Louisiana’s coastline is getting washed out to sea and a lawsuit designed to make oil and gas companies pay for the damage now rages. Some believe a creative financing solution – that involves federal, state and private funding – is needed to foot the more than $50 billion dollar bill over 50 years. “Companies will dredge canals to house pipelines or move massive drilling equipment. When a storm surge floods the land, salt water stays behind in those canals, killing the plants that feed the marshes and contributing to the hastening erosion.” … “At the heart of the legal struggle is a pair of mutually exclusive narratives about what’s really happening in Louisiana: One side says it’s challenging an industry that has been too powerful for too long; the other holds that a band of rogue trial lawyers are taking advantage of Louisiana’s litigious climate and threatening to stifle the state’s most important economic driver.” [National Journal]
Nissan is launching its first all-electric commercial-use vehicle in October. The minivan will have a range of 190 km, which the company says is deal for commercial-use vehicles that follow set routes and return to return to garage depots daily. “Nissan is committed to the complete elimination of emissions from cars, not partial improvements such as those achieved simply by clean diesel or hybridization. We believe the ultimate goal is zero,” Palmer said. [The Japan Times]
Sungevity is teaming with E.ON Benelux to expand its innovative solar installation model – that uses satellite imagery to remotely offer quotes without the expense of a site visit – to the Netherlands, and ultimately the larger European market. “In related news, the $70 million in new equity financing recently raised by Sungevity came via an interesting assortment of investors, some old, some new. The investors — which include Jetstream Ventures, E.ON, and GE Ventures — create some interesting questions.” … “As well as the new deal with E.ON, what else does the company have in the works? Perhaps something even larger?” [Cleantechnica]
