SOLAR: Oregon lawmakers fail to extend a rooftop solar tax credit that’s set to expire at the end of the year. (Portland Business Journal)
ALSO:
• Solar installers are spending more than ever on acquiring new residential customers, with costs totaling about $3,668 per customer. (Greentech Media)
• A Minneapolis community solar developer is focusing its efforts on low-income residents, using faith-based groups and other entities as “backup subscribers.” (Midwest Energy News)
• A new study commissioned by a clean energy group in Michigan says utility customers with solar panels provide a net benefit to the grid. (Michigan Radio)
GRID:
• Many utilities are skeptical that energy storage can help solve the “duck curve” problem. (Utility Dive)
• Hawaiian Electric submits a new grid modernization plan that calls for spending about $205 million over six years. (Greentech Media)
WIND:
• The developer of a second wind project says it may pull out of North Carolina if an 18-month moratorium on wind farm permits becomes state law. (News & Observer)
• Appalachian Power wants to buy wind farms in West Virginia and Ohio that will be operational in 2019. (Roanoke Times)
• A major Michigan utility breaks ground on a 44-megawatt wind project, its third in the state. (MLive)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• More than a dozen states now impose fees on electric vehicle drivers, with West Virginia, Michigan, Minnesota and California all introducing fees this year. (Greentech Media)
• Mississippi is asking GreenTech Automotive to repay more than $6 million in state and local aid the company failed to fulfill promises to create jobs. (Associated Press)
BIOFUEL: The EPA proposes cutting 2018 requirements for the volume of biofuel used in gasoline and diesel fuel. (The Hill)
CLIMATE:
• A February 2018 trial date has been set for a climate-change lawsuit being brought against the federal government by 21 young people. (Washington Post)
• California’s governor is scheduled to announce a global climate summit in San Francisco, saying “it’s time to act.” (New York Times)
OIL & GAS: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says the government should use revenues from offshore drilling to help maintain the country’s national parks. (The Hill)
PIPELINES: A controversial private security firm is no longer working for the Dakota Access pipeline developer in North Dakota. (Forum News Service)
COAL: New “clean coal” plants that use carbon capture technology are less likely after the failure of Mississippi’s Kemper project. (Utility Dive)
NUCLEAR: Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials say they will not fine a Canadian company that spilled radioactive sludge in Utah. (Associated Press)
REGULATION: California and New Mexico are suing the Trump administration for postponing the Bureau of Land Management’s methane waste prevention rule, saying it will hurt taxpayers and endanger public health. (ThinkProgress)
COMMENTARY:
• An official with electric vehicle charging company ChargePoint outlines best practices that utilities should use to help foster EV adoption among customers. (Utility Dive)
• The grid is more capable than ever to handle wind and solar power, despite what Energy Secretary Rick Perry believes, says an author and Los Angeles Times op-ed contributor. (Yale Environment 360)
• Another report affirms that market forces, not environmental policy, are driving coal’s decline. (Vox)