CLIMATE:
• The Trump administration disbands a 15-person advisory panel that helped public- and private-sector officials incorporate the government’s climate research into long-term planning. (Washington Post)
• More Republican lawmakers are coming out in support of climate change policies. (Politico)
POLICY: Conservative groups are concerned President Trump will “expand the subsidy pool even further” for the coal and nuclear industries. (E&E News)
POLITICS:
• Democratic Senator Joe Manchin says he has no plans to become Energy Secretary, despite rumors to the contrary. (Bloomberg)
• Billionaire investor Carl Icahn steps down as an adviser to President Trump after facing criticism from lawmakers and biofuels advocates over his policy recommendations. (Reuters)
SOLAR:
• Mississippi Power Co. intends to buy all power from a $100 million solar farm that will be built in eastern Mississippi. (Associated Press)
• A new poll commissioned by solar industry groups says South Carolina voters would like the state to rely more on solar energy than sources like coal and nuclear power. (Solar Industry Magazine)
WIND: Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy announces it will lay off 140 employees at a turbine manufacturing plant in Kansas next month. (Hutchinson News)
STORAGE: Today’s solar eclipse will give utility-scale storage the opportunity to shine as it quickly ramps up to meet the needs of the electric grid. (Greentech Media)
BATTERIES: U.S. researchers discover a potential source for lithium – a chemical element used to make batteries – within America’s volcanoes. (Newsweek)
RENEWABLES:
• A weekly podcast explores Google’s progress as a research and development leader in renewable energy. (Greentech Media)
• The mayor of Traverse City, Michigan discusses his 20-plus years of advocacy for renewable energy. (Midwest Energy News)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Volkswagen says it will produce an electric version of its classic Microbus camper van for customers in North America, Europe and China. (Reuters)
OIL & GAS:
• Noise is responsible for the majority of complaints against oil and gas developers in Colorado, with 704 complaints already filed this year. (Associated Press)
• The public comment period has ended for opening offshore oil and gas exploration along the country’s Atlantic Coast and the collective opposition may pose problems for the Trump administration. (Oilprice.com)
FRACKING: Unemployed coal miners struggle to transition to the fracking industry, which prefers to employ experienced workers from out of state. (Bloomberg)
PIPELINES:
• Two cities in Colorado may start requiring oil and gas operators to map their pipelines. (Daily Camera)
• In a win for anti-fracking activists, a federal appeals court dismisses a lawsuit that sought to overturn a decision by New York regulators to block a proposed 121-mile pipeline carrying natural gas from northeastern Pennsylvania. (Common Dreams, Albany Business Review)
• West Virginia inspectors found more water pollution violations on portions of the Rover Pipeline, weeks after construction had been ordered to stop for violations elsewhere. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Federal lawyers urge a federal judge not to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline while the Army Corps of Engineers conducts a new environmental review mandated by the court. (The Hill)
COAL: Although President Trump says his repeal of some environmental regulations are responsible for the recent uptick the coal industry, analysts say it has more to do with the international market. (Roanoke Times)
COMMENTARY:
• A petition for tariffs on imported solar cells is already impacting the solar supply chain and deterring utility-scale customers, says the CEO of Spice Solar. (Greentech Media)
• The world will probably need to start burying gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions in order to meet climate goals, but the U.S. isn’t stepping up to invest in the technology, says a writer at Vox.
• An attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center says today’s eclipse is a reminder of the growing promise of solar energy. (Southeast Energy News)