EQUITY: Advocates say the Trump administration’s weakening of environmental reviews is upending policies that were intended to protect people of color from pollution impacts. (Washington Post)
ALSO:
• The clean energy industry is providing economic opportunities but the benefits aren’t distributed fairly across race and income levels. (InsideClimate News)
• Chicago’s new chief sustainability officer says she will focus on air pollution and how climate change affects low-income African American and Latino communities. (Chicago Sun-Times)
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CLIMATE:
• A new report says renewable sources have doubled their share of the world’s energy mix in the past decade, but investment needs to increase to meet Paris Agreement targets. (Bloomberg, Axios)
• Global carbon emissions are rebounding quickly after a brief decline during coronavirus shutdowns. (The Guardian)
TRANSMISSION: The 224-mile Great Northern Transmission Line begins operation, bringing hydropower from Manitoba to Minnesota and boosting a utility’s renewable energy portfolio to 50%. (Star Tribune)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Tesla says there have been no workplace transmissions of the coronavirus at the company’s California facility. (San Francisco Chronicle)
SOLAR:
• A coalition of Massachusetts advocates say the state’s new solar incentive program is failing to meet climate and equity goals. (Solar Power World)
• A Navajo Nation citizen partners with companies to assemble and deliver off-grid solar kits to the reservation to help youth with limited electricity access remote learning. (The Journal)
WIND: Invenergy cancels plans for a 250 MW wind project in southwestern Missouri after concerns were raised about its potential impact on birds and its proximity to a regional airport. (Cassville Democrat)
PIPELINES:
• A FERC ruling this week will require pipeline developers to delay construction until requests for appeal are processed. (Utility Dive)
• A new report says the oil downturn is starting to affect the pipeline industry. (Houston Chronicle)
OIL & GAS:
• Environmental groups plan to sue the EPA for failing to update flaring requirements. (The Hill)
• Louisiana’s governor is expected to sign a bill that would increase penalties for protests on oil and gas sites, worrying Black residents who are fighting to stop construction of petrochemical plants. (Desmog)
• A Colorado drilling company is paying $6.7 million in bonuses to its top executives ahead of defaulting on its bond payments. (Bloomberg)
NUCLEAR:
• As utilities experiment with hydrogen production at nuclear plants, they still face numerous obstacles in the marketplace, experts say. (Power Magazine)
• A development agency proposes allowing U.S. companies to invest in nuclear technologies abroad. (Reuters)
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GRID: Texas could be a model for grid flexibility and energy deregulation for the U.K. and other countries, experts say, as they expand renewables and decarbonize their energy systems. (Greentech Media)
COMMENTARY: “Oil company execs appear to be dealing with cognitive dissonance” as they declare solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement while pollution from their industries disproportionately harms communities of color. (Grist)