CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Utilities are moving forward on compliance strategies despite the Supreme Court’s delay: “Carbon regulation is not going away.” (Houston Chronicle)
• Utah’s governor stops work on compliance plans. (KUTV)

NATURAL GAS: A study finds the Aliso Canyon leak released more than 97,000 tons of methane, the most in U.S. history. (InsideClimate News)

FRACKING: A Florida Senate committee narrowly rejects a bill that would allow the state, not local governments, to regulate fracking operations. (News 13)

CLIMATE:
• A new study estimates the world’s carbon budget to avoid the worst impacts of climate change will run out in 15 to 30 years. (Climate Central)
• The West Virginia House moves to delay new science educational standards amid its doubts about global warming. (Associated Press)

OREGON: A maneuver by Democratic lawmakers keeps a proposed 50 percent renewable standard alive, despite opposition from Republicans. (Portland Tribune, The Hill)

SOLAR:
• A plan by advocates to grow Maine’s solar capacity tenfold does away with net metering and replaces it with a 20-year price guarantee. (Portland Press Herald) 
• A top Texas regulator expects a “wave” of new solar generation in the coming years. (Platts)
• The number of states with solar at grid parity could be vastly different depending on the way rates are structured. (Utility Dive)

ELECTRIC CARS:
• A study projects electric vehicles could comprise half of new car sales by 2040, and could significantly disrupt oil markets. (Huffington Post, Bloomberg)
• How utilities are preparing to accommodate electric cars. (Greentech Media)

GRID:
• Calling energy storage a “game changer,” FERC’s chairman says the commission will seek ways to ease the transition. (Houston Chronicle)
• A study finds smart water heaters used as grid storage could net homeowners more than $200 per year. (Greentech Media)

NUCLEAR: Federal regulators approve the expansion of a Texas nuclear plant, but the project faces a “challenging” economic environment. (San Antonio Business Journal)

RESEARCH: U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz pledges to improve the “broken” relationship between the Department of Energy and national energy laboratories. (E&E Daily)

POLITICS: A conservative energy group forms in Minnesota to focus on transitioning away from coal and embracing clean energy. (Midwest Energy News)

COMMENTARY:
• It’s not too late for Nevada regulators to undo the damage they’ve inflicted on the state’s solar industry. (Las Vegas Sun)
• New York is setting a new standard on clean energy leadership. (Huffington Post)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.

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