The Hill: Trump Administration Ponders Deeper EPA Cuts
The Trump administration is aiming to expand its budget cuts for the Environmental Protection Agency, according to reports Tuesday.
The EPA -- led by Scott Pruitt, who previously opposed the agency in several court cases -- did not fight the 24 percent cut Trump officials proposed for it, according to reports in Axios and others on Tuesday. That has encouraged the administration to aim for deeper spending cuts.
The White House is expected to roll out its budget proposal this week, setting up a fight with Congress. The depth of proposed EPA cuts has turned off some lawmakers, including key Republicans.
PV-Tech: Trina Solar Completes Deal to Take Company Private
The deal that will take Trina Solar private has been completed, the company has announced.
Shares in the "Chinese Silicon Module Super League" manufacturer have been suspended at the company’s request ahead of its delisting. Trina also confirmed its intent to halt its reporting obligations. It has merged with Red Vibernum and is now a subsidiary of Fortune Solar Holdings. A consortium led by Trina’s chairman and CEO Jifan Gao will now acquire Fortune Solar in an all-cash transaction.
Although there have been no details from the company, it is widely anticipated that it will eventually list on an exchange either in Hong Kong or mainland China.
Cleantechnica: SolarReserve Bids 24-Hour Solar at 6.3 Cents in Chile
In Chile’s last auction for power, SolarReserve bid a world-record-breaking low price at just 6.3 cents per kWh ($63/MWh) for dispatchable 24-hour solar.
SolarReserve’s CSP technology with integrated thermal storage provides 24-hour solar power, and is ideally suited for Chile’s grid, which has intense round-the-clock power needs due to its huge mining industry. To bid 24-hour solar at 6.3 cents per kWh is a world record for CSP (concentrated solar power), a form of solar utilizing heat from the sun that can be stored thermally. Chile has open auctions for both fossil energy and renewables, and no subsidies.
The Hill: Rick Perry Spotted Reading Drudge Report
Energy Secretary Rick Perry was spotted Friday reading the Drudge Report at an airport while waiting for a flight to Texas.
A reporter who said he was on the same flight as Perry tweeted photos of Perry, one of which shows the former Texas governor reading the conservative news site run by Matt Drudge.
The front page story on the site viewed by Perry appeared to be "GREAT AGAIN: +235,000," which links to a story about the latest jobs report that President Trump shared earlier in the day on Twitter.
InsideClimate News: Exxon Concealed Tillerson's 'Alias' Emails in Climate Fraud Probe, NY AG Claims
While he was chief executive of ExxonMobil, current Secretary of State Rex Tillerson used an alias email account for eight years to discuss climate change and the risks it posed to the company's business, according to investigators for New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
Those investigators say the company concealed the shadow emails despite a 2015 subpoena for Tillerson's communications issued as part of a sweeping investigation of the oil giant in connection with possible financial fraud.
Schneiderman's office disclosed the existence of the email account assigned to Tillerson on Monday in a letter to Judge Barry Ostrager, which accused Exxon of failing to turn over all relevant documents required by the subpoena.