RENEWABLES: Wind and solar accounted for over 10 percent of U.S. electricity generation for the first time in March, according to a new report. (The Hill)
WIND: An industry group is spending millions of dollars on a campaign to educate lawmakers and the Trump administration about the economic benefits of wind. (The Hill)
SOLAR:
• A solar-industry advocacy group has doubts about a renewable energy bill that is being considered by North Carolina’s Senate. (Public News Service)
• To combat California’s “duck curve” problem, the state is looking at battery storage, shifting demand time and integrating its grid with other western states. (InsideClimate News)
• The largest non-utility solar array in Kentucky is completed and will produce enough electricity to power 463 homes. (Associated Press)
EFFICIENCY: A report published Wednesday ranks Alabama Power last among the nation’s largest utilities for efficiency. (ACEEE)
PIPELINES:
• A federal judge orders the Trump administration to conduct further environmental reviews of the Dakota Access pipeline, but stopped short of halting oil-pumping operations. (Washington Post)
• Transmission lines for the Keystone XL pipeline would threaten endangered whooping cranes in Nebraska, according to environmental experts. (Associated Press)
REGULATION:
• Environmental groups are criticizing an EPA decision to postpone a rule that regulates methane emissions from the oil and gas industry, saying the agency knows the delay could make children sick, but doesn’t care. (ThinkProgress)
• The Trump administration’s environmental rollbacks won’t withstand legal scrutiny, according to Obama’s EPA chief. (Bloomberg)
OIL & GAS:
• The U.S. tripled its crude oil exports during the first four months of 2017, compared to the same period last year. (The Hill)
• A natural gas trade group creates a fake grassroots group to drum up support for pipeline projects. (ThinkProgress)
• Programs in Oklahoma, Ohio and elsewhere are providing educational material to children with a pro-fossil fuel message. (The Guardian)
COAL: The Appalachian Regional Commission announces nearly $16 million in funding for 18 projects in coal-mining communities, which is expected to create or retain at least 1,700 jobs across seven states. (Associated Press)
POLITICS: EPA administrator Scott Pruitt appears to have used two government email addresses while serving as attorney general of Oklahoma, despite testifying before the Senate that he only used one. (Washington Post)
COMMENTARY:
• President Trump is too late to stop the U.S. wind industry, says a columnist for Bloomberg.
• If the U.S. continues to support coal as the fuel of the future, it will find itself “shackled to a corpse,” says a columnist for Bloomberg.