NUCLEAR:
• A report finds operators exceeded pressure and temperature limits at California’s San Onofre nuclear plant, causing damage that led to the plant’s 2012 closure. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Nuclear subsidies will be a key part of New York’s clean energy plan. (New York Times)
POLITICS:
• Conservative groups are pushing back against the Republican party’s denial of climate change. (The Guardian)
• A North Dakota congressman and self-identified climate skeptic has emerged as one of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s key energy advisers. (Midwest Energy News)
• The Republican Mayor of Carmel, Indiana and a pledged delegate at the Republican National Convention has for years maintained a climate-friendly agenda. (Grist)
CLIMATE: Documents reveal the oil and tobacco industries used the same PR firms, in some cases the same researchers, to cast doubt upon science that threatened their industries. (ClimateWire)
UTILITIES:
• Another Nevada casino seeks to leave the state’s largest utility and buy power on the open market. (Las Vegas Sun)
• A cyberdefense exercise reveals vulnerabilities in distribution utilities. (EnergyWire)
OVERSIGHT:
• Candidates for the Arizona Corporation Commission debate the influence of “dark money” in the regulatory process. (Arizona Republic)
• An analysis shows that all but four members of Michigan’s legislature have taken campaign contributions from the state’s two major utilities, while more than half list DTE and Consumers Energy among their top 10 donors. (Michigan Campaign Finance Network)
• A former EPA director says Republican aspirations to dismantle the agency could ultimately harm industries by creating a patchwork of state-level rules. (Greenwire)
SOLAR:
• A New Mexico high school is expected to get about 65 percent of its electricity from a new solar array. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
• The University of Massachusetts-Amherst is installing 15,000 solar panels which the school hopes will save $6.2 million on energy costs. (Associated Press)
OIL AND GAS:
• An FBI agents says a California utility exceeded pressure limits in a natural gas pipeline that exploded in 2010, killing eight people. (East Bay Times)
• In a closing chapter to the 2010 inland oil spill in Michigan, Enbridge Energy agrees to pay $177 million as part of a consent decree with the U.S. government. (Detroit News)
• Amid a failed merger deal, a Hawaii utility drops plans for a $100 million liquefied natural gas terminal. (Hawaii News Now)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• An environmental group highlights Massachusetts communities that are making significant strides toward clean energy. (MassLive)
• Business leaders discuss the strengths and weaknesses of Pennsylvania’s energy policies. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
EFFICIENCY: A former Wal-Mart executive is helping the Air Force cut its energy costs. (Los Angeles Times)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Tesla’s new master plan calls for a broader fleet of electric vehicles and self-driving electric cars that can be part of ride-sharing programs. (MLive)
COMMENTARY: “There is no small amount of irony in the fact that Republicans are mocking the concept of environmental justice during a convention that takes place in Cleveland.” (ThinkProgress)