POLICY: Ohio Republicans introduce a bill to make the state’s renewable energy standards voluntary instead of mandatory. (Columbus Business First)
ALSO:
• Upheaval in the nuclear, coal and natural gas industries is prompting lawmakers to take action, with three new states considering nuclear supports. (Utility Dive)
• The chief of North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality talks about his vision for the agency. (Southeast Energy News)
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SOLAR: Tesla completes a 13-megawatt solar storage project in Hawaii that includes 52 megawatt-hours of batteries, allowing it to dispatch power after the sun goes down. (Bloomberg)
REGULATION:
• The Senate votes to overturn an Interior Department regulation that made federal land use planning more transparent to the public — a move critics say will give too much power to the oil and gas industry. (Washington Post)
• A U.S. senator from Washington is accusing the Trump administration of unlawfully suspending an Obama-era rule that regulated the value of fossil fuels on federal lands, saying the Interior Department lacked the authority to make the decision. (Seattle Times)
RENEWABLE ENERGY: A renewable energy tax credit has helped support over 11,000 jobs and established “a robust renewable energy generation sector” in New Mexico, according to a new report. (Albuquerque Business First)
STORAGE: An advanced battery startup funded by Bill Gates files for bankruptcy after spending $190 million in venture capital. (Greentech Media)
TECHNOLOGY: New technology is being used to convert waste heat from natural gas flares into electricity, dramatically reducing emissions. (San Antonio Business Journal)
OIL & GAS: A New Jersey company wants to build a new natural gas power plant on the site of a shuttered coal-fired plant in Pennsylvania. (Observer-Reporter)
POLLUTION:
• A New Mexico oil and gas regulator says a cloud of methane hanging over the Southwestern U.S. is natural and “has existed for at least the last 10 million years,” contradicting NASA researchers who traced the hot spot to gas wells, storage tanks, pipelines and processing plants. (Associated Press)
• Federal regulators say an oil and gas operator must permanently repair an underwater pipeline that has been leaking gas for months by May 1. (InsideClimate News)
DIVESTMENT: While it may be largely symbolic, a non-binding resolution from the Chicago City Council to divest the city’s pension funds and stocks and bonds from fossil fuels would send a powerful message, advocates say. (Midwest Energy News)
COMMENTARY:
• Companies should invest in programs to help displaced coal workers learn new skills, says an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota. (GreenBiz)
• Coal jobs are continuing to decline due to cheap natural gas and the rise of renewable energy – not regulations. (Yale Climate Connections)