Federal climate policy could be in for a significant shift if the Senate acts in the next few weeks to confirm a conservative Supreme Court justice to succeed the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Sept. 17 approved a sweeping order opening organized wholesale power markets to distributed energy resources.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) coronavirus relief bill failed Sept. 10 when it fell eight votes short on a motion to cut off debate.

The proposed Jordan Cove natural gas liquefaction and export terminal is one of more than two dozen energy-related projects and federal resource-management plans targeted for accelerated environmental review in an Interior Department list made public Sept. 2.

President Donald Trump on Aug. 27 accused Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden of promising to "abolish American production of oil, coal, shale and natural gas, laying waste" to the economies of swing states, including Colorado and New Mexico.

Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden vowed to "deal with climate change," describing "clean energy" as "an enormous economic opportunity" in his Aug. 20 speech accepting the presidential nomination.

The Environmental Protection Agency on Aug. 13 rolled back emissions regulations for new and modified upstream oil and gas facilities, dropping emissions standards for transmission and storage and eliminating methane controls for production and processing.

President Donald Trump on Aug. 4 signed into law legislation permanently requiring $900 million to be deposited into the Land and Water Conservation Fund each year to be available for the fund’s land purchase and conservation purposes without further congressional appropriation.

President Donald Trump on July 29 nominated Mark Christie, a Virginia utility commissioner, and Allison Clements, a former executive and now consultant with the Energy Foundation, to fill vacancies on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The House on July 22 passed legislation mandating full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund and setting aside energy-development revenues for restoring national parks and other federal lands.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on July 16 rejected a petition asking FERC to take over regulation of net metering, drawing cheers from state utility regulators.

The Department of Energy on July 6 authorized the proposed Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas terminal to export up to 1.08 Bcf of LNG per day.

The House on July 1 passed a $1.5-trillion infrastructure bill, HR 2, that would authorize $70 billion for electric grid improvements and extend tax credits for renewable resources and energy efficiency.

The Trump administration's "Waters of the U.S." rule took effect June 22, except in Colorado, after a federal court denied a preliminary injunction sought by California and 16 other states.

The House is the next stop for legislation mandating full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund and setting aside energy-development revenues for restoring parks and other federal lands.

Legislation to require permanent full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund advanced toward passage June 12 as the Senate approved a procedural motion, 65-19, that cleared the way for a floor vote during the week of June 15.

President Donald Trump on June 4 signed an executive order directing federal agencies to speed up approvals of pipelines and other infrastructure projects by invoking emergency authority to bypass environmental reviews.

The Treasury Department on May 27 extended by one year the "safe harbor" for renewable-energy developers, giving project developers extra breathing space for claiming production and investment tax credits.

Seventeen states on May 18 filed a motion for a nationwide preliminary injunction to block the Trump administration's replacement "Waters of the U.S." rule, but the court raised questions May 20 on whether an injunction should be imposed before the rule takes effect June 22.

The House on May 15 passed a procedural motion clearing the way for a floor vote on a $3-trillion pandemic relief bill, HR 6800, that would send nearly $1 trillion in aid to state, local, tribal and territorial governments; appropriate $1.5 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance P…

The Treasury Department on May 7 said it would modify "safe harbor" rules for production and investment tax credits, a sign that the Trump administration plans to grant extensions sought by renewable-energy industries.

The Department of Energy on May 1 said President Donald Trump signed an executive order to prevent the acquisition by the government or U.S. persons of bulk power system equipment that poses a security risk, based on its country of origin.

President Donald Trump on April 24 signed into law the fourth coronavirus pandemic response bill.

Former Vice President Joe Biden's emergence as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee has set up a fall contest with President Donald Trump in which U.S. voters will have a clear choice between two sharply different energy and climate policy platforms.

The Federal Reserve on April 9 announced $2.3 trillion in credit support for the pandemic-stressed economy, including $500 billion in lending to states and municipalities, $1.45 trillion in credit flows to businesses and households, and lending to banks originating Paycheck Protection Progra…

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave top priority to maintaining reliability in a regulatory guidance policy issued April 2 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Renewable-energy tax-credit extensions and $3 billion in purchases for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve did not make the cut for the $2.2-trillion coronavirus pandemic relief package that President Donald Trump signed into law March 27 following the House's voice-vote approval earlier in the day..

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will be open to requests for deadline extensions and delays in compliance requirements from utilities and system operators impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee said at a March 19 press conference.

The Senate on March 12 confirmed James Danly's nomination to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The Senate on March 4 passed a procedural motion clearing the way for a floor vote on the broad energy package that Energy and Natural Resources Committee leaders introduced Feb. 27.

A federal judge on Feb. 27 threw out nearly 1 million acres of oil and gas leases on Western federal lands within sage grouse habitat, ruling that the Trump administration unlawfully curtailed public comment on the sales.

President Donald Trump on Feb. 19 ordered the Interior and Commerce departments to step up water development and deliveries for California’s Central Valley.

The Trump administration's $4.8-trillion fiscal year 2021 budget request revived for the fourth year in a row a proposal to sell the transmission assets of three power-marketing administrations, an idea denounced by public-power groups and likely to again receive a cold shoulder in Congress.

The federal pipeline safety agency on Feb. 6 proposed requiring installation of remote-controlled or automatic shut-off valves on new and replacement gas and hazardous-liquids pipelines over 6 inches in diameter.

Utility executives and forestry officials on Jan. 28 called for energy decarbonization, grid technological improvements and more aggressive forest management to reduce the growing risks that more frequent, severe wildfires pose to the electric power grid.

The Trump administration on Jan. 23 finalized a regulation replacing the 2015 "Waters of the U.S." rule.

The Department of Energy on Jan. 15 finalized a "process" regulation it said would streamline rulemakings for energy-efficiency standards, but the rule is likely to face litigation from opponents.

The Trump administration's Jan. 9 proposal to speed up and revamp environmental studies for energy and infrastructure projects under the National Environmental Policy Act is likely to be challenged in court if it is finalized.

A 2.2-percent reduction in energy-related carbon dioxide emissions for the year just ended was forecast Dec. 30 by the Energy Information Administration.

Pacific Gas & Electric will need to use public-safety power shut-offs for about five more years before improvements in system technology and vegetation management allow the utility to largely stop the practice as a safety measure in connection with wildfires, PG&E Corp. CEO Bill John…

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Dec. 12 sent five energy bills to the Senate floor on voice votes, including legislation authorizing competitive grants for efficiency upgrades and renewable-energy projects at K-12 schools.

A federal trade court on Dec. 5 issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration's withdrawal of a tariff exemption for imported bifacial solar-photovoltaic panels.

A group of electric utilities on Nov. 25 filed suit to challenge the Trump administration's rule blocking California from setting its own tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions standards and zero-emission vehicle sales mandates.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on Nov. 19 reported out the nominations of Dan Brouillette to head the Department of Energy and James Danly to fill a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission vacancy.

Energy Secretary nominee Dan Brouillette has promised to keep Bonneville Power Administration privatization proposals "off the table," Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said at Brouillette's Nov. 14 confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

President Donald Trump on Nov. 7 nominated Dan Brouillette, the Department of Energy's No. 2 executive, to succeed outgoing DOE Secretary Rick Perry. Trump had indicated his intent to nominate Brouillette when Perry announced his plan last month to resign before the end of the year.

A split between automakers on regulating tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions broke into the open Oct. 31 when a coalition of manufacturers including Toyota, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler formally moved to intervene on the Trump administration's side in litigation against the administration'…

A federal appeals court on Oct. 25 rejected California's challenge of the Environmental Protection Agency's first step toward revising tailpipe greenhouse gas emissions standards.