POLITICO New York Energy, presented by Nuclear Matters: Saint-Gobain and the Hoosick Falls leaders; SUNY Poly requirement

By David Giambusso and Scott Waldman

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EMAILS SHOW HOOSICK FALLS MAYOR COORDINATED WITH POLLUTER—Albany Times Union’s Brendan Lyons: “The email from Saint-Gobain underscores the close relationship that developed between village leaders, especially Borge, and the company that may be partly responsible for the pollution. The email is one of dozens exchanged between the mayor and Saint-Gobain officials since the toxic chemical, perfluorooctanoic acid, was discovered in the village's water system in the fall of 2014. The emails were released to the Times Union recently under a Freedom of Information Law request filed in January. The documents also confirm there were efforts to conceal the village's decision to retain a public relations firm, Behan Communications, which began providing advice to Borge and the village in December, including how to answer questions from reporters.” http://bit.ly/1WjhRkX

AROUND NEW YORK:

--SUNY Poly now needs state permission to move forward on its projects, including SolarCity, because of corruption probes. http://pojonews.co/1TxydQ2

--NYSERDA launched a website to prepare people in extreme weather events, the AP reports.http://bit.ly/1rHPVtm

--Long Island lobstermen say they will face further closures if federal regulators suspend trade to regrow the lobster population, Newsday’s Mark Harrington reports. http://nwsdy.li/1rC0QVI

--An underground electrical fire broke out Saturday causing damage to a Con Ed transmission line, but the utility said no one lost power. http://bit.ly/275LNEj

GOOD MONDAY MORNING: Let us know anytime if you have tips, story ideas or life advice. We're always here at dgiambusso@politico.com and swaldman@politico.com. And if you like this letter, please tell a friend and/or loved one. Here’s a handy sign-up link: politi.co/1UqoEoB

** A Message from Nuclear Matters: Providing 61 percent of the state’s carbon-free electricity, New York’s nuclear energy plants are a necessary and valuable part of the state’s energy mix, and deserve the support of state lawmakers for their role in providing New York with reliable electricity while protecting the environment. Learn more: NuclearMatters.com. **

FIRE OFFICIALS SEE END TO OIL SANDS BLAZE — The Associated Press: “Officials said Sunday they reached a turning point in fighting an enormous wildfire, hoping to get a ‘death grip’ on the blaze that devastated Canada’s oil sands town of Fort McMurray amid cooler temperatures.” http://wapo.st/275LvNI

GROUPS SEEK END TO SEISMIC BLASTING OFF ATLANTIC — Wayne Parry of the Associated Press: “It’s been compared to hearing dynamite explode, or standing next to a jet engine. Seismic surveying involves blasting the ocean floor with sound waves that bounce off the sea bed and are recorded by ships. It’s extremely useful in finding deposits of oil and natural gas. But there is concern that it can be harmful to marine life, including endangered whales, turtles and dolphins.” http://wapo.st/1rHLLSr

WALL STREET TRYING TO WIN HEARTS WITH RENEWABLE INVESTMENT — Brian McInenerny for CNBC.com: “Bruised by election-year rhetoric and still suffering the fallout on its reputation from the 2008 crisis, Wall Street is going the extra mile to win hearts and minds on Main Street.” http://cnb.cx/275N8uK

NEVADA SHEEP KILL — The Associated Press http://wapo.st/275OK7G

SCIENTISTS TRACKING THE GREENLAND MELT: Researchers for MIT and Princeton have published the results of their recent foray into seismic testing and its use in studying which ice sheets are the most vulnerable to melting." http://bit.ly/1rC2k2u

NRG MAKING CHANGES — Renewable Energy Contracts: “NRG Home Solar, which has its main office in Wall, has laid off 500 workers nationwide as it streamlines and narrows its residential solar installation business.” http://bit.ly/275QFJy

EIG MAKES BID FOR PACIFIC EXPLORATION — Bloomberg: “EIG Global Energy Partners has submitted a new bid for Pacific Exploration & Production Corp. with $830 million in creditor recovery that the private-equity firm argues is “vastly superior” to one selected last month by the board of the Colombia-based oil producer.” http://bloom.bg/275PzgM

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING, your gadgets were sucking energy. The New York Times’ Tatiana Schlossberg examines how much juice our little gizmos are costing us. http://nyti.ms/275QnSU

NEW SAUDI OIL CHIEF: PUMP BABY PUMP — Bloomberg’s Anthony Dipaola: “Saudi Arabia will probably keep producing crude at near-record levels under its newly appointed oil minister, Khalid Al-Falih, as the world’s largest exporter sticks with his predecessor’s policy of defending market share against higher-cost shale.” http://bloom.bg/275NAsM

ISIS’ ENERGY MOGUL — The Wall Street Journal: “In Syria, George Haswani sees himself as a patriot. In the West, he is a wanted man. Mr. Haswani acts as a middleman between Islamic State and the Syrian government, the terror group’s largest customer, Western security officials allege.” http://on.wsj.com/1rHKIlh

OFFSHORE AFRICAN DRILLING IN A DOWNTURN —Bloomberg: “ U.S. explorers aren’t the only ones idling rigs as sub-$50 crude forces oil and gas drillers in Africa to slow their search for new reserves.” http://bloom.bg/1rHTxvF

FUTURES:

--Oil ended lower Friday clocking its first losing week in a while. Prices were doing well in early trading Monday, but the Saudi situation combined with the hopeful end of the Alberta blaze will likely weigh on prices this week. The Wall Street Journal reports. http://on.wsj.com/1rItOTQ

--Natural gas did well on the Alberta blaze, the Journal reports. http://on.wsj.com/1rC1d2B

** A Message from Nuclear Matters: New York’s existing nuclear energy plants provide 61 percent of the state’s carbon-free electricity and play a vital role in achieving our clean-energy and carbon-reduction goals. Additional premature retirements of safe, reliable nuclear energy plants mean New Yorkers would pay more for electricity, the economy would suffer and we would face substantially higher carbon emissions.

New York has taken an essential step forward to address the premature closures of our nuclear energy plants. The proposed development of a Clean Energy Standard by the Public Service Commission would, for the first time, ensure that existing nuclear plants are valued for their carbon-free attributes.

We urge the state to include all of New York’s existing nuclear energy plants, regardless of their geography in the state, in the proposed Clean Energy Standard. All nuclear energy facilities bring significant reliability and clean-air benefits to New York. Learn more: NuclearMatters.com. **

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