CLIMATE: An analysis finds the “carbon budget” to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees will run out in five years. (Carbon Brief)

ALSO:
• A Republican congressman launches a probe into New York’s investigation of oil company climate disclosures. (New York Times)
• Documents show oil companies had the technology to limit carbon emissions in the 1960s, but “clearly preferred to invest in research to explain away the climate risks.” (Huffington Post)

ACTIVISM: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission barred the public from its monthly meeting yesterday in anticipation of fracking and climate protests. (EnergyWire)

GRID: The Department of Energy says solar growth will require “unprecedented coordination” on upgrading the grid. (EnergyWire)

SOLAR:
• A Pennsylvania regulatory review board rejects caps on net metering. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• New Hampshire embarks on a process to calculate the value of solar to the grid. (Utility Dive)
• Another Arizona co-op seeks higher fixed charges on solar customers. (Arizona Daily Star)
• Arizona solar proponents seek a state investigation into “coordinated opposition” to their ballot initiative. (Arizona Republic)
• A new Arizona law modifies conflict-of-interest rules so the state’s newest regulator can rule on a solar case. (Arizona Daily Star)
• “There’s a lot of prospecting” from out-of-state companies looking to build solar projects in Montana. (Great Falls Tribune)
Floating solar arrays are eyed to help limit evaporation losses from California reservoirs. (New York Times)
• Misaligned mirrors cause a small fire at the Ivanpah solar plant in California. (Associated Press)

COAL:
• How review of federal leasing could fundamentally reshape the U.S. coal industry. (International Business Times)
•  Hundreds of coal miners pack a Utah hearing to oppose leasing reforms. (Deseret News)
The nation’s top federal mining regulator openly wonders whether companies and states are colluding to avoid mining cleanup obligations through self-bonding. (Casper Star Tribune)
An 8-hour public hearing is scheduled for next week to discuss a proposed Washington state coal terminal. (Portland Business Journal)

PIPELINES:
• A federal review of last year’s Santa Barbara pipeline spill finds layers of “completely unacceptable” failures leading to the incident. (Los Angeles Times)
• Nearly 17,000 gallons of oil and more than 100,000 gallons of a mixture of saltwater and oil have spilled in North Dakota. (Associated Press)
Construction has begun in three of four states in the path of the Dakota Access pipeline. (Associated Press)

OIL AND GAS:
• A judge hears arguments in a Pennsylvania lawsuit over whether drilling opponents are denying leaseholders the opportunity to profit from mineral rights. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• A Colorado county ends its fracking moratorium in response to a state Supreme Court ruling, but establishes a new short-term one to update oversight policies. (Boulder Daily Camera)
• Oklahoma lawmakers approve a cap on subsidies for low-producing wells. (Oklahoman)

UTILITIES: The Florida Supreme Court rules state regulators overreached in authorizing Florida Power & Light to bill customers for a speculative investment in a fracking company. (Miami Herald)

NUCLEAR: A New Mexico rate case is interrupted because of discrepancies over the value of electricity from an Arizona nuclear plant. (Santa Fe New Mexican)

BIOENERGY: A Colorado city’s project to capture biogas from sewage treatment may be replicated around the state. (Public News Service)

TRANSMISSION: A Texas city reaches an agreement with its power cooperative to help cover costs of a $22 million project to bury a 2.9 mile section of transmission line. (Dallas Morning News)

COMMENTARY: How solar power is saving lives in the U.S. (Vox)

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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