CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Documents show how fossil-fuel companies, Republican attorneys general and the association “dedicated to re-electing them” are aligned in a legal attack against the Clean Power Plan. (Bloomberg)
• Thirteen states could save more coal-fired power plants by working together to comply with the Clean Power Plan, according to a new report. (Columbus Business First)
OIL & GAS:
• A federal judge tentatively rejects a plan to open lands in central California to oil drilling and fracking, saying the federal Bureau of Land Management didn’t take a “hard look” at the environmental impacts. (Associated Press)
• New Mexico officials consider reclaiming cash from incomplete public works projects as the state confronts a $458 million budget deficit due to weak oil and natural gas prices. (Associated Press)
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PIPELINES:
• A federal judge issues a temporary halt to construction on a section of the controversial Dakota Access pipeline following a clash with protesters over the weekend. (The Hill)
• After it was struck by a dredging operation, a ruptured pipeline that leaked 5,300 gallons of oil in south Louisiana has been secured, the Coast Guard says. (Associated Press)
POLITICS:
• Individuals who work for the oil and gas industry have donated far more money to Hillary Clinton than to Donald Trump, bucking historic party trends. (New York Magazine)
• Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein may face charges for spray painting graffiti on a bulldozer during a protest against the $3.8 billion Dakota Access pipeline. (Forum News Service)
POLLUTION: Rhode Island is suing 34 oil companies in federal court for contaminating the state’s groundwater with a gasoline additive banned in 2007. (Providence Journal)
UTILITIES:
• Despite repeated warnings of blackouts, a utility in Southern California can meet peak demands in summer and winter without using the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility, according to a new report. (DeSmog Blog)
• An environmental group is criticizing Duke Energy’s plans for power generation in North Carolina, which would keep its two utilities burning up to 50 percent fossil fuels for their energy production. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• A lack of a dedicates state consumer advocate in Virginia has put the state’s dominant utility in a “David and Goliath type of situation” where costs are pushed onto ratepayers, says an economist and former county consumer advocate. (Southeast Energy News)
WIND:
• A 600-megawatt wind farm proposed for Colorado wins the support of a dozen interested parties. (Denver Business Journal)
• Despite a recent report that found the eastern U.S. grid is could meet 30 percent of the region’s energy needs from renewables, getting wind power from the Midwest to the East remains a major obstacle. (Midwest Energy News)
SOLAR:
• A Nevada proposal to give more economically favorable rates to 32,000 rooftop solar customers will receive a hearing on Sept. 19. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• An open letter asks the biggest solar lobbying group in the U.S. to step up its representation of distributed generation, and the group responds that it plans to fight for everyone. (Greentech Media)
• A secret solar society made up of industry leaders has been plotting how to make solar the dominant source of energy for the last 14 years. (EnergyWire)
STORAGE: New battery systems unveiled by NEC Energy Solutions, which don’t require design and engineering expertise to install, will bring more competition to the behind-the-meter market. (Greentech Media)
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CLIMATE: The U.S. has quietly moved away from coal and toward cleaner fuels under the Obama administration, but experts say it will do little to prevent the effects of climate change. (Associated Press)
COMMENTARY: Will Tesla’s shareholders continue to buy into Elon Musk’s vision and vote for his acquisition of SolarCity? (New York Times)