CLIMATE: The California State Assembly approves a bill extending the state’s emission reduction target to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030, despite low cap-and-trade revenue this month. (Reuters/Los Angeles Times)
ALSO:
• The fate of California’s emissions bill is linked to another climate bill yet to be approved by the State Assembly. (Los Angeles Times)
• Colorado’s governor is contemplating an executive order that would require cuts of up to 35 percent in carbon dioxide emissions from the state’s power sector by 2035. (Denver Business Journal)
• Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson is supporting a fee on carbon dioxide emissions, calling it “a free-market approach to climate change.” (The Hill)
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SOLAR:
• Arizona solar companies are backing a Republican candidate for the state’s Corporation Commission, but he says he’d rather they not get involved. (ABC 15)
• A company in Maine could build solar farms on the state’s former landfills, starting with one near Portland. (Portland Press Herald)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Tesla says its newest version of the Model S can go from zero to 60 miles per hour in 2.5 seconds, making it the fastest production car in the world. (Los Angeles Times)
TECHNOLOGY:
• Illinois researchers use the sun’s energy to convert carbon dioxide into fuel. (Midwest Energy News)
• The technology behind the popular Pokemon Go mobile app could advance environmental research and revolutionize the energy sector. (Greenwire)
OIL & GAS:
• Two ballot measures to limit oil and gas drilling in Colorado “could be devastating,” according to energy summit panelists. (Denver Post)
• Newly released maps reveal the extent that seismic testing for offshore oil could pose a risk to marine life. (Southeast Energy News)
• The federal government is broadcasting an oil and gas lease sale live on the Internet for the first time, partly due to protests that disrupted a lease sale in March. (Associated Press)
PIPELINES: Local officials struggle to handle hundreds of demonstrators who have gathered to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline, which is slated to run from North Dakota to Illinois. (New York Times)
COAL:
• Environmental advocates urge Texas lawmakers to require coal companies to set aside cash to clean up mines instead of permitting companies to self-bond, which could cost the state more than $250 million. (Texas Observer)
• Residents of a Montana town are being asked to conserve water so a nearby coal plant can continue operating. (Associated Press)
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UTILITIES:
• Utilities will need to spend more on analytics and integration services to handle an increasingly complex advanced metering infrastructure network, according to a recent study. (Greentech Media)
• A Florida utility defends its request for $1.3 billion in base-rate hikes as a way to maintain the company’s “stability and predictability” while making improvements that include increased use of solar power. (News Service of Florida)
COMMENTARY:
• An oil industry group says “evidence continues to accumulate that fracking is safe.” (FuelFix)
• The case for and against a national ban on fracking. (Grist)