A few energy-related news stories we’ve been reading this week …

California

Officials: Email Delays Key Vote on PG&E’s Bankruptcy Plan

California power regulators unexpectedly delayed a key vote Thursday on Pacific Gas & Electric’s plan for getting out of bankruptcy after saying one of the utility’s most outspoken critics sent an improper email attacking the company’s proposal to pay wildfire victims. (Associated Press, May 22)

During the Pandemic, Sequestered SDG&E Grid Operators Living at Work to Keep the Lights On

To make sure the electrical grid stays up and running during the COVID-19 pandemic, Adams works a 12-hour shift for 14 consecutive days. And instead of going to his home in Normal Heights at the end of his workday, the 36-year-old heads to a recreational vehicle in a parking lot at SDG&E to get some rest before heading back to Mission Control the next day. (San Diego Union-Tribune, May 20)

First-of-its-Kind Clean Hydrogen Plant Planned for Los Angeles County

An energy company with big ambitions to produce the clean fuel of the future announced a deal Tuesday with Lancaster officials to make hydrogen by using plasma heating technology — originally developed for NASA — to disintegrate the city’s paper recyclables at temperatures as high as 7,000 degrees Fahrenheit. (Los Angeles Times, May 20)

UC Fully Divests from Fossil Fuels, Largest University to do so

The University of California announced Tuesday that it has fully divested from all fossil fuels, the nation’s largest educational institution to do so as campaigns to fight climate change through investment strategies proliferate at campuses across the country. (Los Angeles Times, May 19)

California Lawmakers Introduce PG&E ‘Plan B’ that Outlines State Takeover Contingency

California lawmakers are moving quickly on legislation authorizing a state takeover of Pacific Gas & Electric in case the company’s bankruptcy exit plan falls short next month or other triggers occur. (Politico, May 19)

PG&E Says Wildfire Victims Voted for $13.5 Billion Settlement Offer

PG&E Corp. said it survived attempts to rally wildfire victims against a $13.5 billion settlement offer, positioning the bankrupt utility favorably to exit chapter 11 on its preferred terms. (Wall Street Journal, May 19)

Is the COVID-19 Pandemic Good News or Bad News for Renewable Energy?

Will the depth of the pandemic slow down investment in solar, wind and other cleaner energy projects? Or will the economic tumult that the virus has wrought on the oil and gas segments provide an opening for renewables to fill? (San Diego Union-Tribune, May 15)

Nation/World

Failed Michigan Dam Lost License in 2018

A central Michigan dam failure Tuesday requiring mass evacuations left the state and residents struggling to juggle a natural disaster amid a global pandemic. (Wall Street Journal, May 20)

In a First, Renewable Energy Is Poised to Eclipse Coal in U.S.

The coronavirus has pushed the coal industry to once-unthinkable lows, and the consequences for climate change are big. (New York Times, May 13)

Minnesota’s Great River Energy Closing Coal Plant, Switching to Two-Thirds Wind Power

Great River Energy will shutter its big North Dakota coal-fired power plant several years early, an extraordinary move that underscores the waning cost-competitiveness of coal in electricity production. (Star Tribune, May 7)