REGULATION: Advocates say an Illinois coal plant that has operated for years without an emissions permit symbolizes a larger problem with the state’s permitting process. (Midwest Energy News)
WIND:
• Iowa may become the first state to generate a majority of its electricity from wind. (Renewable Energy World)
• As projects get larger, industry experts say the cost of electricity from wind should plunge 24-30 percent by 2030. (Washington Post)
• Public opposition has helped block three proposed wind projects in South Dakota in the past eight months. (Mitchell Daily Republic)
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SOLAR: An Iowa county installs two new solar arrays that will triple its amount of clean-energy production. (Iowa City Press-Citizen)
FRACKING: State and federal regulators move to shut down 32 disposal wells in northeastern Oklahoma because they are too close to a newly discovered fault line. (Associated Press)
RENEWABLES: Minnesota and Michigan are among states named by India in a complaint filed with the World Trade Organization alleging some states illegally prop up the renewable energy sector through subsidies and domestic content requirements. (Reuters)
CYBERSECURITY: AEP Ohio says it will host annual “verbal briefings” to address security concerns related to its plan to install nearly 900,000 smart meters. (Columbus Business First)
PIPELINES:
• Statewide and congressional political candidates weigh in on the federal government’s involvement with halting construction on the Dakota Access pipeline. (Forum News Service)
• The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe wants a federal judge to formalize a request from government agencies that the Dakota Access developer “voluntarily pause” work on a segment of the pipeline. (Associated Press)
COAL:
• U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz says the Obama administration is not waging a “war on coal” and wants to continue seeing it play a role in a low-carbon future. (Associated Press)
• The U.S. Senate appears poised to pass a water infrastructure funding bill that could “dismantle coal ash pollution protections.” (DeSmog)
• In bankruptcy proceedings, being unable to meet mine reclamation responsibilities could block permits for companies’ active mines. (SNL / Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis)
CLIMATE:
• A new study contradicts findings that methane emissions from the fossil fuel industry have been declining since the 1980s and particularly in the last decade. (Washington Post)
• Scientists increasingly want to see climate change treated as a waste disposal problem to garner attention for negative carbon emissions. (Climate Central)
• A relatively unnoticed proposed rule would require federal contractors to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and how they plan to cut them. (ClimateWire)
NUCLEAR: An Ohio nuclear plant will remain shut down for the next few days after rainwater entered the plant’s turbine building during a heavy storm. (Toledo Blade)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The forthcoming “hatchback for the masses” Chevrolet Bolt will have a range of 238 miles, higher than the baseline Tesla Model S. (Associated Press)
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UTILITIES: A major study led by MIT researchers on distributed generation, the “utility of the future” and regulatory solutions is nearing completion. (The Energy Times)
COMMENTARY: The Dakota Access pipeline has variables that differentiate it from the fight over Keystone XL. (Bloomberg)