CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death means it is more likely that key EPA rules that aim to curb climate pollution will be upheld. (Climate Central)
• The U.S. EPA says it will help states that want to continue working on compliance strategies. (ClimateWire)
• A Montana economist says the Clean Power Plan would be “one of the biggest economic events to hit the state in three decades.” (Flathead Beacon)
• Advocates downplay concerns that the Clean Power Plan delay will damage the Paris climate accord. (InsideClimate News)

SOLAR:
• Nevada regulators again vote to increase rates for solar customers, but this time over a longer time period. (Associated Press)
• Advocates petition Maine’s legislature to preserve existing net metering policy. (CleanTechnica)
• A bipartisan coalition urges New Hampshire lawmakers to lift the state’s net metering cap. (Solar Industry)
• Minnesota prepares for a solar industry boom as community solar grows in the coming years. (Midwest Energy News)

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EFFICIENCY:
• A proposed Department of Energy standard would lead to the phaseout of CFL bulbs. (E&E News)
• A bill in the U.S. House would repeal all federal efficiency standards for consumer products. (The Hill)
• A study finds energy efficient homes hold higher resale values in Washington D.C. (The Energy Collective)

FRACKING: Colorado fracking opponents withdraw a ballot measure that would ban the practice in the state, but will still push ten other proposals. (Denver Business Journal)

NATURAL GAS: After finally capping a runaway natural gas leak, a California utility now prepares for the ensuing legal challenges. (Los Angeles Times)

COAL:
Coal’s decline has railroads cutting back. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Some analysts say a bankruptcy filing for Peabody Energy is “highly likely.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

RENEWABLES:
• Michigan utilities exceeded the state’s 10 percent renewable energy standard last year. (Crain’s Detroit Business)
• Twenty California municipalities form a joint agreement to purchase renewable energy. (San Mateo Daily Journal)

NUCLEAR: The Department of Energy is studying whether boreholes drilled into the ground can be safe storage for nuclear waste. (Associated Press)

ELECTRIC CARS: A second electric car manufacturer is planning a production facility in southern Nevada. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

COMMENTARY:
• Why Texas should move forward on clean energy despite the Clean Power Plan delay. (Dallas Morning News)
• Will the solar boom turn into a bubble? (MIT Technology Review)
• How building codes are driving energy conservation in the U.S. (ACEEE)
• Climate science denial could come back to hurt Republicans politically. (Grist)

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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