Environmental groups are suing over Keystone pipeline

PIPELINES: Several environmental groups are suing the Trump administration for approving the Keystone XL pipeline, saying that project’s permit relies on an ​“arbitrary, stale, and incomplete environmental review completed over three years ago.” (Reuters)

ALSO:
• When the Dakota Access Pipeline comes online next month it will save the state’s oil industry at least $540 million in annual shipping costs. (Reuters)
• Georgia’s General Assembly passes legislation to make it harder for petroleum pipeline companies to seize private property using eminent domain. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)

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COAL:
• Some 22,000 retired coal miners could lose healthcare coverage if Congress fails to act by the end of April. (Nexus Media)
• Many of the coal mining jobs that President Trump wants to bring back have been replaced by machines and explosives. (New York Times)
• Tribal leaders want the federal government to provide subsidies to help keep a troubled coal mine and power plant open in Arizona. (Arizona Republic)

EMISSIONS: Volkswagen will pay $157 million to 10 states to settle environmental claims that it installed software to disguise pollution from its 3-liter, six-cylinder diesel engine vehicles. (Portland Press Herald)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Critics say Volkswagen wants to invest hundreds of millions in settlement money designated to promote electric vehicle adoption exclusively on wealthier cities in California. (Forbes)

RENEWABLE ENERGY: Two bills in California could drive growth for wind, solar and battery storage by requiring an increasing proportion of peak demand electricity to come from renewables. (Utility Dive)

WIND: An Oklahoma Senate panel approves a bill to end a zero-emissions tax credit for wind power more than three years early. (The Oklahoman)

SOLAR:
• A California community solar program that aims for large utilities to procure 600 MW is off to a slow start with few interested bidders. (Utility Dive)
• Solar industry jobs grew by 34 percent in Texas in 2016, according to a recent study. (FuelFix)
• Oregon lawmakers are considering whether to extend a tax credit that gives residents up to $6,000 for the installation of a rooftop solar system. (Portland Business Journal)
• A new website wants to persuade more co-ops to add solar energy to their mix by featuring ​“the voices of solar champions within the co-op community.” (Midwest Energy News)

NUCLEAR:
• With the U.S. nuclear industry in turmoil, the Energy Department is paying close attention to Southern Co., which took an $8.3 billion federal loan to build the country’s first new nuclear plants in 30 years. (Bloomberg)
• Westinghouse receives tentative permission to take out an $800 million bankruptcy loan. (Bloomberg)

POLICY:
• President Trump’s executive order to roll back Obama-era climate initiatives will set off a wave of litigation that could take years to resolve. (Utility Dive)
• An Ohio legislative committee approves a bill to make renewable energy requirements voluntary for power companies, but it lacks a provision that could have crippled proposed wind and solar projects. (Columbus Business First)

CLIMATE: A federal judge moves a case about ExxonMobil’s knowledge of climate change from Texas to New York, dealing a setback to the Dallas-based company. (InsideClimate News)

POLITICS: The Oklahoma Bar Association is investigating an ethics complaint against EPA administrator Scott Pruitt over an alias email address he used while state Attorney General. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY: President Trump’s anti-climate executive order will put him on the wrong side of history, says the Seattle Times editorial board.