EMISSIONS: A new study finds that the Permian Basin’s oil fields are leaking enough methane to supply seven million households, more than two times higher than federal estimates. (InsideClimate News)
ALSO:
• Houston unveils a climate action plan that calls for adopting a new building code, promoting mass transit, and reducing solid waste. (Houston Chronicle)
• Microsoft’s climate “moonshot” pledge to be carbon negative by 2030 leans heavily on nascent technology that sucks carbon out of the air. (The Guardian)
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CLEAN ENERGY:
• Battery storage, smart grid and energy efficiency companies raised $252 million in venture capital funding in the first quarter of 2020, a 20% increase over the same time period last year. (Utility Dive)
• Advocates in Massachusetts say clean energy can be a way to revive the economy after the coronavirus pandemic passes. (Energy News Network)
• New Hampshire Democrats say they will push renewable energy development as an economic recovery solution post COVID-19. (NHPR)
STORAGE: NextEra Energy says it will spend $1 billion on battery storage projects in 2021, including a major storage center in Florida, and add solar through its utility, Florida Power & Light. (Greentech Media)
SOLAR: Philadelphia reopens its solar financing program for homes and businesses that it says is the biggest of its kind in the country. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
WIND: The world’s second-largest wind turbine manufacturer, Siemens Gamesa, pulls its 2020 financial guidance due to pandemic uncertainty. (Greentech Media)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Ohio startup Lordstown Motors still plans to debut its electric pickup truck this summer. (CNET)
GRID:
• The coronavirus pandemic is slowing grid edge investments such as distributed energy, sensors and smart meters, according to analysts. (Greentech Media)
• Illinois regulators join a lawsuit against a recent FERC decision they say will increase costs and discriminate against renewable energy. (Utility Dive)
OIL & GAS:
• U.S. shale producers, refiners and pipeline companies face likely restructuring in bankruptcies amid the worst crisis the industry has ever faced. (Reuters)
• Oil and gas industry groups and company officials say President Trump’s plan to fill the U.S. emergency crude oil reserves won’t be enough to help. (Reuters)
• Offshore oil drillers shut off wells in the Gulf of Mexico following a collapse in crude prices, and some executives worry it may take years for the industry to recover. (Wall Street Journal, subscription)
PIPELINES: Enbridge asks the Michigan Public Service Commission to declare that the company doesn’t need a state permit to build an underground tunnel for the Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac. (Bridge)
NUCLEAR: Officials say more than 100 employees at a Georgia nuclear plant have tested positive for COVID-19. (WRDW)
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FINANCE:
• New York pension officials join a push to remove Lee Raymond from JPMorgan Chase’s board because of his track record on climate change. (Bloomberg)
• Advocates for fossil fuel divestment at Yale run for seats on the university’s boards, following a similar effort at Harvard. (Quartz)
COMMENTARY:
• Using stimulus money to electrify postal service vehicles would be a win-win-win proposal for the entire country, David Roberts writes. (Vox)
• Pew Charitable Trusts’ vice president advocates for removing dams where science shows they do more harm than good. (The Hill)