EXXON:
• New York’s attorney general issues a subpoena to examine whether ExxonMobil lied to investors about the risks of climate change to its business. (InsideClimate News)
• The New York investigation could expand to include other oil companies. (New York Times)
• ExxonMobil’s CEO denies misleading the public on climate change, but doesn’t address the company’s funding of misinformation campaigns. (InsideClimate News)
CLIMATE: A Pew Research Center poll of 40 countries finds that in all but one (Pakistan), a majority of respondents support limits on greenhouse gases. (New York Times)
CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• North Carolina officials advance a plan to partially address Clean Power Plan targets, setting up a possible legal showdown with the EPA. (Raleigh News & Observer)
• Grid operator MISO is modeling various state-level compliance options to find the least-cost plans available for states. (EnergyWire)
SOLAR:
• Another Arizona utility seeks to increase fixed charges and impose new fees on solar customers. (Arizona Daily Star)
• An Oregon co-op begins work on the state’s first community solar project. (Bend Bulletin)
• A solar CEO says saying the Investment Tax Credit won’t be renewed is “a self-fulfilling prophecy.” (Greentech Media)
EFFICIENCY: A Global Commission on the Economy and Climate report says tougher efficiency standards can cut emissions while growing the economy. (Reuters)
UTILITIES: State regulators are still at odds with utility FirstEnergy, which is seeking what critics call a bailout for several struggling nuclear and coal plants. (Midwest Energy News)
OIL: A new mini-documentary explores the impact North Dakota’s oil boom has had on an Indian reservation there. (Midwest Energy News)
COAL: A southern Illinois coal plant is closing due to what the owner says is a “poorly designed” capacity market run by grid operator MISO that makes plants in deregulated areas compete with regulated plants. (SNL)
NUCLEAR: Despite a wave of recent plant closure announcements, the EIA reports that U.S. nuclear capacity would grow between 2016 and 2020. (Utility Dive)
HYDRO: A $2.5 billion hydropower project in Washington state gains the support of a Chinese company. (Yakima Herald)
POLLUTION: Federal officials are concerned a Texas energy company’s bankruptcy could leave taxpayers on the hook for cleanup at a polluted New Mexico uranium mine. (Texas Tribune)
COMMENTARY: The Equity Summit in Los Angeles helps to break down racial barriers in climate advocacy. (NRDC Switchboard)