RENEWABLES: A growing number of utilities across the country are offering green energy tariffs in response to corporate demand for renewable energy. (Greentech Media)
WIND: Texas House lawmakers vote to restrict property tax exemptions for wind farms near military bases, saying turbines could pose a threat to military exercises. (American-Statesmen)
SOLAR:
• In an effort to crack down on “rebate and run” companies, a San Antonio-based utility will no longer offer its popular rooftop solar rebate program to installers with a home office or co-working space. (San Antonio Business Journal)
• The CEO of Arizona-based First Solar talks about running a profitable solar business, while many competitors are struggling. (Greentech Media)
• The senior vice president at Greentech Media predicts how the U.S. solar market can reach thousands of installed gigawatts.
STORAGE: Energy storage will be a key focus at this year’s Midwest Solar Expo in Minnesota as the technology grows and integrates well with solar. (Midwest Energy News)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Pennsylvania utility regulators launch a review of policies governing third-party electric vehicle charging stations, saying existing rules may be discouraging investors from building for-profit charging stations. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
UTILITIES: The vice chairman of the Montana Public Service Commission explains how the electricity market is warped by government intervention. (Greentech Media)
GRID: Indiana farmers say a 100-mile power line has interfered with their farms after easements were secured through eminent domain. (Associated Press)
OIL & GAS:
• The CEO of Royal Dutch Shell shares why the company is transitioning from oil to natural gas, his views of the Trump administration and the future of the fossil fuel industry. (Washington Post)
• Six attorneys general are insisting that federal regulators stop allowing trains to transport oil with a high degree of flammability, calling them “ticking time bombs” that jeopardize safety. (The Hill)
• Michigan-based Consumers Energy announces it will spend $440 million this year on natural gas infrastructure upgrades. (Associated Press)
• The Trump administration’s new budget plan calls for selling half of the country’s emergency oil stockpile and opening the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. (Reuters)
PIPELINES:
• Reports show that the Dakota Access Pipeline spilled over 100 gallons of oil in North Dakota in March, in addition to a previously reported 84-gallon leak in South Dakota last month. (Associated Press)
• The majority of voters in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia support the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would carry natural gas 600 miles through their states, according to a new poll. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• Landowners and environmentalists in Virginia are starting a divestment campaign to fight the proposed Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline. (ThinkProgress)
COAL:
• The Trump administration is negotiating to settle legal challenges over a rule that would toughen federal coal mine safety enforcement. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Former coal miners in West Virginia fight an uphill battle against mountaintop removal. (E&E News)
NUCLEAR:
• President Trump plans to nominate three Republican commissioners to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. (The Hill)
• Prolonged low natural gas prices combined with carbon legislation is something Georgia Power didn’t envision when planning its Vogtle plant expansion. (E&E News)
CLIMATE: Royal Dutch Shell issues a statement asking the Trump administration not to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, saying it “would be unhelpful on a number of fronts.” (Huffington Post)
COMMENTARY:
• Trump’s EPA transition leader believes the administration isn’t moving fast enough to roll back environmental regulations, says the founding editor of Climate Progress. (ThinkProgress)
• President Trump’s Koch-funded appointees could threaten states’ progress on renewable energy, says a senior writer at the Union of Concerned Scientists. (Huffington Post)