CLIMATE: Federal officials react to increased interest from “keep it in the ground” activists in public lease auctions; Interior Secretary Sally Jewel calls the movement “naive.” (Deseret News, The Hill)

ALSO:
• Six months after the Obama administration rejected the Keystone XL pipeline, at least 20 other fossil-fuel related energy projects have been canceled, rejected or delayed. (InsideClimate News)
• Attorneys say legal actions against companies over alleged misinformation on climate change is “a novel and creative” approach that is just getting started. (Greenwire)
• ExxonMobil officials turn to Congress for help containing a climate campaign targeting the company. (Politico)
• Mobil’s CEO warned in 1982 of the climate risks of oil sands extraction. (InsideClimate News)

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NUCLEAR:
• A Nevada company says it will try to purchase the TVA’s mothballed Bellefonte plant in Alabama to generate power with an untested technology. (Associated Press)
• Exelon stresses that it will close two struggling Illinois nuclear plants within the next two years if lawmakers do not pass legislation supporting the plants. (RTO Insider)

COAL: EPA chief Gina McCarthy says the federal government should help coal-dependent communities in West Virginia and elsewhere that are at risk of being “left behind.” (The Hill)

CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Kansas suspends work on compliance planning. (Wichita Eagle)
• A panel discusses how rural co-ops can prepare for the Clean Power Plan. (Electric Co-op Today)

OVERSIGHT: Arizona’s attorney general says state regulators have a legal right to question companies about secret political contributions. (Capitol Media Services)

SOLAR:
• A report finds solar can have economic benefits in remote Alaska communities– even with long, dark winters – by cutting diesel dependence in the summertime. (Alaska Dispatch News)
• A solar project in Minnesota that involved clear-cutting acres of trees has attracted the attention of state lawmakers. (Midwest Energy News)
• Small solar companies in Arizona await the outcome of a dispute between large firms and the state’s utilities. (Arizona Public Media)

WIND: A bill passed by Vermont lawmakers suspends approvals for new wind projects for 45 days so state regulators can establish noise regulations. (VTDigger)

OIL AND GAS:
• The Fort McMurray wildfire has taken a quarter of Canada’s oil capacity offline. (Globe and Mail)
• North Dakota health officials are using new infrared cameras to detect methane, ethane and other emissions coming from leaking well sites on the Bakken. (Forum News Service)
• A photography exhibit examines the impact of the fracking boom in Pennsylvania. (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)
• The U.S. gets more of its natural gas from hydraulically fractured wells than ever before, and increased gas consumption now contributes the same amount of greenhouse gases as coal. (Climate Central)
• Environmental groups file more than 130 motions to intervene in proceedings on a proposed Texas natural gas export terminal. (Houston Business Journal)

GRID: Texas’ grid operator explores regulatory changes to allow distributed resources to compete in the marketplace. (Greentech Media)

MEDIA: A Utah newspaper columnist targets fossil fuel “front groups.” (Media Matters)

COMMENTARY: Solar won’t be the future of air travel, but these changes already underway will make the industry more green. (Vox)