SOLAR: Lawmakers and solar backers in Arizona agree to drop competing ballot measures and work on a compromise on solar incentives. (Arizona Republic)
ALSO:
• Maine lawmakers push to override Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of a solar bill; the governor sought lower rates for net metering. (PV Magazine, Portland Press Herald)
• A Nevada panel, including utility and solar representatives, agree that existing solar customers should be grandfathered in to their existing rates. (Las Vegas Sun)
• A bipartisan group of Iowa lawmakers are pushing back against two utilities’ efforts to increase rates on solar customers. (Midwest Energy News)
• SunEdison’s bankruptcy doesn’t have the same “symbolic value” that Solyndra’s bankruptcy did five years ago, experts say. (EnergyWire)
• A Texas utility lowers the price for community solar participation amid lower than expected interest. (San Antonio Business Journal)
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CLIMATE: A new survey finds nearly half of conservative Republicans now consider global warming a threat, a figure that has doubled in the past two years. (Bloomberg)
CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Fourteen states seek formal guidance from the EPA on how to prepare for the Clean Power Plan despite the Supreme Court stay. (Bloomberg)
• A conservative energy advocacy group is pushing state legislatures to pass budget bills that block spending for Clean Power Plan compliance. (ClimateWire)
CONGRESS: The stalled energy funding bill in the Senate may be an early sign of even bigger budget battles to come. (E&E Daily)
NEW YORK: The New York Independent System Operator warns the state’s clean energy plan could increase costs for consumers. (Politico)
UTILITIES:
• Amid further review by federal regulators of two income-guarantee deals for struggling plants, two Ohio utilities will likely turn to the state legislature to return to a fully regulated market. (Midwest Energy News)
• Duke Energy says it will own or purchase 8,000 megawatts of renewable energy by 2020, a 33% jump from its current goal. (Charlotte Observer)
RENEWABLES: Acknowledging “Montana’s energy economy is in crisis,” a new campaign pushes for clean energy in the state. (Montana Standard)
FRACKING:
• Pennsylvania officials are investigating whether a string of five small earthquakes is related to nearby drilling operations. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• How the word “fracking” entered our vocabulary. (Vox)
PIPELINES:
• The financial interests of pipeline companies, natural gas producers and utilities is leading to the overbuilding of natural gas pipelines, according to a new report. (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis)
• New Hampshire lawmakers advance a bill that would require pipeline developers to buy entire properties in eminent domain cases, combining it with an efficiency measure. (Concord Monitor)
GRID:
• PJM’s capacity auction could face new challenges. (Platts)
• A White House climate policy official told a conference in Charlotte it will convene a national summit on storage and renewables this summer. (Charlotte Business Journal)
COAL: Coal deliveries by rail are down 34 percent compared to last year. (SNL)
COMMENTARY:
• A Harvard skeptic admits: “I was wrong” about solar. (Greentech Media)
• Warren Buffett is giving “mixed signals” on climate risks. (Ceres)