EFFICIENCY: Energy efficiency contractors across the country have been sidelined by coronavirus fears and shelter-in-place orders, but some are optimistic for a quick rebound when work can resume. (Energy News Network)
UTILITIES: Rural electric cooperatives continue to shut off services to people despite pressure to halt shut-offs during the pandemic. (HuffPost)
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CARBON CAPTURE: Hoping to bridge the partisan divide on climate, a Pennsylvania Democrat proposes including incentives for carbon capture in an update to the state’s renewable energy standard. (Energy News Network)
TRANSPORTATION: The Trump administration’s rollback of fuel economy standards will cost consumers more at the pump, reduce the value of U.S. vehicles globally and cause more air pollution, critics say. (Detroit News)
PIPELINES: The Keystone XL pipeline developer says construction on the project through the Midwest will start this month. (Associated Press)
CLIMATE:
• Attorneys for ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP and nearly two dozen other fossil fuel companies ask the U.S. Supreme Court to review an appeals court decision to keep a Baltimore climate liability lawsuit in state court. (Drilled)
• After denying shareholder resolutions seeking to pressure oil companies on climate change, federal financial regulators will allow a climate denier’s resolution for Exxon to do a “greenwashing audit.” (Drilled)
RENEWABLES:
• The renewable energy sector is part of a “lobbying frenzy” taking place over the next round of federal stimulus funding. (Bloomberg)
• Wind and solar farms are attracting investors who view them as a low-risk opportunity at a time of extreme volatility. (Wall Street Journal, subscription)
WIND:
• Offshore wind in the U.S. will exceed 1 GW of capacity by 2024 and add more than that amount annually by 2027, according to a research firm. (Utility Dive)
• The rift between offshore wind developers and critics from the fishing industry does not seem to be narrowing in comments to regulators. (Windpower Monthly)
SOLAR:
• Sunrun maintained its position as the largest U.S. residential solar installer in the last quarter, according to a new report. (Greentech Media)
• Residential solar company Sungevity laid off hundreds of employees last week as it grapples with the coronavirus outbreak’s fallout. (Greentech Media)
NUCLEAR: Federal regulators are easing some restrictions on the operation of nuclear power plants, including the length of shifts for workers. (Utility Dive)
OIL & GAS:
• Oil companies were beginning to address climate change, but the coronavirus crisis has put their tentative emission pledges in question. (E&E News)
• The oil price collapse could reduce methane emissions in the short term but also delay infrastructure investments that would curb flaring long term. (Grist)
• “The picture looks bleak.” The once mighty oil industry is hunkering down in survival mode amid plunging demand and prices. (New York Times)
COAL:
• Facing economic challenges from declining coal markets and the coronavirus, Murray Energy is “close to liquidation.” (Crain’s Cleveland Business)
• The coronavirus is accelerating the demise of coal in the United States, with Moody’s Investor Services warning about a wave of bankruptcies. (Quartz)
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BIOFUELS: The Food and Drug Administration loosens regulations on the types of alcohol that can be used to make sanitizer, expanding the market to potentially millions of gallons made by ethanol producers. (Associated Press)
POLITICS: Two young Iowa lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle find common ground in policy solutions for the climate crisis. (Grist)