INNOVATION: The number of patents for renewable energy products filed worldwide has fallen by 42 percent over the last three years, suggesting global investment in green energy may be stalling. (Guardian)

OIL TRAINS: The U.S. Department of Transportation on Friday unveiled sweeping reforms to rules for transporting crude oil by rail, but congressional Democrats said they don’t go nearly far enough to prevent disastrous incidents. (The New York Times; The Hill)

TRANSMISSION: The Obama administration is close to granting final approval of a multi-state power line project that would allow wind-generated electricity in Wyoming to power homes and businesses from Las Vegas to San Diego. (Greenwire)

COAL:
• Ten Western mountain towns feeling the effects of climate change will seek hundreds of millions of dollars a year from coal companies to help communities adapt. (The Denver Post)
• The fate of New Mexico’s San Juan power plant, which burns about 6 million tons of coal per year and provides electricity to 2 million people, now hangs in the balance as regulators weigh the state’s future energy mix. (ClimateWire)

MICROGRID: A microgrid fully powers the largest office building in Kansas, providing up to 1,300 megawatt hours of power annually, using natural gas, rooftop solar, geothermal and battery storage. (FierceEnergy)

WIND: A study aims to map routes birds take between seasons to learn whether they cross a 125-square-mile zone established off the Atlantic coast for possible wind farms. (The Baltimore Sun)

OIL DRILLING: U.S. oil companies sidelined 24 oil-drilling rigs last week, according to Baker Hughes’ rig count released Friday, bringing the count to its lowest point since October 2010. (FuelFix)

EPA: A House Republican introduced a bill Thursday to cut 13 programs at the EPA, including all of its grants and its ability to regulate ground-level ozone and carbon emissions. (The Hill)

SOLAR:
• In the wake Arizona’s solar rate hike, SolarCity, the largest rooftop solar installer in the state, is relocating at least 85 of its 900 workers out of state, with more to come. (The Arizona Republic)
• A pilot said Sunday that he is anxious but excited about flying a solar plane solo from China to Hawaii on the longest leg of the first attempt to fly around the world without a drop of fuel. (Associated Press)

EFFICIENCY: As Ohio’s Energy Mandates Study Committee takes up energy efficiency this week, data continue to show the programs are cost-effective for ratepayers. (Midwest Energy News)

DIVESTMENT: Swarthmore College will not drop fossil fuel stocks from its $1.9 billion endowment, the school’s board of managers announced on Saturday. (The New York Times)

POLITICS: As Pope Francis steps up his campaign for climate action, Republican Catholics in Congress are more likely to listen to fossil fuel interests and party leaders than their pontiff, researchers say. (InsideClimate News)

AIRPORTS: Boston’s Logan International Airport plans to make significant cuts to carbon emissions, curb energy consumption and spend millions of dollars to protect runways and terminals from rising seas. (The Boston Globe)

WASTE-TO-ENERGY: Concessions at the Cleveland Indians’ Progressive Field use a machine that grinds all types of food waste into a slurry that is later transformed into energy and fertilizer. (The New York Times)