WIND:
• How the deliberately small size of the first offshore wind farm in the U.S. will help pave the way for other projects. (Washington Post)
• U.S. ocean energy managers are moving closer to leasing sites in federal waters off California for wind development. (Energy Policy Update)
• Iowa regulators sign off on a 2 GW wind project, expected to be the nation’s largest. (Associated Press)
SOLAR:
• The rapid growth of solar power could be facing a slowdown, according to a new report. (Utility Dive)
• The Maine Public Utilities Commission confronts who should pay and who should benefit from rooftop solar, as the future of net metering is having a chilling effect on the state’s small solar installation industry. (Portland Press Herald)
• A German company that built solar inverters in Denver is leaving the state and cutting 220 full-time jobs, despite being offered $2 million in incentives. (Denver Post)
• Maine’s law banning utility-owned solar generation means it is falling behind neighboring states in new capacity. (Portland Press Herald)
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POLICY:
• Research shows that California’s new climate bill probably won’t wreak havoc on the state’s economy. (Los Angeles Times)
• California’s new climate legislation will require more electric cars and more solar power to reach emissions targets. (San Jose Mercury News)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: The biggest utility in California wants to install as many as 7,600 electric vehicle charging stations, with ratepayers paying the $160 million cost. (ClimateWire)
ACTIVISM: Legal experts say climate change victims may have a better chance of winning lawsuits against climate polluters in state courts. (Grist)
UTILITIES: Officials from Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts are joining with electric utilities to evaluate more than 50 solicitations from companies to build plants that would generate clean energy for all three states. (Associated Press)
OIL & GAS:
• Emergency responders in communities along oil-train routes in Washington will start receiving advance notice of the shipments this fall. (Associated Press)
• A sulfur storage tank explodes at the largest oil refinery in California. (Los Angeles Times)
• The Permian Basin in West Texas is seeing another round of rig count growth with 199 active drilling sites. (San Antonio Business Journal)
COAL:
• The Texas-based Southwest Research Institute receives over $4.1 million in funding for a project to eliminate pollution from coal-fired power plants. (San Antonio Business Journal)
• Coal country is wary of government proposals to help, with residents comparing the effort to a “rip-off” tobacco settlement from 1998. (New York Times)
• California’s governor signs legislation prohibiting the state’s Transportation Commission from funding new bulk-terminal projects, as part of an effort to eliminate coal shipments through California ports. (Sacramento Bee)
• Experts say killing the Clean Power Plan is unlikely to reverse coal’s decline. (Ohio Valley ReSource)
• A recent court decision on pollution violations is the latest blow for a troubled Illinois coal plant. (Midwest Energy News)
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PIPELINES:
• Who is fighting the 1,170-mile Dakota Access Pipeline and why? (New York Times)
• A man working on the four-state Dakota Access Pipeline is killed in an apparent accident in western North Dakota. (Associated Press)
COMMENTARY:
• The price of solar is declining to unprecedented lows, falling by 5 to 12 percent in 2015. (Scientific American)
• Making the energy grid climate-ready requires forward-looking policies that will spur change in technology, operations and markets. (Slate)
• The oil industry’s long regime is coming to an end. (Huffington Post)