EFFICIENCY: Energy efficiency contractors have been sidelined by coronavirus fears and shelter-in-place orders, but some are optimistic for a quick rebound when work can resume. (Energy News Network)
PIPELINES: The Keystone XL pipeline developer says construction on the project through the Midwest will start this month. (Associated Press)
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UTILITIES:
• Michigan’s major utilities are taking additional steps to sequester employees in the field to protect them from the coronavirus. (Detroit Free Press)
• Wisconsin regulators open an investigation to determine what costs utilities may incur from the coronavirus. (Utility Dive)
COAL: Facing economic challenges from declining coal markets and the coronavirus, Murray Energy is “close to liquidation.” (Crain’s Cleveland Business)
TRANSPORTATION:
• The Trump administration’s rollback of fuel economy standards will cost consumers more at the pump, reduce the value of U.S. vehicles globally and cause more air pollution, critics say. (Detroit News)
• The rollback doesn’t discourage electric vehicles, but it makes it easier for automakers to continue producing traditional internal-combustion engines, EV advocates say. (E&E News, subscription)
SOLAR:
• Students at the University of Illinois finish work on a new solar-powered car. (WCCU)
• A team of students from the University of Wisconsin has been selected as a finalist for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon competition. (FOX6)
NUCLEAR: Federal regulators are allowing temporary exemptions from regulations limiting the amount of hours nuclear plant workers can remain on the job in response to COVID-19. (Utility Dive)
OIL & GAS: An equipment failure at a North Dakota saltwater disposal well causes 608 barrels of brine to spill. (Bismarck Tribune)
POLICY: The renewable energy sector is part of a “lobbying frenzy” taking place over the next round of federal stimulus funding. (Bloomberg)
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BIOFUELS: The Food and Drug Administration loosens regulations on the types of alcohol that can be used to make sanitizer, expanding the market to potentially millions of gallons made by ethanol producers. (Associated Press)
CLIMATE: Two young Iowa lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle find common ground in policy solutions for the climate crisis. (Grist)