CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• All of the highly-anticipated legal arguments for and against the plan are to be boiled down to less than four hours when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit hears them next Tuesday. (Greenwire)
• Here is one primer on the pivotal arguments in court next week. (Utility Dive)
RENEWABLE ENERGY: 20 governors send an open letter to President Obama asking his administration to expand wind and solar energy production in their states. (CleanTechnica)
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CLIMATE:
• Hundreds of top scientists send an open letter opposing a U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate-warming accord. (Reuters)
• In an effort to combat climate change, Boston University pledges “to avoid investing in coal and tar sands extractors.” (Boston Globe)
SOLAR:
• Charlotte-based Duke Energy is paying $300,000 for solar installations at up to 10 schools in North Carolina as part of a $5.4 million settlement with the EPA over Clean Air Act violations. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• Albuquerque, New Mexico, passes a resolution to power city-owned buildings and facilities with 25 percent solar energy by 2025, leading to projected savings of $3.6 million per year. (Albuquerque Business First)
• A 300-acre solar power plant built in Arizona to offset Apple’s electricity usage has a capacity of 50 megawatts, which could supply about 12,500 homes at once. (Arizona Republic)
GRID:
• Microgrids will evolve to become a “fundamental building block” of the 21st-century grid, according to a new study. (Midwest Energy News)
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will begin releasing forecasts that predict how solar storms could disrupt electrical power grids. (Nature)
• A startup is using $1.7 million in federal funding to scale its Grid Assessor platform, which combines wholesale pricing data and substation locations to gauge local electricity value at particular locations. (Greentech Media)
PIPELINES: Colonial Pipeline constructs a temporary fix to move gasoline past a major leak in Alabama, which has caused fuel shortages in many southern states, and says it expects gas to begin flowing again today. (Associated Press)
ALSO:
• Federal and state officials are investigating a clash between Dakota Access Pipeline protesters and private security guards that led to reported injuries in North Dakota earlier this month. (Associated Press)
• The chairman of a tribe fighting to stop construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline speaks to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Switzerland, saying the United States “failed to respect our sovereign rights.” (NBC News)
OIL & GAS:
• The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating how ExxonMobil valued its assets during the downturn in oil prices, echoing similar efforts by attorney generals from New York and Massachusetts. (Bloomberg)
• Seven key environmental groups send a letter urging President Obama to block potential offshore drilling operations in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. (The Hill)
COAL: After four decades of prosperity, the coal bust finally hits a 300-mile corridor stretching from Wyoming to Montana, as 1,100 workers lose their jobs. (Bloomberg)
NUCLEAR: U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz says leaders are “very much interested in the possibility of pursuing private storage” to alleviate growing stockpiles of nuclear waste at power plants. (Reuters)
COMMENTARY: Governments should encourage private investment in clean technologies and sustainable development to fund climate change efforts. (New York Times)