REGULATION: House Republicans will vote on whether to scrap two pollution rules – one protecting streams from coal mining waste and one to cut methane emissions at oil and gas drilling sites. (The Hill)
PIPELINES:
• Federal regulators approve a $450 million pipeline project that will transport more natural gas from New Jersey through New England. (MassLive)
• With only two commissioners in office, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission currently lacks the power to decide controversial gas pipeline projects. (Bloomberg)
• In addition to fighting the Trump administration, Dakota Access Pipeline protesters are facing division within their own movement. (Los Angeles Times)
***SPONSORED LINK: Join the Midwest Energy Research Consortium (M-WERC) at the Energy Storage Conference, February 15 in Milwaukee. This conference will explore recent advances in energy storage technologies, as well as the applications and in-field examples of the role of energy storage. ***
COAL:
• With mixed messages coming from the Trump administration, a costly “clean coal” plant in Mississippi could be the last of its kind. (Bloomberg)
• Coal mining operations owned by West Virginia’s governor, Jim Justice, still owe $4.6 million in fines and penalties stemming from safety violations. (Associated Press)
• Abandoned coal sites in West Virginia pose numerous safety and environmental risks. (Associated Press)
• A massive coal-fired power plant in Arizona, considered one of the nation’s top climate polluters, could close later this year due to low natural gas prices and other economic factors. (Climate Central)
POLLUTION: Environmental groups take the nation’s largest public utility to court, saying it violated the Clean Water Act by polluting the Cumberland River with waste ash from an aging coal-fired power plant in Tennessee. (Associated Press)
ADVOCACY:
• Former President Obama’s daughter, Malia Obama, is spotted at a Dakota Access Pipeline protest at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah. (The Hill)
• Environmental groups are gearing up to challenge the Trump administration in court. (Associated Press)
POLICY:
• Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other business leaders join a group that will advise President Trump on manufacturing policy. (CNBC)
• An overview of the biggest energy and climate policy changes made during the first week of the Trump administration. (Greentech Media)
POLITICS: The EPA lifts a temporary freeze on grants that was ordered by the Trump administration. (USA Today)
NUCLEAR: Federal regulators will review an application for a controversial nuclear waste dump in West Texas. (Texas Tribune)
WIND: A judge rules that a proposed wind farm in Maryland can’t go forward because the negative effects on the community would outweigh the potential benefits. (Baltimore Sun)
SOLAR: A Texas-based solar company lays off a second round of workers as the company shifts away from utility-scale solar projects. (San Antonio Business Journal)
CLIMATE: Wisconsin is ahead of the game when it comes to climate and clean energy research, despite state agencies removing language about climate change from their websites. (Midwest Energy News)
UTILITIES: A national energy marketer says Dominion Virginia Power is trying to stop it from offering renewable energy to residential electricity customers. (Southeast Energy News)
COMMENTARY: A Washington Post editorial says activists likely can’t stop the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipeline projects from going forward, and more energy will be wasted on both sides of the fight.