SOLAR: How the solar industry and utilities in New York reached a compromise on net metering. (Utility Dive)
ALSO:
• A Nevada task force recommends grandfathering existing customers into the state’s old net metering rates. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• A Hawaii utility opposes increasing the state’s net metering cap. (Pacific Business Journal)
GRID:
• California regulators approve expedited plans to add battery storage to avoid blackouts this summer. (Los Angeles Times)
• Dynegy proposes a bill in the Illinois legislature that would move all of the state into the PJM power market. (RTO Insider)
OIL AND GAS:
• A federal agency contradicts an EPA finding that water near a Pennsylvania drilling site is safe to drink. (EnergyWire)
• An April saltwater pipeline rupture shut down a strategic oil reserve in Texas for five weeks. (Greenwire)
WIND: A judge rejects a proposed 104 MW wind project in remote eastern Oregon amid concerns over impact on sage grouse habitat. (Oregon Public Broadcasting)
COAL: Arch Coal sells its stake in a proposed Washington state export terminal, raising doubts about the project’s future. (Casper Star-Tribune)
NUCLEAR: Environmental groups push regulators to shut down a nuclear plant near New York City, saying inspection reports reveal new safety concerns. (AFP)
UTILITIES: A Wisconsin economist says regulators have tools at their disposal to help utilities find value in clean energy and distributed generation for their shareholders. (Midwest Energy News)
EFFICIENCY:
• The strongest growth in combined heat and power systems recently has been in multifamily housing. (Greentech Media)
• Efforts to increase efficiency standards in Austin, Texas generate concerns about economic segregation. (Austin Monitor)
ACTIVISM:
• “Keytstonization” by climate activists is slowing pipeline development throughout the U.S. (Houston Chronicle)
• Questions surface about a Virginia philanthropist’s hopes to package and sell to utilities coal bundled with carbon credits from tree planting. (Greenwire)
CLIMATE:
• Five Republican senators call on the U.S. Attorney General to drop any inquiries into whether oil companies worked to mislead the public on climate change. (Houston Chronicle)
• One of the world’s largest insurers warns the U.S. to stop subsidizing insurance for homes built in areas vulnerable to sea level rise. (Climate Change News)
CONGRESS: Early discussions of the House version of a sweeping energy plan are off to a rocky start. (E&E Daily)
POLITICS:
• Presidential candidate Donald Trump delivers an energy speech in North Dakota, with some questionable claims and few specifics. (Washington Post)
• Trump sidesteps a Wyoming reporter’s question about the economics of coal. (Media Matters)
COMMENTARY: Stop treating climate change as “a back-burner issue.” (Los Angeles Times)