CLIMATE: The U.S. is falling short on its climate goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 25 percent by 2025, partly due to methane, new research shows. (Climate Central/Washington Post)
POLICY:
• Ohio Gov. John Kasich promises to veto any bill that threatens the state’s renewable energy standards, which are frozen until the end of the year. (Columbus Business First)
• A Florida congressman introduces a measure to prevent the federal government from requiring companies to put a price tag on the impacts of climate change. (New York Times)
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REGULATION: The head of the EPA’s air-quality and transportation office is known to make life painful for the auto industry, costing Chrysler $5 billion in fuel standard compliance costs. (Bloomberg)
CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Texas’ Attorney General criticizes the Clean Power Plan one day before judges are slated to hear arguments on its legality, calling it an “unprecedented expansion of federal authority.” (Texas Tribune)
• By increasing energy efficiency and trading carbon credits with other states, Michigan could affordably comply with the Clean Power Plan, according to new reports. (Midwest Energy News)
POLITICS: A windfall of cash from fossil fuel supporters helps a Republican Senate incumbent from Ohio gain a lead in the polls by paying for ads that depict his democratic opponent as anti-coal and blaming him for the loss of 350,000 jobs in the state. (InsideClimate News)
WIND: A Wyoming committee votes against raising the state’s wind tax from $1 per megawatt-hour to $3, which would have raised almost $40 million in revenue to help close a budget gap. (Los Angeles Times)
SOLAR:
• Two companies are suing SolarCity for stealing solar rooftop shingle technology. (Reuters)
• Two hearings held by a legislative climate change committee in Nebraska will focus on promoting the use of solar energy and financing energy improvements in the state. (Nebraska Radio Network)
• 22 communities around the country are recognized for reducing the “soft costs” of solar installation, such as costs associated building permits and tax incentives, which are estimated to comprise about two-thirds of the price of a solar installation. (Midwest Energy News)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Drivers are confused by all of the variables associated with charging electric cars. (Los Angeles Times)
BIOFUELS: New York City is expected to pass legislation this week that will boost the level of biofuel in home heating oil from 2 percent to 20 percent by 2030, drawing criticism from some environmentalists. (New York Post)
PIPELINES:
• North Dakota’s chief archaeologist says an inspection of a 1.3-mile section along the Dakota Access Pipeline revealed no sign of Native American artifacts or human remains, which tribes have said make the land sacred. (Associated Press)
• A North Dakota sheriff says protesters injured a security guard working for the company behind the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline on Sunday. (Associated Press)
OIL & GAS: U.S. shale producers have weathered the downturn in oil prices with minimal setbacks and are expected to start pumping an additional 600,000 to 700,000 barrels of oil a day by late 2017. (Wall Street Journal)
COAL:
• Charlotte-based Duke Energy agrees to pay $6 million for water quality violations and damages caused by a 2014 coal ash spill. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• A coal mine in Texas is closing after 31 years and eliminating 250 jobs because its power plant buyer is switching from lignite coal to cleaner-burning coal from out of state. (FuelFix)
COMMENTARY:
• The 4,000 people from 280 tribes that are protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline is the largest Native American gathering of its kind in 140 years, and President Obama should listen to their demands. (Grist)
• U.S. gasoline consumption has reached a new peak, which has important consequences for petroleum markets, the environment and the country’s economy. (The Conversation)