COAL: The federal government gave over $ 31 million in small business relief loans to listed coal companies. (Bloomberg)
ALSO:
• Creditors complaint alleges two Murray Energy executives fraudulently used ailing coal company like their own personal “piggy bank”. (Global S&P)
• Murray Energy went bankrupt with about $ 300 million in cash and in two months burned around $ 180 million. (WVPB)
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EMISSIONS: Two states and New York City will argue in federal appeals court that the EPA fails to treat a pollutant that drifts onto them from upstream power plants and other sources. (Bloomberg)
CONGRESS: More than 40 legislators back to legislation to ban fossil fuel companies from receiving federal aid related to the coronavirus. (The hill)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• Dominion Energy’s opposition to 100% clean energy resolution for a village in Ohio emerges part of a larger trend gas utilities are becoming more active at the local government level. (Energy Information Network)
• A Minneapolis entrepreneur is to advance with plans for a renewable energy employment training center and hopes to start some courses this summer. (Finance and trade)
UTILITIES: By a wide margin, voters in Pueblo, Colorado reject a proposal to leave Black Hills Energy and form a municipal utility. (KRDO)
SOLAR:
• Updated guidance from California regulators recognizes that distributed power can help eliminate the need for some transmission projects. (Utility dive)
• Data shows that the pandemic has had less effect on year-over-year growth in residential solar power than expected. (PV Magazine)
• A startup from New England associates community solar projects with farmers who need income from their unused land. (The climb)
STORAGE: California regulators think battery storage will be integral the state’s goal of achieving zero carbon electricity by 2045. (Utility dive)
WIND: Wind turbine maker Siemens Gamesa warns investors of project delays and supply chain disruptions will continue to hurt profits this year. (Reuters)
TRANSPORT:
• Defenders worried about the pandemic irreparable financial damage to public transport systems and force more people to trust private cars. (E&E News, subscription)
• You’re here postpone the first delivery of its semi-trailer until 2021, citing battery supply constraints that could have slowed production. (Diving Transport)
• Idaho man plans to cross the country in a truck he built to ride entirely solar powered. (KIVI)
BUILDINGS:
• The coronavirus pandemic threatens the push for denser and more transit-oriented development as the world becomes uncomfortable about shared space. (New York Times)
• The buildings represent a major source of load flexibility through energy efficiency and demand response, according to a report. (Utility dive)
GRID: The Ministry of Commerce is taking into account the additional tariffs on steel components used in electrical transformers and equipment used in all types of power generation. (Greentech Media)
PIPELINES:
• Dominion Energy says Atlantic Coast pipeline will cost $ 8 billion and be completed by 2022, pending several court cases. (Reuters)
• The pipeline company MPLX declares that it is no longer continues a pipeline from the Permian Basin to the Gulf of Mexico coast due to falling oil prices. (Reuters)
PETROLEUM GAS:
• Oil companies are preparing to drastically reduce production in the Permian Basin due to massive losses amid the coronavirus crisis. (Washington Post)
• Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffet regrets his 10 billion dollars of investment in an oil company last year and plans to invest more in wind and solar. (E&E News, subscription)
• The coronavirus pandemic could lead to massive abandonment of oil and gas wells in the Appalachians, Louisiana and elsewhere. (E&E News, subscription)
REMARK:
• Climate activists can organize more public debates and create more political analysis as the coronavirus prevents mass pipeline protests, the leader of an indigenous rights group said. (Grist)
• The Sierra Club says states should leave organized energy markets whether their decisions and recent orders from federal regulators undermine efforts to encourage clean resources and hurt consumers. (Utility dive)
