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)