CLIMATE:
• In Alaska, President Obama says “we’re not acting fast enough” to prevent climate change. (New York Times)
• In a new report, Citibank says investing in low-carbon energy would save the world $1.8 trillion through 2040 and not acting will cost an additional $44 trillion by 2060. (Climate Progress)
CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Legal challenges to the plan cannot begin until the Obama administration publishes it in the Federal Register, which it said won’t happen for two months. (The Hill)
• Complying with federal rules will impact the debate over how Ohio moves forward with its renewable and efficiency standards freeze. (Midwest Energy News)
SOLAR:
• The Florida Supreme Court hears arguments today on proposed amendments to the state’s Constitution governing consumers’ access to solar energy. (Palm Beach Post)
• A Michigan company is bringing an updated version of its rooftop solar shingles to the market early next year. (MLive)
WIND: The Midwest’s grid operator projects wind capacity will rise 50 percent by the end of 2019, and it’s going to be “a lot bigger” due to the Clean Power Plan. (RTO Insider)
UTILITIES:
• In a hearing on its proposed “bailout” plan, an Ohio utility reveals that if costs increase over the next 15 years at its two struggling plants, ratepayers would be on the hook to pay the extra bills with little input from regulators. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
• Concern over Washington D.C. ratepayers getting swallowed up by a larger corporate structure led regulators to reject the proposed $6.4 billion Exelon/Pepco merger. (SNL)
GREEN ECONOMY: A state report finds the clean energy industry supports 10,000 jobs in Rhode Island. (Providence Journal)
OIL AND GAS:
• Despite being ravaged by climate change, Inupiat leaders in Alaska, along with the state’s governor, say they support expanded drilling. (Greenwire, Bloomberg)
• Federal officials say U.S. oil production has been lower than projected, easing a supply glut. (Bloomberg)
• The Marcellus-Utica shale region is expected to become a net exporter of natural gas this year. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
POLLUTION: Houston goes to the Supreme Court to defend its practice of enforcing pollution rules when state regulators fail to step in. (Texas Tribune)
COAL:
• A bankruptcy judge cleared Patriot Coal to sell its remaining assets. (The Wall Street Journal)
• Officials are still holding out hope for the mothballed FutureGen clean-coal project in Illinois. (Jacksonville Journal Courier)
ENERGY STORAGE:
• An Ohio utility invests $5 million in a company that provides software for grid-scale energy storage. (Greentech Media)
• The transition to storing energy from renewable systems risks swapping dependence on fossil fuels for dependence on metals critical to advanced batteries. (Christian Science Monitor)
ELECTRIC CARS: How louder electric cars could be harmful to birds. (National Geographic)
COMMENTARY: Regulators delaying coal’s natural death are doing a disservice to both utilities and their customers. (Bloomberg)