RENEWABLES: Republican governors nationwide are embracing renewable energy from an economic development perspective. (E&E News)

SOLAR:
• A lawsuit seeking to block a 21.9-megawatt solar project at a New Jersey theme park because it would remove nearly 15,000 trees is dismissed. (Associated Press)
• If successful, Suniva’s trade dispute would cause “unprecedented demand destruction” and erase two-thirds of expected installations expected to come online through 2022. (Greentech Media)
• Nonprofit institutions across Wisconsin are taking advantage of third-party financing to help pay for solar energy installations, despite the lack of a clear statewide policy on the issue. (Midwest Energy News)

STORAGE: New York lawmakers unanimously pass a measure requiring state regulators to set targets for increasing energy storage through 2030. (RTO Insider)

OIL AND GAS:
• People associated with multiple failed oil and gas projects or companies will have to notify state regulators when they seek new business in Wyoming. (Casper Star-Tribune)
• As the Trump administration restarts a process this month that could lead to seismic tests in the Atlantic, environmentalists and those in the oil industry have conflicting responses. (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot)

CARBON CAPTURE: Industry analysts say the possible end to Southern Co.’s flagship “clean coal” project in Mississippi is not the death knell for carbon capture technology. (E&E News)

COAL:
• U.S. coal mining increased 19 percent in the first five months of 2017. (Associated Press)
• A tribe in southeastern Montana struggles over whether to open its vast coal resources to development. (NPR)
• The Trump administration is seeking opportunities for using U.S. energy abroad by undoing a ban on financing coal plants overseas. (Bloomberg)

GRID: The American Petroleum Institute says natural gas is a valuable asset to maintain grid reliability amid the growth of renewables. (Utility Dive)

CLIMATE:
• California Gov. Jerry Brown has been working behind the scenes with lobbyists and lawmakers to extend the state’s cap-and-trade program. (Los Angeles Times)
• Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo will decide whether to sign a bill that shields climate scientists and other university researchers from certain public records requests. (Associated Press)
• As Miami Beach hosts the annual U.S. Conferences of Mayors, its mayor uses the event to make the city the “poster child” for sea-level rise and him as the champion fighting it. (Miami Herald)

PIPELINES:
• The additional environmental review of the Dakota Access pipeline will focus on the project’s impact on the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. (Associated Press)
• 
Federal regulators’ final environmental review of a gas pipeline through West Virginia and Virginia is mostly favorable for developers, though the project is opposed by many environmental groups and landowners. (Associated Press)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Some California lawmakers hope to use lessons learned from a statewide solar rebate program to boost electric vehicle adoption. (Greentech Media)

EFFICIENCY:
• With targeted investment in companies and policies focused on improving energy efficiency, Minnesota’s energy sector could grow to support 26,000 jobs a year, according to a new report. (Midwest Energy News)
• U.S. Department of Energy researchers find that maximizing electricity-use controls in commercial buildings could cut energy usage 4 to 5 percent nationwide. (Phys.org)
• Mississippi and Louisiana are following Arkansas’s energy efficiency programs, which show that regulations can benefit ratepayers and utilities while creating new energy efficiency jobs. (Southeast Energy News)

Andy compiles the Midwest Energy News digest and was a journalism fellow for Midwest Energy News from 2014-2020. He is managing editor of MiBiz in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was formerly a reporter and editor at City Pulse, Lansing’s alternative newsweekly.

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