CLIMATE: Berkshire Hathaway shareholders reject a climate resolution despite testimony from James Hansen and others. (Washington Post, Columbia University)
ALSO:
• Shareholders push utilities to show they can survive economically amid efforts to limit warming to 2 degrees. (ClimateWire)
• A study finds half of the world’s top 500 investors are doing nothing about climate change. (Reuters)
• In a “massive victory,” a judge sides with eight kids in a Washington state climate lawsuit. (Huffington Post)
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UTILITIES:
• A clash between Warren Buffett and Elon Musk in Nevada challenges long-held assumptions about the utility business. (Las Vegas Sun)
• Former NRG Energy CEO David Crane discusses his departure from the company and what he plans next. (Greentech Media)
POLITICS:
• A conservative PAC plans to target Tom Steyer, Bill McKibben and other climate activists. (Politico)
• Renewable energy groups are spending more on lobbying in Massachusetts. (Boston Globe)
CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• A conservative group with deep ties to the Koch brothers takes credit for state efforts to halt compliance with the Clean Power Plan. (Politico, ClimateWire)
• Challengers to the Clean Power Plan ask federal judges for five hours of oral arguments across two days in June — typically cases get 20 to 40 minutes. (Greenwire)
• New Jersey officials say the state is not working on a compliance plan: “we don’t need EPA’s re-engineering.” (NJ Spotlight)
SOLAR:
• A report says some of the states with strongest solar potential also have the least favorable solar policies. (Solar Industry)
• North Carolina surpasses New Jersey to become the number 3 state in the U.S. for solar capacity. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• Vermont’s Supreme Court sides with solar developers in a dispute over local control of siting. (Burlington Free Press)
• Maine lawmakers uphold Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of legislation intended to boost solar development in the state. (Portland Press Herald)
WIND: High wind speeds in April produced “unprecedented power production”across the Upper Midwest. (Minnesota Public Radio)
OIL AND GAS:
• Exxon posts its lowest quarterly profit in 16 years. (Associated Press)
• Floods in Texas are washing fracking chemicals and crude oil into rivers. (Associated Press)
• Satellite data show more natural gas flares in the U.S. than in other countries. (Climate Central)
• Wyoming’s largest natural gas producer may file for bankruptcy. (Wyoming Public Media)
• Colorado’s governor says there’s still room to compromise on drilling issues in the state. (Denver Business Journal)
• The Bakken oil and gas field is largely responsible for the global uptick in ethane pollution, a new study says. (Associated Press)
PIPELINES:
• A pipeline explosion in Pennsylvania injures one person and pushes prices upward. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• House Republicans pull a provision in proposed pipeline safety legislation that would have made it easier for people affected by spills and leaks to file civil cases. (E&E Daily)
COAL:
• The decline in coal use since its apex in 2007 was “particularly sharp” in the Midwest and Southeast. (ClimateWire)
• A study estimates coal passing through a proposed Washington state export terminal could emit as much carbon annually as 672,000 cars. (Seattle Times)
• Small Montana towns suffer from coal’s decline: “Our economy is pulled by one horse.” (Billings Gazette)
GRID:
• A Minnesota co-op leads an initiative pushing for the greater use of electric water heaters and electric vehicles as a means for energy storage. (Midwest Energy News)
• Hawaii lawmakers push for energy-storage incentives. (Associated Press)
• A Texas lawmaker convenes a grid security conference centered on the remote threat of an electromagnetic pulse attack. (Texas Tribune)
COMMENTARY:
• Why cities are well-suited for renewable energy growth. (Wall Street Journal)
• On Amtrak’s 45th birthday, a look at why American passenger rail is so bad. (Vox)