EFFICIENCY:
• A report finds efficient light bulbs have done more to reduce carbon emissions in recent years than increased use of clean energy. (Bloomberg)
• Economists clash with advocates over whether energy efficiency is really the best bang for the buck. (Greenwire)

CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Led by West Virginia, 15 states asked a federal court Thursday to push back the plan’s emissions targets for power plants while they sue the government to get the regulations overturned. (The Hill)
A new report shows Minnesota is among a number of states that are already on pace to exceed emission-reduction goals by 2022 and 2030; this table shows how different states rank. (Midwest Energy News)

WIND:
• New data shows that the capacity factor for wind can reach 65 percent, which is comparable to fossil-fuel generation, and possibly become the country’s primary source of generation. (Greentech Media)
• A Minnesota couple’s dispute over a $5 fee for their wind turbine has prompted a statewide review of utility charges for customers who generate their own power. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

UTILITIES: A map from InsideClimate News tracks utility efforts so far to increase fixed charges on customers who generate their own power.

SOLAR:
• A report finds distributed solar prices continue to fall in the U.S. for the 5th straight year. (Utility Dive)
• Despite steady industry growth and declining prices, solar is not faring so well on Wall Street. (Reuters)
• A closer look at the dueling solar ballot measures in Florida. (Utility Dive)
• How California is stringing together solar arrays to act as virtual power plants. (Vox)

NUCLEAR: A 100-year-old Great Lakes water treaty could block Canada from building a nuclear waste depository along Lake Huron. (MLive)

OIL AND GAS:
• A federal judge finds BP manipulated natural gas markets in Texas in 2008. (Reuters)
• Following a successful effort to impose a state ban on fracking, some local officials along with a physicians’ group want New York to study the health impacts of compressor stations and other infrastructure. (Oneonta Daily Star)
• Greenpeace protesters who hung from a Portland, Oregon bridge to block an arctic-bound drilling rig face $5,000 fines from the Coast Guard. (Reuters)

COAL:
• The Crow tribe in Montana reaches a deal to build an export terminal in Washington state to handle coal mined from their lands. (Billings Gazette)
• A Kentucky town wants Republican politicians to stop blocking federal efforts to help local economies adapt to coal’s decline. (Vox)
• Abandoned mines throughout Ohio still taint state rivers and streams with polluted water. (Columbus Dispatch)

HYDROPOWER: Portland, Oregon uses turbines embedded in downhill-flowing water pipes to generate electricity. (ClimateProgress)

SECURITY: A TVA contractor was fired last year for violating a security protocol after plugging a thumb drive into a utility computer. (EnergyWire)

MEDIA: A new tool helps scientists assess the credibility of climate change coverage in major news outlets. (The Guardian)

COMMENTARY: The “Thin Green Line” is stopping fossil fuel projects in their tracks. (Sightline)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.

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