POLICY: Maryland’s Republican governor sends a mixed message on climate after approving a carbon reduction goal but vetoing a new renewable energy standard, a move the latter bill’s sponsor calls “infuriating.” (ClimateWire, Climate Progress)

CLEAN POWER PLAN: State officials across the country continue to hold closed-door meetings about the future of the federal rules. (ClimateWire)

CONGRESS: Dispute over a conservation program threatens progress on a House energy bill. (The Hill)

NUCLEAR:
• Urgency builds around keeping aging U.S. nuclear plants operating as zero-carbon energy sources. (New York Times)
• Seattle’s city council passes a resolution calling for replacement of nuclear energy with other carbon-free sources. (Seattle Times)

FRACKING:
• A decision last week by two federal agencies clears the way for fracking off California’s coast, environmental groups say they “fundamentally disagree” with the analysis. (San Diego Union-Tribune, KEYT)
• A judge dismisses a lawsuit filed by oil and gas developers against Pennsylvania fracking opponents. (Pittsburgh Tribune)

OIL AND GAS: Poorly mapped abandoned gas wells put homes at risk. (NPR)

GRID: A report finds solar and efficiency have eliminated the need for $192 million in transmission upgrades in California. (Greentech Media)

WIND: An offshore system set for Rhode Island’s coast could reshape power markets in South Florida and elsewhere in the Southeast. (Scientific American)

COAL ASH: The North Carolina legislature reforms a coal ash oversight commission despite a threatened veto by Gov. Pat McCrory. (Southeast Energy News)

COAL:
• Montana’s governor meets with residents concerned about the shutdown of a nearby coal plant: “Nobody for certain knows where all of this is going.” (Billings Gazette)
• The company leading an underground coal gasification project in Wyoming files for bankruptcy. (SNL Energy)

SOLAR:
• Consumer advocates say a New Jersey utility’s plan to add 100 MW of solar transfers too much risk to ratepayers. (Bergen County Record)
• Nebraska is set to quintuple the amount of solar being produced in the state this year. (NET)
• Advocates say a northern Minnesota utility’s community solar program would limit third-party developers in its service territory. (Midwest Energy News)
• An old toxic waste dump in South Carolina could host a large solar farm in part to defray the dump’s maintenance costs. (The State)

HYDRO: A high cost for restoration means a century-old hydropower plant in Arizona will likely be shut down for good. (Arizona Republic)

ELECTRIC CARS: Texas Republicans push to allow Tesla to sell directly to consumers. (AutoBlog)

COMMENTARY:
• How the Clean Power Plan can help asthma sufferers. (Philadelphia Tribune)
• In Utah, “we are clearly seeing a surge in solar power and other renewable energy sources that will continue to relegate coal to a lesser place in the energy pantheon.” (Deseret News)