TRANSPORTATION: In a blow to climate action and public health, the Trump administration is expected to finalize as soon as today a rule that will weaken Obama-era gas mileage standards for cars and pickup trucks. (Washington Post)
ALSO: Electric vehicle advocates fear the rollback could hinder progress on electric vehicle deployment in the country. (Utility Dive)
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GRID:
• “This is pretty unprecedented”: New York’s decision to require grid operators to live full-time at control facilities is a test case for the rest of the country. (E&E News)
• Virginia regulators again reject parts of Dominion Energy’s grid modernization plan, saying the utility didn’t justify customer benefit. (Greentech Media)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• A Chicago resident receives a fellowship to develop a curriculum and train auto dealers to better sell electric vehicles. (Energy News Network)
• Virginia regulators plan to study the impacts of electric vehicle charging infrastructure on the state’s grid. (Utility Dive)
SOLAR:
• A California startup has developed transparent solar cells to create a “solar glass” that can turn sunlight into energy. (CNN)
• Minnesota installers say the available space for residential rooftop solar will shrink by at least 20% due to new building safety codes. (Energy News Network)
• A solar company is hiring in Indiana, citing demand for residential installations and “energy independence” during the pandemic. (RTV6)
WIND: Experts say equipping California’s wind farms to provide grid services and paying operators for doing so could help resurrect the state’s dormant wind market. (Greentech Media)
CLIMATE: Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature passes the state’s first-ever bill including the words “climate change.” (E&E News, subscription)
PIPELINES:
• The Keystone XL pipeline developer is moving forward with construction as lawsuits loom, a strategy also taken to get the Dakota Access pipeline operating. (E&E News, subscription)
• Virginia and West Virginia residents raise concerns about Mountain Valley Pipeline construction resuming this spring, saying crews from other states should not be coming during the coronavirus pandemic. (WDBJ)
OIL & GAS:
• The U.S. Supreme Court rules Citgo is financially responsible for cleanup costs for a 2004 oil spill in the Delaware River. (The Hill)
• Financially overextended natural gas companies are likely to compound the economic challenges for rural Pennsylvania as prices fall. (New York Times)
COAL:
• New York’s last coal-fired power plant will shut down permanently today; a developer is seeking state funds to convert the site into a data center. (Buffalo News)
• Consol Energy closes a Pennsylvania coal mine, idling 500 employees, after two workers test positive for COVID-19. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
EMISSIONS: City officials in Ann Arbor, Michigan, unveil a $1 billion plan to make the city carbon neutral by 2030. (MLive)
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TECHNOLOGY: A Colorado company that uses excess natural gas to power cryptocurrency servers hopes to have 35 operations deployed throughout the Rocky Mountain region as soon as June. (Casper Star-Tribune)
COMMENTARY: Coal mining is an essential job in the long-term, but mines could be hotbeds for the spread of the coronavirus, a union leader writes. (Times West Virginian)