Analysis: Transportation emissions to surpass power plants this year

EMISSIONS: Carbon emissions from transportation are expected to surpass emissions from power plants in the U.S. in 2016, according to a new analysis. (MIT Technology Review)

CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Ten federal judges will hear oral arguments on the legality of the Clean Power Plan on Tuesday. (The Hill)
• Conflicting amendments on power plant regulation included in the Clean Air Act in 1990 could render the Clean Power Plan illegal. (New York Times)

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POLITICS: A California agency will investigate whether the state’s Democratic Party made ​“dirty energy contributions” by directing money from the oil and energy industry to Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2014 reelection campaign. (Los Angeles Times)

SOLAR: A solar power plant in Arizona is fined $1.5 million for over 20 emissions violations, which include failing to conduct performance tests and removing emissions control systems. (KJZZ)

TECHNOLOGY: California’s Energy Commission will spend $2 million to determine whether small crystals, which generate energy when compressed, could be used to produce electricity from vehicles driving on the state’s roadways. (Associated Press)

UTILITIES:
• Power is restored to most of Puerto Rico after an island-wide blackout caused by a fire at a power plant. (Associated Press)
• An Illinois commission votes in favor of a utility’s plan to install advanced metering systems for all of its 1.2 million customers. (Midwest Energy News)
• The director of an energy and environmental policy firm shares her thoughts on the slow shift toward performance-based utility regulation. (Midwest Energy News)

OIL & GAS:
• Donald Trump’s plan to roll back environmental regulations would benefit coal and cut the amount of natural gas burned at power plants by 11 percent, according to recent estimates. (Bloomberg)
• Pennsylvania would have lost nearly 118,000 jobs and $13 billion in annual GDP under certain oil and natural gas industry regulations, according to a report released by the U.S Chamber of Commerce. (Pittsburgh Business Times)
• An Oklahoma gas company faces up to $1.5 million in fines for a gas line explosion in January that caused $500,000 in property damage in Oklahoma City and left one person in the hospital with severe burns. (The Oklahoman)
• Colorado’s oil and gas industry falls short on worker protection, with at least 51 fatalities reported since 2003. (Denver Post)
• Landowners in Pennsylvania and other gas-producing states are feeling cheated as royalty payments from drilling operations dwindle. (Associated Press)
• The American Geophysical Union says accepting money from Exxon does not violate its mission, despite claims that the company has spread doubt about climate change. (InsideClimate News)

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PIPELINES:
• Sunoco Logistics, which is set to operate the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, has experienced more than 200 crude oil leaks since 2010, topping all of its competitors. (Reuters)
• The energy company building the Dakota Access Pipeline buys over 6,000 acres along the line’s route in North Dakota, part of which may contain Native American burial grounds, dealing a blow to protestors. (Reuters)

COMMENTARY: Two former EPA administrators who served under Republican presidents speak out in support of the Clean Power Plan. (New York Times)