NUCLEAR: About 25 percent of U.S. nuclear capacity will be retired over the next three decades, according to a report from the Energy Information Administration. (Utility Dive)
CAP-AND-TRADE: The California Chamber of Commerce is appealing a state appeals court decision to uphold cap-and-trade, arguing that the program functions as an unconstitutional tax. (Los Angeles Times)
CLEAN POWER PLAN: Supporters of the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan say a federal court should send the case, which has been frozen indefinitely by the Trump administration, back to the EPA so it can consider changes. (InsideClimate News, The Hill)
CLIMATE: Scientists are teaming up with lawyers to combat the Trump administration’s attacks on climate science. (New York Times)
SOLAR:
• The Solar Energy Industries Association is gearing up to fight Suniva’s petition to impose import duties on solar panels, saying it “poses an existential threat to the broad solar industry and its 260,000 American jobs.” (Greentech Media)
• As Dominion Energy boosts its solar installations, small solar advocates say Virginia’s progress on utility scale solar has been largely at the expense of rooftop and community-owned installations. (Southeast Energy News)
• A Utah-based residential solar company could create as many as 50 jobs as it expands operations into New Mexico. (Albuquerque Business First)
UTILITIES: Oregon regulators are opposing Portland General Electric’s plan to spend nearly $1 billion on renewable energy in the next few years, calling it risky and unnecessary. (Portland Business Journal)
GRID: At a conference in Washington D.C., utility executives challenge the idea that digitizing the grid inherently creates a security risk. (Morning Consult)
OIL & GAS:
• A family that lives near the site of a fatal home explosion in Colorado is suing the previous operator of a nearby gas well, as well as housing developers where the incident occurred, saying they have suffered severe anxiety and post-traumatic stress. (Denver Post)
• Over 100 members of Congress send a letter asking the Trump administration not to open up the Atlantic and Pacific oceans for drilling, saying the move would threaten local economies. (The Hill)
• Green groups are asking Colorado’s governor not to fight a recent ruling that requires state officials to protect public health and the environment from oil and gas developers. (Denver Post)
PIPELINES: The Canada-based company behind the Keystone XL pipeline is reassessing whether oil producers in North Dakota and Montana still need the line. (Associated Press)
COAL:
• Environmental protections can only be attributed to 3.5 percent of the coal industry’s decline, according to a new study. (Greentech Media)
• The president of the Navajo Nation tells coal miners that a new deal will keep a massive Arizona coal plant open until 2020. (Arizona Republic)
• Three bipartisan proposals in Congress aim to help mining communities with economic, environmental and health challenges. (WKU)
• A look at recent employment numbers in the coal industry in West Virginia and Kentucky. (WSAZ)
COMMENTARY:
• Solar developers can help the environment by using “pollinator-friendly” solar installations that include native flowering plants, according to an editorial in GreenBiz.
• Litigation is the only near-term answer to stop ‘around market’ power subsidies from spreading, according to partners at a power sector law firm. (Utility Dive)
• Even some advocates for nuclear power are suggesting the industry may be coming to an end. (Yale E360)