CLIMATE: A White House meeting over whether the U.S. should withdraw from the Paris climate agreement is postponed for the second time. (Associated Press)
ALSO:
• Retired senior military officers send a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis asking them to continue their support for the Paris climate accord, saying “climate change poses strategically significant risks to U.S. national security.” (Bloomberg)
• The U.S. sent only seven participants to a United Nations meeting on the Paris climate agreement this week, as world leaders urge the Trump administration to remain in the agreement. (Washington Post, Reuters)
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EPA: The weakening of scientific review boards at the EPA is emblematic of the agency slowly abandoning everything it was set up to protect. (Quartz)
OIL & GAS:
• Colorado Republicans successfully block what would have been the country’s first searchable statewide map of gas lines, while one city moves to publish state-mandated inspection results for its oil and gas wells online. (Associated Press, Denver Post)
• Legislation introduced in New York would prohibit the state’s pension fund from investing in the 200 largest coal, oil and natural gas companies. (Associated Press)
PIPELINES:
• Climate protesters who demanded that Chase bank stop lending to pipeline developers forced several branches to temporarily close in Seattle. (Seattle Times)
• Ohio’s EPA director criticizes Energy Transfer Partners — the same company behind the controversial Dakota Access pipeline — for its “exceptionally disappointing” response to spilling drilling materials in the state 18 times. (Washington Post)
COAL: Analysts say the Trump administration’s recent court wins on pollution rules will do little to help the coal industry. (Utility Dive)
REGULATION:
• Key Republican senators remain publicly undecided over whether to overturn an Obama-era regulation limiting harmful methane emissions from oil and gas wells on public land. (Associated Press)
• President Trump will nominate two Republicans for seats on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. (The Hill)
SOLAR:
• How solar companies are adapting their business models to be key suppliers to the utility industry. (Motley Fool)
• Suniva’s recent petition asking the government to enact solar tariffs puts the entire industry’s momentum in the hands of President Trump. (E&E News)
WIND: A Florida entrepreneur has started a company that creates a community financing option for wind projects. (Southeast Energy News)
NUCLEAR: Researchers at Florida State University say they have discovered new ways to clean up nuclear waste. (UPI)
COMMENTARY:
• A “21st century” nuclear plant completed in Tennessee last October has already been shut down for months of repairs, serving as an example for what’s wrong with the U.S. nuclear industry, says a columnist for the Los Angeles Times.
• The Trump administration may try to use a biased Department of Energy study to attack clean energy policies. (Advanced Energy Economy)
• Electric vehicle adoption won’t reach its full potential without the right infrastructure, say representatives from the consulting company Black & Veatch. (Greentech Media)