TRANSPORTATION: President Trump’s rollback of tailpipe emission rules could eliminate jobs, discourage driving and inflict billions in economic damage according to the administration’s own math. (The Atlantic)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Auto analysts see challenges ahead for electric vehicle startups that are seeking capital and customer demand during the industry slowdown caused by the coronavirus. (Detroit News)
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SOLAR:
• As Illinois utilities reach higher levels of distributed solar, clean energy advocates raise concerns about the process of transitioning from net metering to a localized value-of-solar rate. (Energy News Network)
• The Kansas Supreme Court’s recent ruling that fees for customer-owned solar are discriminatory could have an impact in other states as advocates challenge utility assertions that these customers are “free riders.” (Utility Dive)
• Boaters in the Florida Keys stay isolated during the coronavirus pandemic with solar-powered boats that work off the grid. (Sun Punta Gorda)
OFFSHORE WIND: Federal regulators must decide whether transmission to serve offshore wind should be tied to generation or be an open access network. (S&P Global)
UTILITIES:
• The pandemic is forcing utilities to get creative to keep capital projects on track and maintain services as employees work from home. (Utility Dive)
• Utilities say they expect or are already seeing shortages of personal protective equipment for their employees, who are considered essential. (Morning Consult)
• North Carolina regulators won’t hold a public hearing on the website glitch that caused Duke Energy to mistakenly deny solar rebates to hundreds of customers in January. (Energy News Network)
EFFICIENCY: Columbus last month adopted Ohio’s first energy efficiency benchmarking ordinance, which experts say is likely to reduce energy usage as the city grows. (Energy News Network)
PIPELINES: A coalition of neighbors in West Virginia and Virginia protest the Mountain Valley Pipeline and hope to offer other communities a model for stopping environmental hazards. (Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting)
ELECTRIFICATION: Dozens of U.S. cities are contemplating gas bans or all-electric mandates due to climate concerns. (Yale Environment 360)
OIL & GAS:
• U.S. oil producers still predict waves of bankruptcies in the industry despite a global deal to cut production and increase prices. (E&E News)
• A port expansion in the petrochemical town of Freeport, Texas, is displacing an African American neighborhood, with only a few property owners still holding out until officials use eminent domain to take their land. (Texas Monthly)
• Offshore oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico release twice as much methane as previously thought, according to a new study. (news release)
COAL:
• A new study finds hospital visits declined after a coal-fired plant closed and others added scrubbers in the Louisville, Kentucky, area. (InsideClimate News)
• Murray Energy says it needs “substantial cash” to continue its restructuring, and its financing troubles during bankruptcy are a sign that banks are reluctant to make even the safest bets on coal. (E&E News, subscription)
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POLITICS: Conservative groups aligned with the oil industry are hoping to block any aid for the solar and wind industries during the coronavirus pandemic. (Vice)
CLIMATE: Ten years after surviving the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Atakapa-Ishak/Chawasha Tribe in Louisiana reflects on the trauma members have endured and the threat of rising sea levels. (OnEarth)