Due to the recession, the bust of the oil market, and growing resistance to fossil-fuel infrastructures, courts have recently ruled to halt the Atlantic Coast and Dakota Access Pipeline projects.
The energy company, MPLX LP, halted plans to construct the Permian to Gulf Coast natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline in response to the collapse in oil prices. Instead, however, the company is now planning to expand thier currently existing pipelines.
In the south side of Chicago, a new Illinois Solar For All program is offering access to solar energy with “no upfront costs and guaranteed savings.” This may suggest that developing similar solar energy programs could be put to use in reducing energy vulnerability and/or providing energy assistance during COVID-19? By Contrast, LA county’s programs for subsidizing renewable energy is benefitting the rich and excluding the poor: “California’s programs to subsidize rooftop solar and electric cars are disproportionately benefiting wealthier homes that often use more energy than they need to live comfortably. And they’re disproportionately leaving behind lower-income families who often can’t afford to use enough energy to stay warm or cool, depending on the season, and who would benefit greatly from cost-saving clean energy technologies.”