EPA: The Trump administration proposes slashing the EPA’s budget by 31 percent, which would eliminate 3,200 agency jobs and kill more than 50 programs. (Washington Post)
REGULATION: President Trump announces a rollback of Obama-era fuel economy standards for cars and trucks, which will require more than a year of reviews by the EPA and the Transportation Department before taking effect. (New York Times)
CLIMATE:
• The Trump administration is asking U.S. energy companies for their opinion on the Paris climate agreement, and many have said they would prefer if the country remains in the pact, according to two anonymous sources. (Reuters)
• A group of 17 congressional Republicans sign a resolution vowing to seek “economically viable” ways to stave off global warming. (The Hill)
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SOLAR:
• Why residential solar company Sungevity went bankrupt despite a growing industry. (E&E News)
• Some renewable energy advocates say New York’s new compensation structure for distributed energy resources is a “milestone in a long and multifaceted proceeding,” but ultimately could have done more. (Utility Dive)
• The growth of rooftop solar has slowed significantly, with installations increasing just 19 percent in 2016 compared with an average growth of 63 percent in previous years. (Los Angeles Times)
• Eighty percent of solar customers say net metering doesn’t matter to them if they can donate their excess electricity to their community, according to a recent survey of 1,571 respondents from across the country. (Greentech Media)
• Critics say a new “community solar” law in Virginia is a misnomer and another way for the state’s utilities to control the industry. (Southeast Energy News)
EFFICIENCY: Large buildings in Chicago are becoming more energy efficient, but several major properties are still struggling to improve their performance data. (Midwest Energy News)
OIL & GAS: A county in Southern California rejects a proposal by Phillips 66 to ship crude oil through the community by train. (ThinkProgress)
FRACKING:
• The Trump administration will roll back a rule requiring companies to disclose the chemicals they use during hydraulic fracturing on federal lands. (Associated Press)
• A coalition of over 180 environmental groups is urging commissioners to implement a permanent ban on fracking along the Delaware River watershed. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
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POLLUTION: An oil and gas company lowers pressure to slow a leak from an underwater pipeline in Alaska that has been spewing natural gas for months. (Associated Press)
NUCLEAR:
• Kentucky lawmakers vote 65-28 to lift a ban on nuclear power plants in the state. (Associated Press)
• The attorney general of Texas is suing the federal government for failing to secure a permanent disposal site for the country’s radioactive waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, saying it “has ignored our growing problem of nuclear waste” for decades. (Texas Tribune)
UTILITIES: Ohio’s consumer advocacy group says utilities should have fewer opportunities for subsidies and excessive profits, while moving closer to full market pricing for electricity. (Midwest Energy News)
COMMENTARY:
• Senate Republicans may actually block an effort to scrap Obama-era regulations on methane emissions from oil and gas wells to appease constituents, says a columnist at the Los Angeles Times.
• The Trump administration’s plan to roll back fuel economy standards would kill jobs, cost car buyers money and reduce the U.S. auto industry’s global competitiveness, says the founding editor of the blog Climate Progress. (ThinkProgress)