Finalized SAFE policy slashes vehicle emission standards
In a rollback of Obama-era policy, the new regulation restricts carbon dioxide emissions standards by 1.5% a year through model year 2026, a figure opponents of the bill feel is not nearly enough.
New EPA policy: some pollution rules are discretionary during pandemic
“It is not clear why refineries, chemical plants, and other facilities that continue to operate and keep their employees on the production line will no longer have the staff or time they need to comply with environmental laws.”
The world’s top banks remain committed to financing fossil fuels
A new report released by BankTrack, Oil Change International, Sierra Club and others takes a look at the trends in fossil fuel financing by the worlds top banks since the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement, grading each on the strength of their anti-fossil policies and habits.
Morning Brief: PG&E’s massive Tesla battery proposal approved, NorthWestern Energy unfair to solar, wind and storage
Also in the brief: SolarEdge’s all-new Site Controller, America’s first successful solar town, students’ solar spring break brings solar to low-income families and more.
Italian PV panels destined for recycling were instead smuggled to Syria and Africa
Illegally re-badged panels were sold to Senegal, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Turkey and Syria. Italian authorities found 60 tons of panels.
GivePower takes aim at water scarcity with new solar desalination systems
SolarCity, a nonprofit acquired by Tesla, launched the nonprofit GivePower in 2013 — and the Rive brothers, SolarCity’s founders, are on the board.
Generate lands more than $1 billion for renewable infrastructure
Jigar Shah, renewable energy legend, strikes again. Generate added Sunrun CEO Lynn Jurich and NYSERDA’s Richard Kauffman to its board.
A desert solar farm can actually improve desert tortoise habitat
With tortoise-sized openings at the bottom of the fence, and improved growth of plants vital to tortoise survival, a solar farm in Nevada can provide better habitat than the surrounding desert. First Solar found similar habitat gains in California.
Kauai was 100% renewably powered for 32 hours over the last month
The Hawaiian island of 70,000 residents has achieved this feat on 11 different occasions since before Thanksgiving, anchored by a five-hour period on December 10. Plus, a world tour of high-penetration renewable hotspots.
Shutting down the scammers: Petition filed over North Carolina utilities’ ‘unlawful’ use of ratepayer funds
A petition has been filed with the North Carolina Utilities Commission in a bid to stop ratepayer money being used to fund campaigns against renewables and the climate.
