OIL & GAS: The president of a petroleum group warns that a Berekeley, California, ban on natural gas hook-ups to new buildings could spread across the state, bringing “death by a 1,000 cuts” to the industry. (S&P Global)
ALSO:
• The Trump administration appoints a former oil executive as the head of the South-Central EPA office. (InsideClimate News)
• Environmental groups file a legal complaint challenging a sale that opened 78 million acres of the Gulf of Mexico to offshore drilling bids. (E&E News, subscription)
• Conservation groups say they will fight a lawsuit by fossil fuel companies seeking to overturn a 2016 rule that increased the royalties companies pay for extracting coal, oil and gas from federal lands. (Wyoming Public Media)
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BUILDINGS:
• New York City seeks to reduce emissions from apartment buildings as it shifts from fossil-fuel-burning boilers to more efficient units. (WHYY)
• Seattle’s mayor wants to tax home heating oil in an effort to push 18,000 homeowners to convert to electric heating pumps. (Seattle Times)
SOLAR:
• Massachusetts officials unveil the latest iteration of a plan to more accurately value solar generation when it shaves peak demand. (PV Magazine)
• Hawaii’s solar market continues to struggle four years after the state moved to end net metering. (Greentech Media)
STORAGE: California is the nation’s largest energy storage market, but Hawaii and Massachusetts utilities lead in per-customer watts deployed. (PV Magazine)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• North Carolina electric vehicle charging stations can now resell electricity by the kilowatt-hour without being regulated as a utility. (Energy News Network)
• Ford’s CEO says the company is better equipped than Tesla to ramp up production of electric and autonomous vehicles. (CNN)
• Boston-area transit advocates say switching to electric buses will require investments in garages to house and charge them. (CommonWealth Magazine)
NUCLEAR: The federal government quietly removes a metric ton of plutonium from a South Carolina nuclear complex following a court order to do so; it was not immediately clear where the material went. (Post and Courier)
PIPELINES:
• An unsupported section of the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac exceeds the 75-foot limit under an easement with the state of Michigan, putting it at higher risk for erosion and rupture. (Detroit News)
• After failing to sway a federal court, Mountain Valley Pipeline lawyers turn to a Virginia court to remove tree-sitters who are blocking construction. (Roanoke Times)
UTILITIES:
• Some Midwest electric cooperatives remain hesitant to embrace renewables over more expensive coal generation, likely for political reasons. (Utility Dive)
• After pressure from critics, South Carolina regulators terminate a contract with a consultant that has deep ties to the state’s large utilities. (Post and Courier)
• Amid mounting pressure from members, a Colorado power wholesaler may finally embrace a shift to renewables. (Utility Dive)
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COAL: Residents of a Chicago neighborhood demand air pollution monitoring as a company prepares to remediate a former coal plant site. (Energy News Network)
COMMENTARY:
• New technology is giving utilities and customers more control over when we use electricity, which could save us billions, David Roberts explains. (Vox)
• The Sierra Club says a new analysis shows nearly all of Duke Energy’s coal portfolio is unprofitable, putting customers and shareholders at risk. (Sierra Club)
• An environmental activist says Philadelphia refinery workers displaced by the plant’s closure should be given access to clean energy jobs. (Plan Philly)