In the news today and from the weekend…
Coal:
- Argus carries coverage from the US Energy Association’s 15th Annual State of the Energy Industry Forum.
- Associated Press reports an analysis of 11 energy-related regulations that the Trump administration intends to rescind or relax could result in up to $11.6 billion in potential savings for companies working in fossil fuels and billions of dollars in additional industry savings from a freeze in fuel economy standards.
- E&E Climatewire reports few states rely on tax revenues from the energy industry quite like Wyoming. More than half of the state’s revenue comes from coal, oil and natural gas. Now, a group of Republican lawmakers have focused their attention on another source: wind generation.
- Casper Star Tribune reports Wyoming lawmakers have introduced, Senate File 159, which would require utilities to search for buyers before retiring a coal-fired plant. Failing to do so would result in the state restricting a utility’s ability to make a financial return on whatever it replaces the coal plant with, such as a wind farm or natural gas plant, the bill states.
- Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports Wyoming lawmakers will try to set aside $250,000 to sue Washington state over coal, bypassing Wyoming’s attorney general and hiring a private lawyer, via a bill introduced Thursday in Cheyenne that largely mimics a failed measure last year.
Clean Power Plan:
- E&E Climatewire reports Colorado’s new Democratic attorney general, Phil Weiser, is pulling the state out of a legal challenge to the Obama-era Clean Power Plan.
World News:
- POLITICO Pro reports Germany plans to phase out coal-fired power plants by 2038, as part of an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and shift to renewable energy. Coal now provides about 40 percent of the country’s power.
- Axios reports a pair of new pieces highlight the challenge of ethically sourcing cobalt from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Cobalt is a key material for batteries for EVs and other uses, and the DRC provides over half the world’s supply.