RENEWABLES:
• A new polls finds that over 80 percent of Americans support renewables, and nearly 90 percent agree that more solar farms are a good idea, but people are still divided on the issue of climate change. (Grist, New York Times)
• The North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association says 15,000 new jobs could be created by the state’s renewable energy industry over the next decade. (Triangle Business Journal)
SOLAR:
• Hawaii’s largest utility is seeking approval for a 20-megawatt solar farm that could be the lowest-cost renewable energy project in the state, costing 9.54 cents per kilowatt-hour. (Pacific Business News)
• Utility-scale solar growth is at an all-time high thanks to an extension of the federal Investment Tax Credit, with 20 states having at least 200 megawatts of solar projects under development. (Greentech Media)
WIND: Activists and environmental officials are concerned about the effect of wind power on migratory birds in the Great Lakes region. (WBFO)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Danish automotive designer Fisker is launching an electric car company and battery subsidiary in California, following a failed attempt to start an automotive venture in 2013. (Reuters)
• Exxon pioneered research on electric vehicle technology in the 1970s. (InsideClimate News)
BIOFUELS: The aviation industry will need billions of gallons of biofuel to meet emissions goals, but producers aren’t making it in large enough quantities. (Bloomberg)
CARBON CAPTURE: A billion-dollar carbon capture system under construction at a coal-fired power plant in Texas is slated to become the world’s largest post-combustion carbon capture system installed on an existing power plant. (ClimateWire)
UTILITIES: The biggest power producer in Texas emerges from bankruptcy after more than two years. (FuelFix)
NUCLEAR: Nuclear plants could become more profitable and avoid shutdowns if they used flexible operation instead of generating power at nearly 100 percent output continuously. (Utility Dive)
OIL & GAS:
• A Texas-based drilling company says it discovered 6 billion barrels of oil off the coast of Alaska, which could be one of the largest finds ever in the state. (Associated Press, Alaska Dispatch News)
• A Texas couple is filing a federal lawsuit against Canada-based Talisman Energy, which allegedly underpaid them on royalties from oil wells on their land. (San Antonio Business Journal)
• Oil and natural gas producer SandRidge Energy emerges from bankruptcy with zero net debt, saving the company about $300 million in annual interest payments. (The Oklahoman)
• Justice Department attorneys ask a federal judge to reject a lawsuit that seeks to reinstate a 6,200-acre energy lease in Montana that would allow drilling on land that is sacred to some tribes. (Associated Press)
FRACKING: A fossil fuel industry group wants to criminally prosecute local officials for trying to pass bans on fracking in their municipalities. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
PIPELINES:
• Michigan officials approve the addition of four pipeline supports for a controversial pair of oil and natural gas pipelines that lie underwater between Lakes Huron and Michigan. (Detroit Free Press)
• A man protesting the four-state Dakota Access Pipeline receives felony charges for endangering law enforcement officers by charging at police on horseback. (Valley News Live)
• New regulations are giving the Department of Transportation more authority over gas and liquid pipeline operators if their pipelines “put people, property or the environment at risk.” (The Hill)
EMISSIONS: According to new EPA data, emissions from power plants and large industrial sources declined in 2015 by 6.2 percent and 4.9 percent, respectively. (Environmental Leader)
COMMENTARY: Nuclear power is the best option for replacing coal-fired power plants. (The Hill)