POLLUTION: Two major public health organizations sue the Trump administration over its rollback of the Clean Power Plan. (The Hill)
ALSO:
• The closing of a Detroit waste incinerator is a victory for activists who say the facility’s air pollution unfairly burdened a majority Black neighborhood. (Energy News Network)
• Fresno uses data visualization to help target California cap and trade funds to counteract pollution in vulnerable communities. (Energy News Network)
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TRANSPORTATION:
• The governors of 23 states sign a pledge backing California in its fight against the Trump administration’s efforts to relax vehicle mileage standards. (Associated Press)
• The race is on to fuel the buses of the future, with natural gas, diesel-battery hybrids, biodiesel and electric vehicles seeking market share. (Bloomberg)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A first-term state senator from Michigan wants the state to be a leader on electric vehicle infrastructure to capitalize on economic and climate change benefits. (Energy News Network)
• Automakers plan a slate of new electric vehicle models that will be a departure from standard compact designs. (Detroit News)
• Toyota will start testing a new solar roof for its Prius electric hybrids that’s designed to be far more efficient than previous attempts. (The Verge)
SOLAR:
• Florida utilities are embracing solar, but their in-house approach means a closed market for many third-party developers. (Greentech Media)
• Canadian solar panel manufacturer Heliene shifts operations to northern Minnesota in reaction to U.S. tariffs. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
STORAGE: Natural gas peaker plants may be the first casualties of a new Minnesota law requiring utilities to include energy storage as part of their long-range plans. (Energy News Network)
COAL:
• The United Mine Workers of America invites all the Democratic presidential candidates to tour a coal mine and discuss coal workers’ futures. (NBC)
• Kentucky officials will investigate Blackjewel, a coal company that pulled back paychecks from employees’ bank accounts after it declared bankruptcy. (Lexington Herald-Leader)
• The EPA eliminates an Obama-era provision that would require utilities to set aside money for coal ash liabilities. (Utility Dive)
PIPELINES:
• A Massachusetts mayor sides with safety and environmental groups and opposes a natural gas pipeline expansion project. (Energy News Network)
• A Pennsylvania county judge drops trespass charges against seven protestors who were arrested during a pipeline protest two years ago. (WITF)
OIL & GAS:
• More than 50,000 people in six states live within a block of an active gas storage well, according to a Harvard University study. (Bloomberg)
• An oil services company says it does not plan to conduct aerial surveys of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge this summer. (New York Times)
• A Louisiana community already home to oil and gas terminals and pipelines is now fighting a plastics production plant. (Huffington Post)
UTILITIES: The California Senate approves a proposal to create a $21 billion fund to help California utilities pay for wildfire costs. (Los Angeles Times)
CLIMATE:
• Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez plan to introduce a resolution today declaring climate change a national emergency. (The Guardian)
• It’s New York vs. California in a race to see which state can succeed at reaching their ambitious climate goals. (New York Times)
• Great Lakes ports are keeping detailed inventories of greenhouse gas emissions to reduce the industry’s climate impact. (Wisconsin Public Radio)
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POLITICS:
• More than six months into the 116th Congress, the House and Senate energy committees have yet to pass any energy-specific bills. (E&E News)
• An oil refinery association launches advertising criticizing President Trump’s move to expand the use of ethanol in gasoline. (Associated Press)
COMMENTARY:
• The coal industry left Appalachia devastated. Now it’s doing the same to Wyoming, David Roberts writes. (Vox)
• What Texas lacks in solar incentives it makes up for with electricity demand, a competitive energy market, and wide swaths of land, a columnist writes. (Greentech Media)