RENEWABLES: Arizona’s top regulator says the state should double its requirements for wind and solar energy. (Arizona Republic)
WIND:
• The country’s first offshore wind farm could mark the start of a new American industry. (New York Times)
• A controversial new Obama administration rule aims to cut through red tape by encouraging developers to bid on government-selected tracts of land that are pre-cleared of major environmental conflicts. (Bloomberg)
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SOLAR:
• A Kansas commission has yet to indicate how it will proceed with a value-of-solar study in the state. (Midwest Energy News)
• A Texas solar installer announces new incentives for low-income customers. (San Antonio Express-News)
OIL & GAS:
• Many independent oil refiners are suffering due to substantially increased costs related to renewable fuel credits. (New York Times)
• A string of earthquakes in north Texas are linked to oil and gas drilling operations, according to an EPA report. (The Hill)
• A city in Maine drafts a policy to ban bulk fossil fuel terminals that hold more than 5 million gallons of materials. (Portland Business Journal)
COAL:
• A court is hearing an EPA lawsuit from 2011 that alleges a Missouri utility upgraded a coal-fired power plant without getting the required permits and without installing new pollution control equipment. (St. Louis Business Journal)
• Duke Energy says a $6.6 million fine imposed by North Carolina’s environmental agency for a spill of liquefied coal ash is “disproportionate and arbitrary.” (Associated Press)
• West Virginia environmental regulators have ordered a company to stop mining permanently at a surface coal mine near a state forest. (Associated Press)
• Duke Energy says rail transportation costs will factor into its plans to modify two North Carolina coal-burning units to also burn natural gas and will impact calculations on whether to modify other plants. (Charlotte Business Journal)
POLITICS:
• West Virginia’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate, who owns multiple coal mines in the state, says he cannot support Hillary Clinton’s bid for president due to her “completely wrong” position on coal. (The Hill)
• Enterprise Rent-A-Car joins a conservative lobbying organization that fights sustainable energy programs and environmental rules. (Guardian)
POLICY: City-led clean energy efforts in Warsaw, Poland confront the national government’s commitment to coal, similar to local clean-energy efforts in Ohio that contrast with the state’s commitment to clean energy. (Midwest Energy News)
OVERSIGHT:
• State lawmakers are considering recommendations to reshape a powerful Texas agency that oversees oil and gas activities. (Texas Tribune)
• California legislators try to strike a balance with a bill that would boost legislative oversight of the state’s leading climate regulator, while also requiring the agency to focus more attention on cutting emissions from local refineries and manufacturers. (Los Angeles Times)
NUCLEAR: Building a 600-megawatt nuclear reactor in eastern Idaho would create or sustain nearly 13,000 local jobs, according to a new report. (Deseret News)
CLIMATE CHANGE: California’s climate change program receives criticism for not directing more money to poor communities. (Los Angeles Times)
ADVOCACY: Environmental activists are asking the Obama administration to cancel a fossil-fuel lease auction scheduled to take place in New Orleans, saying the auction “is rubbing salt in the wounds” of people affected by recent flooding that may be connected to climate change. (Louisiana Weekly)
POLLUTION: The federal government agrees to pay Maine about $413,000 to clean up decades-old hazardous pollution at oil storage facilities. (Associated Press)
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ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Electric and hybrid vehicle sales show strong progress toward mainstream adoption, according to new data. (Greentech Media)
COMMENTARY: By approving the Dakota Access Pipeline, the Army Corps is continuing a national legacy of unfair treatment towards Native Americans. (Grist)