CONGRESS: The U.S. Senate hopes to wrap up work on a sweeping, bipartisan energy bill this week. (E&E Daily)

CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Backers of a plan to extend a freeze of Ohio’s clean energy standards for three more years say it’s due to the legal uncertainty around the federal Clean Power Plan. (Midwest Energy News)
• Groups challenging the Clean Power Plan in federal court say the U.S. EPA is downplaying its “radical” approach to power plant regulation. (EnergyWire)

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CLIMATE: An administrative law judge in Minnesota recommends that the state use updated cost-of-carbon estimates that factor in health and societal costs. (Minnesota Public Radio)

SOLAR:
• Solar still has economic obstacles to overcome before it becomes the world’s dominant electricity source. (Vox)
• A North Carolina advocacy group is hit with a $60,000 fine after trying to sell solar power to a church in a challenge to the state’s third-party sales law. (Greentech Media)

NATURAL GAS:
•  Another leak was reported at the Aliso Canyon natural gas field over the weekend. (KTLA)
• Homeowners near the facility are seeking $3.5 million each in damages from the four-month-long gas leak at the facility over the winter. (Reuters)

FRACKING:
• Oklahoma researchers explore using algae to clean up drilling wastewater. (Oklahoman)
• Fracking weighs heavily in the race for attorney general in Pennsylvania. (NPR)

OIL: The drilling downturn means Texas has nothing to show for a $12 million state subsidy for a new Chevron office building. (Texas Tribune)

COAL:
• Central Appalachia coal production has been cut in half over the past five years. (SNL)
• Before its bankruptcy, Peabody Energy was making plans to “right-size” its coal mining operations amid the vastly shrinking industry. (SNL / Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis)

CLIMATE: New Hampshire is “looking into” whether to join a multi-state investigation of ExxonMobil’s climate disclosures. (Concord Monitor)

NUCLEAR:
• A Georgia utility discloses it has purchased land about 140 miles south of Atlanta to explore building a new plant there. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
• Local zoning officials push back against a Pennsylvania nuclear plant’s effort to build a waste storage facility on site. (Scranton Times-Tribune)

GRID:
• Connecticut is spending $23 million to develop microgrids as part of a climate resiliency effort. (Harford Courant)
• How grid CEOs respond to the question “what keeps you up at night?” (EnergyWire)
• Federal regulators are seeking input from grid operators on how energy storage can be a part of wholesale energy markets. (RTO Insider)
• Federal officials sign off on a Nevada energy storage project that utilizes rail cars pulled up and down a hill. (Greentech Media)
• Texas regulators are considering artificially inflating wholesale prices to improve reliability. (Houston Chronicle)

COMMENTARY:
• “The left is turning anti-science”: How liberal biases could block progress on climate change. (New York Times)
• Are political aspirations driving state attorneys general in high-profile climate cases? (Forbes)
• Montana leaders working to keep the state’s largest coal plant running are “taking this train in the wrong direction.” (Missoulian)