Turning California’s Biggest Liability Into A Biofuel Boom
In California, there is a debate heating up over whether dead trees should be cleared and burned for biofuel before they burn where they are in yet another devastating West Continue Reading
DOJ whistleblower cites Trump tweets as impetus for California emissions probe
A Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into California’s efforts to reduce vehicle emissions appeared to be politically motivated, a DOJ whistleblower wrote in testimony to lawmakers that was released Tuesday. Continue Reading
California’s Dirty Little Secret Is Threatening Its Climate Ambitions
In a parched and dusty patch of land in California’s central valley, a series of wells has been pumping out some of the state’s dirtiest crude oil. Almost a century after Continue Reading
California Will Use Diesel This Summer to Help Keep Lights On
Despite environmental concerns, California will allow PG&E Corp. to use diesel-powered mobile generators to keep some electricity flowing when the utility proactively cuts power to prevent live wires from sparking fires Continue Reading
California Wildfire War Collides With Its Coronavirus Crisis
A crisis California didn’t foresee — the Covid-19 pandemic — is complicating preparations for one that arrives with a vengeance every year. With wildfire season on the horizon, state officials have Continue Reading
20 Million Barrels Of Oil Stranded As California Runs Out Of Storage Space
Tankers carrying some 20 million barrels of crude oil are idling off the coast of California as onshore storage space runs out and the level of supply remains excessively high. Continue Reading
Los Angeles antibody test results are a warning to states thinking of reopening
There’s new evidence from Los Angeles County that the novel coronavirus may have infected around 4 percent of its population. That’s both good news and bad news. Officials in the Continue Reading
California regulator wants changes in PG&E reorganization plan, proposes $2 billion fine
A California regulator has asked PG&E Corp ( PCG.N ) for governance and oversight changes in its reorganization plan, while also proposing penalties of about $2 billion on the San-Francisco Continue Reading
PG&E to Plead Guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter Charges in Deadly California Wildfire
PG&E, a utility that supplies electricity and natural gas to 16 million people, or about one in 20 Americans, admitted that its failure to maintain its equipment was criminally negligent Continue Reading
California Orders Lockdown for State’s 40 Million Residents
California ordered its 40 million residents to stay at home except for essential activities beginning Thursday night in the largest such lockdown in the U.S., as the nation’s total coronavirus Continue Reading
L.A. Aims to be First to Power U.S. City With Green Hydrogen
Los Angeles is aiming to become the first city in the nation to use renewable hydrogen to produce electricity, with the goal of ending the use of carbon-based natural gas entirely. Continue Reading
Transportation sector key to growing California hydrogen market
California’s burgeoning hydrogen market has the potential to rapidly replace oil and gas at scale, helping the state to meet its carbon-neutrality goals by mid-century, but it faces critical government Continue Reading
California declares emergency over coronavirus as death toll rises in U.S.
The U.S. death toll from coronavirus infections rose to 11 on Wednesday as new cases emerged around New York City and Los Angeles, while Seattle-area health officials discouraged social gatherings Continue Reading
Drought Fears Rise in California
California’s mountain snowpack is about half its normal level, raising fears that the state could return to drought after a string of mostly abundant wet years. On Thursday, officials of Continue Reading
California regulator proposes record $2.14 billion fine on PG&E over wildfires
California’s utilities regulator has proposed an increased $2.14 billion fine on PG&E Corp for its role in causing the devastating 2017 and 2018 wildfires in Northern California. FThe decision raises Continue Reading
Port of Los Angeles Sees Coronavirus Impact Sharply Reducing Imports
As Chinese business shutdowns extended past the traditional Lunar New Year holiday into February, and workers stayed home from factories and ports, “it became pretty clear…that we were looking at Continue Reading
High Cost of Wildfire Insurance Hurts California Home Sales
Home sales are slowing in wildfire-prone areas of California as insurers retreat from high-risk regions, say real-estate agents and homeowners. Insurance companies have continued to reduce their wildfire exposure in the Continue Reading
Amid shut-off woes, a beacon of energy
After months of wildfires, an essential question in a warming, windy California is this: How does the state keep the lights on? A tiny Native American tribe, settled here in Continue Reading
California governor rejects PG&E bankruptcy reorganization plan
California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday rejected a bankruptcy reorganization plan submitted by PG&E Corp ( PCG.N ), the state’s largest investor-owned utility, saying its proposal fails to meet the Continue Reading
California Governor Threatens to Block PG&E Bankruptcy Exit
In a letter Friday to PG&E, the Democratic governor said the company’s plan “fails to address most of the issues we previously raised,” including a transformed corporate board and sufficient Continue Reading
Northern California Power Outages Could Soar If Aging Lines Aren’t Replaced, PG&E Study Finds
PG&E’s current rate of electric-line replacement falls far short of what’s needed to prevent a surge of failures due to the effects of aging, according to the analysis by researchers Continue Reading
Bankrupt PG&E reaches $13.5 billion settlement with California wildfire victims
California’s bankrupt power producer PG&E Corp ( PCG.N ) said on Friday it had reached a $13.5 billion settlement with victims of some of most devastating wildfires in the state’s Continue Reading
California Bans Insurers From Dropping Policies Made Riskier by Climate Change
California’s wildfires have grown so costly and damaging that insurance companies — a homeowner’s last hope when disaster strikes — have increasingly been canceling people’s policies in fire-prone parts of Continue Reading
Power Up: This slice of California shows the extreme consequences of a warming Earth
Outside the Beltway EARTH, WIND AND FIRE: Parts of California are warming at double the rate of the continental United States — and that pace has only accelerated over the Continue Reading
PG&E failed to inspect transmission lines that caused deadly 2018 wilfdfire: state probe
Bankrupt California power producer PG&E Corp ( PCG.N ) did not properly inspect and replace transmission lines before a faulty wire sparked a wildfire that killed more than 80 people Continue Reading
PG&E Loses Challenge to Law Holding It Liable for Fire Damage
PG&E Corp. has lost a challenge to a California law that holds it liable for property damage from fires related to its equipment, a win for wildfire victims seeking to Continue Reading
California Restaurants Sue Berkeley Over Nat Gas Ban
The California Restaurant Association (CRA) sued on Thursday the City of Berkeley over a ban on the use of natural gas in newly built buildings, in order to protect Berkeley’s Continue Reading