RENEWABLE ENERGY:
• President Obama writes an article in the journal Science defending his administration’s energy policies, saying “the trend toward clean energy is irreversible.” (Washington Post)
• States’ renewable energy standards could save $97 billion through health and environmental benefits, more than making up for the costs of investing in renewables, according to a recent study. (EnergyWire)
CLEAN TECH: Student-led startups compete to win investment funding from a Chicago-based clean tech accelerator. (Midwest Energy News)
***SPONSORED LINK: The Smart Cities International Symposium, January 24-25 in Chicago, examines the latest technology advances and business models for the 21st Century connected city. Explore implementation strategies, case studies, and the successful financing of key initiatives. Use discount code MWEN for 15% off. Register today! ***
SOLAR:
• The Arizona Corporation Commission will vote to reconsider net-metering grandfather provisions that the state’s solar industry and utilities say are flawed. (Utility Dive)
• Solar installers are taking advantage of a booming residential solar market in South Carolina, where new installation capacity has grown more than ninefold in under a year. (Greentech Media)
• Cincinnati, Ohio saw a 33 percent increase in residential solar installations in 2016, partly thanks to a solar incentive program. (WVXU)
POLICY: Vermont’s new governor says he will stand by a goal to reach 90 percent renewable energy in the state by 2050. (Associated Press)
CLIMATE:
• How the Trump administration and Congress could preemptively undermine state-level climate action. (Climate Central)
• A new analysis shows that Exxon gave over $6.5 million to groups that deny man-made climate change between 2008 and 2015, in spite of a promise to stop such donations. (Huffington Post)
EMISSIONS:
• The FBI arrests a German Volkswagen executive for conspiring to mislead U.S. regulators about the company’s emissions cheating scandal. (New York Times)
• Greenhouse gases like methane can impact sea level rise centuries after they disappear from the atmosphere, according to a recent study. (Washington Post)
UTILITIES: Businesses and consumer advocates in Ohio want state regulators to enforce stronger submetering rules. (Midwest Energy News)
OIL & GAS:
• The U.S. and Cuba sign an agreement to jointly prevent and manage oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico. (Reuters)
• Over 60 percent of workers who lost their jobs during the oil bust are still unemployed, and only 13 percent have found new jobs within the industry, according to an ongoing study. (FuelFix)
• A European subsidiary of ExxonMobil did business with Iran, Sudan and Syria while the countries were under U.S. economic sanctions, according to a new report. (The Hill)
PIPELINES:
• A Native American tribe votes against renewing an easement for a 64-year-old pipeline on their land in Wisconsin, citing environmental concerns. (Reuters)
• Native American activists are fighting a pipeline project in Texas by setting up camps in the desert, saying “we’re going to follow the same model as Standing Rock.” (The Guardian)
• Native American tribes and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ask a federal judge to reject requests from Dakota Access Pipeline developers to complete the project as originally planned. (Associated Press)
COAL:
• Coal production fell by nearly 40 percent in Colorado in 2016, according to an estimate by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. (The Daily Sentinel)
• The country’s first large scale “clean coal” facility begins operations in Texas and is being hailed as “the world’s largest post-combustion carbon capture system.” (Washington Post)
COMMENTARY: It’s unlikely that the Trump administration will be able to quickly approve the Keystone XL pipeline. (The Hill)