Christian Science Monitor: Why Is Google Working on Wireless Charging for Cars?

Google is working on wireless charging for its already driverless cars, according to recent reports.

IEEE Spectrum revealed that Google’s parent company, Alphabet, filed documents at the U.S. Federal Communication Commission that suggest Google is working toward plugless charging for its cars.

A year ago this month, the first wireless charging station was installed at Google’s Mountain View, Calif., campus by a startup called HEVO. In July, another startup named Momentum Dynamics installed a similar station at Google’s mysterious X location.

The Hindu: U.S., India in Talks Over Solar Power Trade Dispute

The U.S. and India are in talks that could settle a long-running solar power trade dispute, delaying the announcement of a ruling by the World Trade Organization (WTO), an Obama administration official said on Friday.

Washington filed the WTO challenge three years ago, claiming that India’s national solar power program illegally discriminated against imported solar panels and related products through its domestic content requirements.

The WTO in recent weeks has twice delayed the public announcement of a ruling in the case, rescheduling it for next Wednesday. Indian media reported last August that a WTO dispute settlement panel had confidentially notified Washington and New Delhi that it would rule against India in the case.

Climate Progress: Can Burning Forests to Power the Grid Be Carbon-Neutral? The Senate Just Said ‘Yes’

When the first major update to the nation’s energy laws in nearly a decade began last week in the Senate, environmentalists were cautiously sympathetic to it. The bill didn’t open new land for oil and gas drilling, coal was mostly ignored, and the Obama administration’s recent climate-change policies were left unscathed.

But environmentalists around the country are now incensed over an approved amendment categorizing bioenergy as carbon-neutral -- a move that groups say puts forests and even portions of the Clean Power Plan at risk.

“I think it’s a very dangerous amendment,” said Kevin Bundy, senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, in an interview with ThinkProgress. “It tries to dictate that burning forests for energy won’t affect the climate. That’s what the term 'carbon-neutral' is supposed to mean, and that’s just not true. You can’t legislate away basic physics.”

PV Magazine: Iran to Pay 35% Premium for Solar, Wind Plants With Domestic Content

International discussions of energy in Iran tend to focus on oil exports and its controversial nuclear program. However, solar PV is increasingly being deployed in every region of the world, and the Islamic Republic of Iran is no exception.

In mid-January, Iran’s Ministry of Energy announced that it would finalize 1 GW of contracts for wind and solar under its feed-in tariff program this March. A week ago, the ministry further announced that projects which utilize domestic content will receive a 35% bonus under the program, as reported by the Tehran Times.

InsideClimate News: Exxon Stiff-Arms a Request to Take Moral Responsibility for Climate Change

Oil giant ExxonMobil moved to reject a shareholder proposal calling for the company to assert moral leadership on climate change and pledge to work toward limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius or less.

In a letter to securities regulators, the company said the resolution filed by a faith-based organization is "vague and indefinite." Exxon also said it’s unnecessary for shareholders to consider the proposal at the annual stockholders meeting on May 25 because the company has already taken steps to tamp down global warming. The resolution was filed by the New Jersey-based Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment.