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)