UTILITIES: Washington, D.C. regulators reject a proposed merger between Exelon and Pepco Holdings, saying the $6 billion deal isn’t in the public interest. (SNL Energy)

COAL: The U.S. and China reach an agreement to share findings on “clean coal” technology. (Associated Press)

POLLUTION:
• Minnesota regulators start hearings today on how the agency will determine the pollution-related costs of generation from fossil fuels. (Minnesota Public Radio)
• A judge dismisses much of a Clean Air Act suit against a Texas power plant, saying the statute of limitations has already passed. (Dallas Morning News)

SOLAR:
• A first-term tea party lawmaker in Michigan plans to introduce legislation that would lift the state’s cap on net metering, saying he wants to “incentivize” more renewables. (Midwest Energy News)
• A Wisconsin utility announces a $5 million solar installation and research project at its headquarters. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• With its soaring electricity prices, Hawaii’s rapid adoption of rooftop solar means the “utility death spiral” is being felt acutely here. (Al Jazeera)
• Nevada regulators are considering an order that would allow solar panels to continue to be installed under current net metering rates. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• A Virginia entrepreneur is finding ways for tax-exempt organizations to go solar by navigating around utility monopoly rules. (The Energy Fix blog)

EFFICIENCY: A new report says “demand flexibility” — homeowners taking more control of their energy use — could have a as much impact on the grid as home-based batteries. (Washington Post)

FRACKING: One commercial port in Wisconsin has seen no shipments of frac sand this year due to the fracking slowdown across the Midwest. (Winona Daily News)

CLIMATE:
• President Obama launches an 11-day “climate tour” to promote clean energy. (ClimateWire)
• Staffers from both sides of the aisle are meeting with foreign officials to either assure them of U.S. climate commitments or to convince them that the Clean Power Plan may be invalidated. (Greenwire)
• Documents reveal that an attorney who has been attacking climate scientists for years receives funding from the coal industry. (The Intercept)
• Scientists attempting to replicate results from climate contrarians’ papers find a common pattern of errors. (The Guardian)

TRANSPORTATION:
• California’s high-speed rail project is the largest single recipient of funds from the state’s cap-and-trade program. (ClimateWire)
• Federal regulators agree on a corridor for a proposed high-speed rail line connecting Dallas and Houston. (Dallas Morning News)

TECHNOLOGY:
• A Tesla executive says the company’s battery operations will produce “a new generation” of scientists and engineers. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• A Hawaii power plant produces electricity using ammonia and seawater. (Popular Science)

COMMENTARY: Five reasons utilities are attacking rooftop solar. (Huffington Post)