PIPELINES: House lawmakers approve a bill to streamline the federal permitting process for oil and natural gas pipelines. (The Hill)
ALSO:
• A Pennsylvania senator wants Sunoco to stop work on its Mariner East 2 pipeline, saying the company failed to properly inform some homeowners of the project before work began. (Philadelphia Business Journal)
• A group fighting the Keystone XL pipeline says it will appeal a judge’s ruling upholding regulators’ decision allowing it to move through South Dakota. (Associated Press)
OIL & GAS:
• The head of the Coast Guard says the country isn’t equipped to clean up oil spills in the remote Arctic areas where Congress wants to open up drilling. (E&E News)
• California officials say the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility, where the largest methane leak in U.S. history occurred in 2015, can resume operations at a reduced capacity. (Los Angeles Times)
• An unprecedented ban on new bulk fossil-fuel terminals in Portland, Oregon, is overturned by the state’s Land Use Board of Appeals for interfering with interstate commerce. (Portland Business Journal)
COAL:
• Officials worked to address the Kemper “clean coal” plant’s delays and overruns, but in the end had to “draw a line in the sand” and terminate the project, according to interviews with members of the Mississippi Public Service Commission. (SNL Energy)
• President Trump’s promises to revive the coal industry are discouraging miners from changing careers. (Bloomberg)
• The CEO of CSX says the the company won’t buy new locomotives for transporting coal because fossil fuels are going away and there’s no future in it. (ThinkProgress)
POLLUTION: A new study from Duke University shows the burning of fossil fuels is linked to negative effects on cardiovascular health. (Blue Ridge Public Radio)
REGULATION:
• The Trump administration says the EPA will stop plans to regulate oil and gas development on a Utah Indian reservation. (Reuters)
• The White House releases its first official report on its efforts to roll back rules and regulations, saying the administration’s actions during the first five months will produce annual savings of $22 million for the economy. (New York Times)
CLIMATE: A former senior official at the Interior Department writes an op-ed saying the Trump administration demoted him for speaking out about climate change. (Washington Post, NPR)
POLITICS:
• President Trump nominates a climate “skeptic” and conservative talk show radio host for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s top scientific position.
• Spending cuts to the Department of Energy could undermine President Trump’s plan for U.S. “energy dominance.” (Washington Post)
SOLAR:
• The last national electricity retailer with its own residential solar business, Direct Energy, will stop selling rooftop installations. (Greentech Media)
• Utilities are still pushing for rates that discourage customer adoption of solar, according to a new report. (PV Magazine)
• Ratepayers are footing much of the bill for a utility trade association that has pushed for polices hostile to rooftop solar. (Midwest Energy News)
• Sunrun marks its 10th year in operation in an industry “known for its ups and downs.” (Greentech Media)
WIND: The Department of Energy will study the potential for offshore wind development in the Gulf of Mexico. (Offshore Wind Journal)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Ambitious company plans and optimistic forecasts for electric vehicle adoption don’t yet match reality. (Bloomberg)
UTILITIES: Hawaii regulators approve a utility’s plan to reach the state’s 100 percent renewable energy mandate five years ahead of schedule. (Greentech Media)
NUCLEAR:
• Reports show if South Carolina’s Summer nuclear plant expansion is completed, state utility Santee Cooper will have far more energy capacity than it needs and customers will likely see a spike in power bills should the project continue. (The State)
• Opponents of Illinois’ subsidies for nuclear generation vow to appeal a recent court decision allowing the policy to move forward. (Crain’s Chicago Business
• The largest portion of radioactive waste from nuclear generation is being temporarily stored at seven sites across Illinois, making it the “nation’s biggest de facto nuclear waste dump.” (NPR Illinois)
COMMENTARY:
• Transporting oil by rail instead of pipelines offers flexibility in a perpetually volatile market, says an assistant professor at the University of Chicago. (Forbes)
• California Governor Jerry Brown’s climate change deal was a lesson in compromise that should be studied in the White House, says a writer for the Los Angeles Times.