates of up to $2,000 for buying new plug-in hybrid electric cars, all-electric cars and hydrogen fuel cell cars. (Associated Press)
• After investing $160 million and hiring 176 construction workers to build a factory in Nevada, electric vehicle company Faraday Future has produced little more than flattened dirt, according to a recent report. (Greentech Media)
PIPELINES:
• Federal regulators warn that a 52-year-old oil pipeline at the bottom of Alaska’s Cook Inlet – which runs adjacent to a natural gas pipeline that has been leaking for months – could also pose a risk. (InsideClimate News)
• Opponents of the Keystone XL pipeline are seeking permission to file legal briefs, cross-examine witnesses and present formal arguments during a review of the project before the Nebraska Public Service Commission. (Associated Press)
FRACKING: A Maryland Senate committee votes 8-3 in favor of a bill to ban fracking in the state, sending the measure on to the full Senate. (Associated Press)
COAL:
• Arch Coal will receive an award for its bankruptcy deal, which allowed it to cut millions in debt by “short-changing both their commitments to worker health care and pensions and their environmental cleanup obligations.” (ThinkProgress)
• An amendment proposed by Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe would pause coal ash permitting for more than a year. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
TECHNOLOGY: A new project will use gas sensors attached to roving Google Street View cars to find methane leaks on city streets. (Washington Post)
CLEAN POWER PLAN: If the Clean Power Plan is scrapped, the resulting smog could hurt production of corn, cotton, potatoes and soybeans, according to new research. (Scientific American)
COMMENTARY: Lawmakers in Kentucky and West Virginia should drop their bills to reduce the number of coal mine inspections and let state and federal inspectors do their jobs to keeping miners safe, says West Virginia author Homer Hickam. (Los Angeles Times)