| INDUSTRY WANTS GREAT LEEWAY IN CLIMATE RULE REPLACEMENT: Energy companies and their allies want the Trump administration to give them a wide amount of leeway when writing a replacement to the Obama administration's climate change rule for power plants. In comments submitted to the EPA, which were due this week, fossil fuel interests, utilities, business groups and others asked the agency to write a rule that doesn't require any coal-fired power plants to shut down, doesn't mandate any actions outside of the power plants themselves and that gives state leaders maximum flexibility in deciding how to comply. "EPA should fully recognize state authority to determine standards of performance that are less strict than they might otherwise be based on a particular source's remaining useful life or other factors," the National Mining Association told the agency. "This, of course, is no more than what section 111(d) [of the Clean Air Act] explicitly provides, but EPA should clearly express in the replacement rule that it intends to allow states to fully consider these factors given that EPA prevented states from doing so in the [Clean Power Plan]," it said, referring to the section of law under which the Obama administration wrote its rule. The Large Public Power Council, an electric utility group, said in its comments that the EPA's revised guidelines for emissions should be tailored to reduce or eliminate the chances that any company would have to close power plants that would otherwise still be useful. Read more here. US SOLAR COMPANY TO LAY OFF HUNDREDS: American solar company SunPower will lay off about 3 percent of its workforce in March, a decision that comes after President Trump began imposing new tariffs on imported solar materials earlier this month. SunPower has already started the process of laying off between 150 and 250 workers, largely from its research and development and marketing positions, CEO Tom Werner told The Hill. The cuts will amount to about a 10 decrease in operational expenses. The cuts made by the publicly traded company, which is based in San Jose, Calif., are largely an effort to stop the bleeding from the new costs associated with the 30 percent tariffs, Werner said. SunPower estimates that with the new tariffs it will lose $50 million this year, about one-sixth of the company's overall operating costs. According to Werner, the company fears that next year's losses will be even more staggering, predicting the firm could lose closer to $100 million. Following the administration's decision on tariffs, SunPower announced it was halting a planned $20 million investment to expand factories and create hundreds of new jobs in the U.S. Werner said the money has instead been used to pay the tariffs. SunPower is one of many U.S. solar companies hoping to qualify for a waiver from the tariff. In the weeks leading up to and following the solar tariff decision, Werner has attended dozens of meetings in Washington, D.C., with administration officials at the Department of Energy, Commerce Department and the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Werner said he's positive from his meetings that SunPower will be exempted. He added that failing to obtain the waiver will likely result in more job cuts and a shift toward more investment in foreign markets. Read more here. DEMS QUESTION INTERIOR OVER EXPECTED DROP IN ROYALTY RATES: Two Democratic lawmakers are raising concerns over the Interior Department's expected decision Wednesday to lower royalty rates on oil drilled offshore. Sen. Maria Cantwell (Wash.) and Rep. Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.), the top Democrats on the Senate and House natural resources committees, respectively, sent a joint letter Tuesday night to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke pressing him for details on the department's decision-making process. Interior's Royalty Policy Committee (RPC) is expected to vote Wednesday to lower royalty rates from 18.75 percent to 12.5 percent, based on recommendations made by another panel in early February. The lowest rate government is allowed to charge for such leases is 12.5 percent. In their letter, the Democratic lawmakers warn that dropping the rates to such a level will have negative effects on the economy. They wrote that the draft recommendations "seem entirely divorced from the goal of ensuring free market value for publicly owned resources." The lawmakers said the rate drop would amount to a "giveaway," likening it to a "fire sale." Read more here. ON TAP THURSDAY: The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on Trump's infrastructure plan. AROUND THE WEB: Ryan Payne, one of the leaders of last year's wildlife refuge occupation in Oregon, was sentenced to 37 months in prison, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports. NV Energy wants to keep the state's last coal-fired power plant running through 2025, the Nevada Independent reports. Vancouver Energy has dropped its plans for a massive oil export terminal in Washington state, the Associated Press reports. OPINION: Jeff Green, president of government relations firm J.A. Green & Company, argues that the U.S. should not rely on China and Russia for critical minerals. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Check out Wednesday's stories ... -Top Interior appointee resigns after anti-Muslim posts surface -US solar company to lay off hundreds of workers after Trump tariffs -Dem AGs pledge to keep suing Trump admin over environmental policies -Watchdog: DOE funding delays created 'uncertainty' for projects -Dems press Interior chief over expected changes to offshore drilling royalty rates | 
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