Morning Consult: Wind and Solar Energy Subsidies Aren’t Just for Democrats Anymore
Environmentalists earned a major victory in December’s broad spending package when Republicans agreed to extend wind and solar energy tax credits in exchange for an end to the 40-year-old crude oil export ban.
For many Republicans, it wasn’t much of a compromise.
As wind and solar energy development has grown in the United States, more Republicans represent constituencies that benefit from renewable energy tax credits. Wind turbines and solar panels are popping up in GOP territory, and interest groups say they have witnessed a corresponding shift in the political dynamic behind renewable energy policy.
The number of U.S. House Republicans representing districts where there are utility-scale solar facilities increased from a measly 12 in 2008 to 88 in 2016, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Huffington Post: At Secretive Meeting, Tech CEOs and Top Republicans Commiserate, Plot to Stop Trump
Billionaires, tech CEOs and top members of the Republican establishment flew to a private island resort off the coast of Georgia this weekend for the American Enterprise Institute's annual World Forum, according to sources familiar with the secretive gathering.
The main topic at the closed-to-the-press confab? How to stop Republican front-runner Donald Trump.
Apple CEO Tim Cook, Google co-founder Larry Page, Napster creator and Facebook investor Sean Parker, and Tesla Motors and SpaceX honcho Elon Musk all attended. So did Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), political guru Karl Rove, House Speaker Paul Ryan, GOP Sens. Tom Cotton (Ark.), Cory Gardner (Colo.), Tim Scott (S.C.), Rob Portman (Ohio) and Ben Sasse (Neb.), who recently made news by saying he "cannot support Donald Trump."
Fortune: Hillary Clinton's Pledge to Limit Fracking Falls on Unconvinced Ears
Hillary Clinton’s vow to regulate oil and gas fracking almost out of existence was met with skepticism Monday, failing to convince either industry or environment groups that she would -- or could -- end the controversial drilling practice if she becomes president.
The front-runner for the Democratic party nomination used a debate in Flint, Michigan on Sunday night to oppose fracking anywhere local communities were against it, wherever it polluted air or water, and whenever companies refused to disclose what chemicals they use in the process.
Bloomberg Business: Shale Gas Proves More Resilient Than U.S. Government Expected
America’s energy explorers have become so good at pulling natural gas out of the ground that government forecasters are having a hard time figuring out how much they’re producing.
This month, the Marcellus shale formation of the eastern U.S., the country’s biggest gas play, will yield 17.4 billion cubic feet a day, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Monday. That’s almost 2 billion cubic feet, or 11 percent, more than the agency had forecast last month. It said the field’s output was revised based on more recent production data from Pennsylvania.
Los Angeles Times: Whole Foods Teaming With NRG and Solar City to Install Rooftop Solar at 100 stores
Whole Foods Market Inc. is embracing solar power. The Austin, Texas-based grocery chain has signed agreements with SolarCity and NRG Energy Inc. to install rooftop solar units at up to 100 stores and distribution centers.
NRG, based in Princeton, N.J., will install the units at up to 84 locations in nine states, according to a joint statement from the two companies.
San Mateo, Calif.-based SolarCity will install the rest, Whole Foods spokesperson Blaire Kniffin said.