The Supreme Court on Monday declined to review a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling allowing EPA to continue enforcing its Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) while the agency complies with a 2015 high court ruling to address procedural issues (15-1152, Michigan, et al. V. EPA, et al.).

In the 2015 decision, the court found that EPA had failed to take costs into consideration when deciding whether the MATS rule was “appropriate and necessary” under the Clean Air Act. The court allowed EPA to continue enforcing the rule, however, while the agency addressed the court’s concerns. The agency responded with a supplemental finding, saying the cost review did not change its opinion on the need for the rule and proposing to leave MATS unchanged.

Several states asked the D.C. Circuit to require the agency to conduct a new rulemaking, a request the court rejected in December. The litigation is largely moot: Most power plants covered by the rule complied or retired by the deadline of April 2015. Some plants received a one-year extension on the deadline, which has also passed.

More: POWER Magazine

IEA Says Renewable Subsidies Still Needed

A report by the International Energy Agency says that subsidies are still needed to ensure continued growth of renewable energy.

Government subsidies make renewable energy projects less risky investments. But the IEA warns that as the energy generated by renewables becomes less expensive, governments may look to scale back the subsidies.

“As we enter this new phase, the question becomes what can the policymaker do to maintain bankability [and] reduce the risk of investments in generation without just throwing subsidies out, which isn’t where anyone wants to be,” said Toby Couture, director at the German renewable energy consultancy E3 Analytics and an author of IEA’s report.

More: Greentech Media

Iceland Testing New Carbon Capture Method

Scientists working in Iceland are testing a new method of carbon capture and sequestration, injecting CO₂ from a geothermal plant into basalt to form calcite, theoretically locking the gas in the ground permanently.

CarbFix, as the project is known, has so far resulted in about 95% of the CO₂ injected being converted to calcite. So much calcite was formed by the testing process that a pump used to test the water became clogged with the mineral. The scientists found that the calcite formed in less than two years.

Iceland is practically all basalt, making it an ideal location to test the new method. The project is being conducted in partnership with the Icelandic capital’s municipal utility, Reykjavik Energy, at a plant about 15 miles east of the city. Work is being done now to figure out a way to scale the project up to industrial sizes and to find other suitable locations with enough basalt.

More: The New York Times

Report: US Solar Installations To Double in Coming Year

Developers rushing to meet a deadline for a federal solar tax credit are driving U.S. solar installations to nearly double the total capacity in 2016, according to a report by GTM Research. By the end of the year, 14.5 GW of solar capacity will be online, the report says.

Solar installations rose 24% in the first quarter this year, about 64% of all new electric generation capacity during that period, according to the report.

Most of the utility-scale projects were pushed through on expectation of the year-end solar tax credit expiration. The credit was extended for five more years, however. The extension will spur more than 20 GW of additional solar capacity by 2021, GTM said, though the utility-scale market is expected to contract next year and in 2018.

More: Reuters

FERC Grants Rehearing On NJ Pipeline Project

FERC has granted the request for new hearings on Transco’s Garden State Expansion project after a group of municipalities said the company failed to give proper notice of meetings and didn’t meet environmental requirements.

Although not a large project — it involves a new compressor station, upgrades to another substation and upgrading some existing pipeline — the municipalities and environmentalists called it a win.

“Anytime we get FERC to reopen a docket and have a rehearing is an environmental victory,” said Jeff Tittel, New Jersey Sierra Club director. “FERC almost never grants a rehearing and the fact that they did it shows that there were significant problems in the approval of Transco’s application.”

More: Planet Princeton

Annual NRC Meeting on Indian Point Gets Heated

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission held its annual public meeting on the operation of Entergy’s Indian Point nuclear station, and things got heated, with members of the public telling the commission it is failing in its job to keep the plant operating safely.

“You don’t care about our lives, you don’t care about our future,” said Susan Shapiro, who identified herself as a member of the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition, a protest group. “All you care about is how you are going to grease the pockets of Entergy.”

David Lew, an NRC deputy administrator overseeing the northeast region, said Indian Point is operating within guidelines. “Our overall conclusion is that Indian Point operates safely and will continue to operate safely,” he said.

More: Westchester County Business Journal

Talen Reports Leaks At Susquehanna Plant

Talen Energy, operator of the Susquehanna nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, reported the discovery of two small leaks of radioactive water while shutting Unit 1 down last week for regular maintenance.

Staff discovered one leak inside the containment structure and a second leak in lines leading to instrumentation sections of the unit. Both leaks were contained and there was no danger, according to the report made to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

“When the plant is operating, there are certain areas you can’t access when it’s in power,” said spokesman Todd L. Martin. “When we did the downpower to address the initial leak, that’s when we found this additional leakage, and that prompted the second notification.”

More: The Citizens’ Voice