trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/LqtAa7FUHCjmsmPmK6Qkpg2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Blankenship conviction in question; feds move to open Staircase-Escalante

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 49: Carbon reduction in cloud

Blog

Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future

Research

US utility commissioners: Who they are and how they impact regulation

Blog

Q&A: Datacenters: Energy Hogs or Sustainability Helpers?


Blankenship conviction in question; feds move to open Staircase-Escalante

Withheld evidence in former coal CEO's case could upend landmark conviction

"There is no question" prosecutors violated former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship's constitutional rights on the way to a misdemeanor conviction of conspiracy to violate mine safety, a magistrate judge wrote Aug. 26, even if the evidence withheld from his defense may not have resulted in a different verdict. Magistrate Judge Omar Aboulhosn noted there was no evidence the prosecutors acted with malice but recommended the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia set aside Blankenship's conviction based on over a thousand pages of suppressed evidence.

Feds move to open Staircase-Escalante monument to fossil fuel extraction

Federal officials released a final management plan for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah that would open more land to potential extraction of oil, gas, coal and other minerals. President Donald Trump signed a proclamation in late 2017 that would exclude from designation and reservation about 861,974 acres that are set aside for the care and management of objects of historic and scientific interest. The U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management announced the availability of the proposed resource management plans and final environmental impact statement for the changes in a Federal Register notice Aug. 23.

Groups sue PNM, state regulators to stop San Juan plant closure deal

A few environmental and other interests have sued New Mexico regulators and the Public Service Co. of New Mexico to keep the utility from issuing securitized bonds in order to close the San Juan coal-fired power plant in 2022. New Energy Economy Inc., Citizens for Fair Rates and the Environment, and Physicians for Social Responsibility-New Mexico were among the groups that filed a petition against the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission and the PNM Resources Inc. subsidiary on Aug. 26 saying a new law that allows the financing exposes ratepayers to hundreds of millions of dollars in costs without regulatory oversight.

FERC's outgoing LaFleur ponders changes she would make as 'Queen of the World'

In a wide-ranging interview, departing Federal Energy Regulatory Commission member and former Chairman Cheryl LaFleur discussed how much things have changed since she arrived in July 2010, including the way the press covers the agency and an increase in votes along partisan lines. She also discussed things she will not miss once she leaves the commission at the end of August and stressed the ongoing need for policy continuity from the agency.

Trump plans to raise tariffs on $550B of Chinese goods

U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to impose additional levies on a combined $550 billion of Chinese goods in response to what he called "politically motivated" duties on American products unveiled by China earlier Aug. 23. In a tweet, Trump said the existing tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports would be raised to 30% from 25% starting Oct. 1.

Lawmakers, others want guidance on weighing emissions impacts withdrawn

Environmental groups, several Democratic U.S. senators and a number of state attorneys general have called on the White House Council on Environmental Quality to withdraw its new draft guidance for how agencies weigh greenhouse gas emissions' impacts when reviewing infrastructure project permits and other major decisions. The groups and officials argued that the guidance on performing environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act could leave agencies vulnerable to having their decisions overturned in courts. But fossil fuel groups largely lauded the draft as needed to streamline and speed up permitting.

Vistra names Illinois coal plants to be shut for emissions rule compliance

Vistra Energy Corp. on Aug. 21 identified four coal-fired power plants in Illinois with a combined capacity of 2,000 MW that it will close by the end of this year to meet recently approved amendments to the state's Multi-Pollutant Standard, or MPS, rule. The Illinois Pollution Control Board in June directed Vistra to retire 2,000 MW of coal-fired generating capacity by the end of this year to comply with the amended rule, which regulates and sets new caps for sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions for coal-fired power plants in central and southern Illinois. In its order, the board said the amendments to the MPS rule are "economically reasonable and technically feasible."