Company submits application to revive Keystone XL pipeline

PIPELINES: The Canadian company behind the controversial Keystone XL pipeline submits a new presidential permit application to revive the project. (Associated Press)

ALSO:
• What the Keystone XL pipeline could mean for the environment, the U.S. oil industry and Canada. (New York Times)
• Companies behind the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which is slated to run from West Virginia to North Carolina, say they ​“are very encouraged” by the Trump administration’s support of oil and gas infrastructure projects. (Triangle Business Journal)
• Environmental advocates say a 138,600 gallon diesel spill in Iowa this week highlights the risk posed by pipelines. (Associated Press, The Guardian)
• The leader of North Dakota’s Standing Rock Sioux tribe sends a letter asking President Trump to reconsider his order to revive the Dakota Access Pipeline, saying the decision can’t be made ​“simply by the president’s whim.” (The Guardian)
• President Trump is trying to require that U.S. steel be used to construct the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, but such an order may be illegal. (Huffington Post)

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OIL & GAS: Two opposing coalitions are gearing up to fight over a ban on new bulk fossil-fuel terminals in Portland, Oregon. (Portland Business Journal)

COAL: Amid opposition from regulators and environmentalists, a judge approves a bankruptcy plan from coal giant Peabody Energy. (Reuters)

UTILITIES:
• A federal judge punishes California’s largest utility for its role in a deadly natural-gas explosion in 2010 by imposing a $3 million fine and ordering the company to publicize its crimes through TV commercials. (Los Angeles Times)
• An Ohio utility is working on a plan with lawmakers to improve the state’s electricity market, which includes building new power generation using natural gas and renewables, while not subsidizing its four remaining coal-fired plants. (Columbus Business First)

GRID: Utilities are using ​“smart-switching” technology that make the grid more reliable by detecting and correcting outages along their distribution systems. (Midwest Energy News)

CARBON TAX: A new carbon tax bill in Washington state would fund clean energy by raising gas prices by about 15 cents per gallon. (Seattle Times)

REGULATION: President Trump names Democratic nominee Cheryl LaFleur to be the acting chair of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. (The Hill)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Utility customers on the Hawaiian island of Kauai will qualify for a $10,000 rebate on the Nissan Leaf electric sedan. (Pacific Business News)
• Tesla’s shares surge as Elon Musk gets closer to the Trump administration. (New York Times)

SOLAR:
• New York regulators vote to change interconnection requirements in an effort to boost solar development in the state, including community solar. (PV-Tech)
• Hawaii’s largest solar farm goes online in Oahu and will generate enough electricity to power about 11,000 homes per year. (Pacific Business News)
• Apple Inc. plans to buy power from a proposed 200-megawatt solar farm in Nevada. (Bloomberg)
• Arizona’s decision to end net-metering could cut compensation for rooftop solar power in half. (Utility Dive)
• Residential solar only increases electricity rates for non-solar customers in places where solar adoption is high – such as Hawaii, California and Arizona – according to a new Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory study. (Arizona Republic)

CLIMATE:
• The Trump administration’s efforts to weaken the country’s climate change programs won’t be easy. (InsideClimate News)
• A climate change conference that was abruptly canceled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is back on with help from Al Gore. (Washington Post)

POLICY: The Trump administration’s list of infrastructure priorities includes transmission expansion, wind and energy storage. (Utility Dive)

COMMENTARY:
• Columnist Jay Ambrose argues that President Trump’s orders to revive the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines are in the nation’s best interest. (Tribune News Service)
• A protester explains why she broke the law to shut down pipelines carrying tar-sands oil from Canada into the U.S. (Seattle Times)