ENERGY SHIFT: The world is now adding more capacity for renewable power each year than coal, natural gas, and oil combined, according to an analysis presented Tuesday at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance annual summit. (Bloomberg)
ALSO: The U.S. could soon export more energy than it imports, significantly changing the country’s appetite for foreign fuels starting as early as 2020, according to a new report from the Energy Information Administration. (San Antonio Business Journal)
WIND: North America’s wind industry is on track to add 55 gigawatts of capacity between 2015 and 2024, according to MAKE Consulting. (CleanTechnica)
CARBON TAX: The president of the World Bank has called on the world to tax carbon emissions and to immediately end of subsidies for fossil fuels. (Guardian)
ELECTRIC CARS: Advocates for Tesla Motors told a panel of Texas House members Monday that it’s time to bring state car sales laws into the 21st century and allow the company to sell its luxury electric vehicles in Texas. (The Texas Tribune)
COAL: Utah’s oldest coal-fired power plant is shutting down Wednesday, one day ahead of when a new federal rule on mercury emissions takes effect. (Deseret News)
FRACKING:
• The amount of water that the oil and gas technology uses in California does not count as a major drought contributor. (The Washington Post)
• Next week will mark the beginning of a second effort to bring a fracking ban before Michigan voters in 2016. (The Detroit News)
EFFICIENCY: Portland, Oregon, is poised to become the 12th city in the nation to mandate energy reporting by commercial buildings. (Portland Business Journal)
GRIDLOCK: According to a Center for American Progress analysis, 59 of the 135 roll call votes in the Senate this year have been on energy and environmental issues, yet none of the measures have become law. (Fuel Fix)
POLITICS:
• Five Senate Democrats penned a letter to the nation’s governors Tuesday saying Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s views are out of line with his own Kentucky constituents and urging states to comply with the Clean Power Plan. (The Hill)
• House Republicans released a spending bill Tuesday that would boost funding for fossil fuel programs and a long-stalled effort to reopen the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site. (Greenwire)
• Billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer is taking Wisconsin’s Governor Scott Walker to task, accusing the Republican presidential hopeful of being a pawn for fossil fuel interests and a climate change denier. (The Cap Times)
ARIZONA: The Sierra Club has objected to a plan to upgrade a power plant in Tempe, Arizona by replacing some of its old gas generators with newer, faster-starting generators rather than battery storage for solar. (The Arizona Republic)
HAWAII: Hawaii can support a goal of generating 100 percent of its electrical power and transportation fuels from renewable energy, a new report says. (Pacific Business News)