WIND:
• Oklahoma lawmakers give final approval to end income tax credits for wind energy production more than three years ahead of schedule. (The Oklahoman)
• Lawmakers in North Carolina introduce a third bill designed to address concerns over wind farms’ potential impact to military facilities, after a previous bill failed. (Triangle Business Journal)
RENEWABLE ENERGY:
• Portland, Oregon, commits to 100 percent renewable electricity by 2035 and all-renewable transportation by 2050. (Portland Business Journal)
• Energy efficiency and low-cost renewables are cutting down on fossil fuel demand. (Greentech Media)
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SOLAR:
• How a small tribe in Nevada worked to shut down a giant coal generating station and built the first-ever solar project on tribal land. (Colorlines)
• Tesla unveils its new 325-watt solar panels manufactured by Panasonic. (Electrek)
EFFICIENCY: A Chicago realty group adds “smart” energy efficiency retrofits to an iconic building in the city’s skyline that avoided a costly replacement of existing mechanical systems. (Midwest Energy News)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Tesla surpasses General Motors to become the most valuable U.S. car maker, reaching a market value of $50 billion. (Washington Post, Reuters)
CARBON CAPTURE: Ethanol giant Archer Daniels Midland launches a carbon capture project at a corn processing facility in Illinois that will store over 5 million tons of CO2 in sandstone layers underground. (Washington Post)
PIPELINES:
• Two environmental groups file an appeal to stop a controversial natural gas pipeline from being built through New Jersey’s federally protected Pinelands reserve. (Associated Press)
• A Texas company announces plans to build a 571-mile natural gas pipeline from the Permian Basin to a terminal just east of Houston. (Houston Business Journal)
• Divers are working to repair a 2-inch hole in a natural gas pipeline at the bottom of Alaska’s Cook Inlet. (Associated Press)
FRACKING: A group of Montana landowners and two environmental groups are suing Montana’s Board of Oil and Gas Conservation, saying its rules violate the state’s constitution by allowing fracking companies to conceal what chemicals they use. (Billings Gazette)
COAL:
• Canada says President Trump’s “Buy American” plan for oil and gas pipelines could hurt coal country because the country’s steelmakers rely on the U.S. for raw materials. (E&E News)
• A flood of natural gas generation and California solar have prompted a wave of coal plant closures in the Southwest. (E&E News)
NUCLEAR: An underground nuclear waste repository in New Mexico receives its first shipment since radiation contaminated part of the facility in 2014. (Associated Press)
UTILITIES: A South Carolina lawmaker is asking Duke Energy and Clemson University to move a proposed natural gas power plant away from a residential neighborhood. (Charlotte Business Journal)
POLICY:
• A five-point “priority work” list for the Bureau of Land Management includes a focus on permitting for oil, gas and coal projects, according to a leaked draft. (E&E News)
• Energy researchers face uncertainty over President Trump’s plan to cut millions from the Department of Energy. (E&E News)
CLIMATE: Energy ministers from G-7 countries fail to produce a joint declaration during a weekend energy summit after the U.S. refused to endorse language supporting the Paris climate agreement. (Bloomberg)
COMMENTARY:
• If the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts are enacted, state and local governments will be stuck with the impossible task of filling in for the EPA, says the executive director of Columbia University’s Earth Institute. (Huffington Post)
• If President Trump really cares about coal miners, he should prepare them for other jobs that aren’t dangerous and harmful to their health, says an assistant professor of environmental studies at St. Lawrence University. (Post-Standard)