CLEAN ENERGY: A new report finds more than 620,000 clean energy jobs have been lost during the coronavirus pandemic, most of which came from the energy efficiency sector. (Reuters, ACORE)
UTILITIES: California utility PG&E is reportedly set to plead guilty to 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with 2018’s deadly Camp Fire during a court hearing today. (Associated Press)
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SOLAR:
• Utility opposition to community solar has been successful in part because many policymakers are unfamiliar with the concept, a recent Ohio study suggests. (Energy News Network)
• Groups and individuals file hundreds of comments with federal regulators opposing a proposal that would upend net metering and remove state-level control. (E&E News, subscription)
WIND: Purdue University researchers and clean energy startups are developing cheaper and more environmentally friendly anchors for floating offshore wind turbines. (Energy News Network)
OIL & GAS:
• An analysis finds nearly 3 million abandoned oil and gas wells around the U.S. emitted 281 kilotons of methane in 2018. (Reuters)
• Pennsylvania’s attorney general will pursue charges, including nine felonies, against an oil and gas operator for pollution incidents made notorious by the 2010 film Gasland. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)
• Florida lawmakers question the Interior Department after they reportedly said they’d start pursuing oil and gas drilling off the coast of Florida following the November election. (The Hill)
• Chesapeake Energy is expected to file for bankruptcy as early as this week. (Reuters)
PIPELINES:
• The Supreme Court reverses a lower court’s decision and upholds a U.S. Forest Service permit allowing the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to cross the Appalachian Trail. (Grist)
• The Trump administration asks the Supreme Court to block a judge’s order temporarily halting the use of the Army Corps of Engineers’ water crossing permitting program for new oil and gas pipelines. (E&E News, subscription)
• A pipeline leak causes more than 34,000 gallons of brine to spill in western North Dakota. (Associated Press)
COAL: The impending closure of a Portland General Electric-owned coal-fired plant will mark the end of coal power in Oregon. (Bend Bulletin)
EQUITY:
• New Jersey increases efforts to bring energy to disadvantaged communities including a proposal to create an Office of Clean Energy Equity. (NJ Spotlight)
• Organizers announce that the National Black Environmental Justice Network is relaunching. (The Hill)
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POLITICS: Democratic National Committee leadership are reportedly upset that the party’s climate council released policy recommendations that go farther than what has been proposed by Joe Biden. (Reuters)
COMMENTARY: The Revelator recommends 16 books on environmental justice and racism.