OIL & GAS: A history of safety and emission violations, fires, and fines at a Texas petrochemical complex is a cautionary tale for officials seeking to make the Ohio River Valley the next hub for ethane production. (InsideClimate News)
ALSO: A lawsuit brought by former Murray Energy CEO Robert Murray halts a public meeting scheduled on proposed saltwater injection wells in eastern Ohio. (WTOV)
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PIPELINES: Several members on a Michigan environmental justice task force ask Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to use executive action to extend permitting deadlines for a Great Lakes oil pipeline tunnel. (Interlochen Public Radio)
GRID: Electricity demand has dropped across the North American power grid due to COVID-19 stay-home orders, and analysts say markets could be disrupted for at least 18 months. (Utility Dive)
POLLUTION: Southern Indiana public health advocates raise concerns about the area’s high concentration of coal plants and how pollution from them could worsen the impact of the coronavirus. (WFIE)
SOLAR:
• A decision by the Kansas Supreme Court last week that rooftop solar fees are discriminatory took some clean energy advocates by surprise. (InsideClimate News)
• Invenergy proposes a 200 MW solar project on 1,400 acres in northwestern Indiana. (Times of Northwest Indiana)
• Installations at Indiana utility NIPSCO’s offices are the company’s first zero-waste solar projects. (Michigan City News-Dispatch)
GEOTHERMAL: Companies that supply drilling equipment and services are lowering rates and looking for new business, which could help geothermal developers lower upfront costs. (Grist)
POWER PLANTS: Utilities seeking to build a 625 MW natural gas plant in Superior, Wisconsin, say switching to an air cooling system would save 3 million gallons of water daily. (Wisconsin Public Radio)
STORAGE: The U.S. Department of Energy explores energy storage at fossil fuel plants to improve the facilities’ performance and flexibility. (Utility Dive)
COAL: Murray Energy shouldn’t send its bankruptcy reorganization plan to a creditor vote without making changes that shield others tied to the company from litigation, the U.S. Justice Department says. (Bloomberg Law)
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BIOFUELS: A South Dakota ethanol facility produces and helps distribute ethanol-based hand sanitizer in the surrounding area. (Watertown Public Opinion)
COMMENTARY:
• A Minnesota clean energy advocate says volatility from the pandemic should become an “inflection point for our expectations for the energy system” and ensure more equitable access in the future. (MinnPost)
• The president of the Ohio Coal Association says the industry needs “thoughtful support from government to help it weather this storm.” (Marietta Times)