WIND:
• Transmission lines across states are “the biggest long-term barrier for wind energy development,” says one industry official. (Associated Press)
• Farm advocates and a group of landowners ask Illinois regulators to reconsider their approval of a section of a transmission project moving wind energy from Kansas to Indiana through the state. (Associated Press)
RENEWABLE TAX CREDITS:
• Experts say extending federal tax credits for wind and solar should stimulate hundreds of billions of dollars in new investment. (ClimateWire)
• Solar installers in Arizona are “thrilled” about the federal tax credit extension for solar. (Phoenix Business Journal)
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CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• New Mexico officials are concerned that politics will get in the way of the state’s designing a compliance strategy. (ClimateWire)
• Grid operator MISO says the price of natural gas could be the highest variable in the cost to comply with the federal rules. (RTO Insider)
• EPA critics accuse the agency of usurping states’ rights among several other allegations as they prepare to challenge the Clean Power Plan in court. (Greenwire)
OIL AND GAS:
• “Unless there is a dramatic oil price turnaround,” Oklahoma’s budget deficit could surpass $1 billion. (The Oklahoman)
• An oil producer in Oklahoma is defying a state directive to shut down six disposal wells linked to earthquakes. (EnergyWire)
CLIMATE:
• Exxon Mobil says it has had a consistent stance in support of a carbon tax for years, but the company has “never put its political muscle” behind it. (InsideClimate News)
• Congressional Republicans are running out of ways to torpedo the international climate deal signed by President Obama. (The Hill)
• A Duke University climate expert likens the Paris climate agreement only to a down payment on mitigating global warming. (Raleigh News & Observer)
SOLAR:
• A Navajo community will be home to the tribe’s first utility-scale solar project. (Associated Press)
• DTE Energy is planning to build a 45-megawatt solar array in southeast Michigan, which the company says would be the largest utility-scale project east of the Mississippi River. (MLive)
BATTERIES: The growth in energy storage deployment in Ohio could bolster the state’s renewables industry. (Midwest Energy News)
NUCLEAR: The Dept. of Energy launches a new bid to establish a waste disposal site and facility for spent fuel from commercial nuclear power plants. (The Hill)
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ALTERNATIVE FUELS: UPS is moving to supply its vehicles in Mississippi and Tennessee with natural gas produced from landfills. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
COMMENTARY: Shareholder activism is the best new approach to phasing out coal. (Forbes)