STORAGE:
• The U.S. energy storage market experiences record growth, deploying 234 megawatt-hours in the first quarter of 2017, according to a new report. (Greentech Media)
• New legislation passed by Nevada lawmakers is set to “catapult their state into the leadership of storage policy in the United States.” (Greentech Media)
CLEAN ENERGY:
• California’s governor signs a nonbinding agreement with China to cooperate on clean energy technologies that could help combat climate change. (Guardian)
• Progress on clean energy is booming in states led by Republicans, with nearly 70 percent of the country’s wind power produced in states that voted for President Trump. (New York Times)
SOLAR:
• About 50 wineries in Oregon have installed solar arrays, and the movement is growing. (Portland Tribune)
• North Carolina lawmakers advance a bill that mandates a competitive-bidding process for utility-scale solar construction and encourages rooftop and community solar projects, with one lawmaker saying it is “a fundamental shift in energy policy in North Carolina.” (Charlotte Business Journal, Progressive Post)
• A Chinese engineering company chooses the Carolinas to build several sites with thousands of solar panels. (Charlotte Business Journal)
WIND: A coalition of farm and clean energy groups push a South Dakota county to overturn a restrictive wind farm ordinance. (Sioux Falls Argus Leader)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Tesla says a new Louisiana law will hinder its plans to expand sales in the state by preventing it from selling cars directly to customers. (Associated Press)
• Recently passed legislation in Minnesota creates a $75 annual fee for electric vehicles. (Minnesota Public Radio)
CLIMATE:
• A talk show host challenges EPA administrator Scott Pruitt on his support for burning fossil fuels and accuses him of “promoting global warming.” (ThinkProgress)
• Nearly 70 percent of Americans want the U.S. to lead global efforts to slow climate change, according to a recent survey. (Reuters)
ADVOCACY: Local grassroots opposition has been working to block fossil fuel infrastructure proposals in the Pacific Northwest. (Fusion TV)
OIL & GAS: Los Angeles officials halt a $2.2 billion plan to rebuild several natural gas power plants while they consider clean energy alternatives, and state energy regulators may scrap plans for a natural gas project in Ventura County. (Los Angeles Times)
FRACKING: Researchers give updates on environmental and safety issues related to fracking. (Yale Climate Connections)
COAL: A small Kentucky town forms a network of local organizations to move its economy beyond coal. (Yes! Magazine)
UTILITIES: A New Jersey utility is launching a campaign aimed at rate reform, nuclear supports and enhanced energy efficiency, saying it will help keep customer rates low. (Utility Dive)
GRID:
• Utility executives worry that a rise in distributed energy resources will hurt their revenues and weaken grid reliability, according to a new survey. (Greentech Media)
• An Illinois utility built a 1.5-megawatt microgrid that is being hailed as one of North America’s most advanced distributed-energy-resource facilities. (Midwest Energy News)
POLITICS: A Senate committee votes to advance President Trump’s nominees to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and also green-lights a new Deputy Secretary of the Interior and Deputy Secretary of Energy. (Utility Dive)
COMMENTARY:
• If states want to help combat climate change, they need to embrace nuclear power’s environmental benefits, says the president of Environmental Progress and an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Earth Institute. (Scientific American)
• A New York Times editorial says “progress is possible” on climate change, despite the Trump administration, as cities and states lead the way.