CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Opponents of the Clean Power Plan will try to get a court to issue a stay, in hopes that delaying the rule will complicate international climate talks later this year. (The Hill)
• Environmental and health groups seek intervener status in a recent lawsuit filed by states opposing the rule. (The Hill)
• Nearly half of the U.S. Senate supports resolutions opposing the plan. (Reuters)

CLIMATE:
• NOAA refuses to release scientists’ email communications to a congressional Republican whom critics say is conducting a “fishing expedition.” (InsideClimate News)
• A group backed by Tom Steyer will air an ad calling for climate action during tonight’s Republican debate. (New York Times)

UTILITIES: A Utah utility unveils a plan to put 20,000 electric cars on the road, establish a net-zero community, and other measures, but will need help from state lawmakers to make the vision reality. (Deseret News, Salt Lake Tribune)

OVERSIGHT: A California utility is fined $16.7 million for failing to report communications with state regulators over a closed nuclear plant. (Los Angeles Times)

SOLAR:
• The biggest donor yet to a solar power ballot initiative in Florida backed by utility companies won’t disclose its supporters. (Miami Herald)
• Legal analyses make the case in support of third-party financing in Wisconsin and Minnesota, potentially leading to industry growth in both states. (Midwest Energy News)

NUCLEAR:
An analysis by federal regulators finds fewer reactors are at risk from earthquake hazards than previously thought. (Reuters)
What killed America’s “nuclear renaissance”? (Bloomberg)

COAL:
• In rare public comments, the president of Appalachian Power says coal is not coming back because the economics of power generation rule it out. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• Meanwhile, the head of West Virginia’s coal mining union says the state should invest in “next generation” power plants that run on coal and natural gas. (Reuters)
• A district heating and cooling provider in St. Paul voluntarily transitions its system off coal. (Midwest Energy News)
• Peabody Energy is seeking relief from paying retiree benefits into a fund that covers 12,000 retired miners, their widows and their dependents. (ProPublica)

NATURAL GAS:
• Natural gas prices are at their lowest level since the 1990s, and are likely to stay that way if the coming winter is mild. (Bloomberg)
• Environmental groups and the owners of a natural gas import terminal in Massachusetts are simultaneously working to oppose a plan allowing ratepayers to be used as a financial backstop for pipeline projects. (Boston Herald)

FRACKING:
• An industry group lets a deadline pass without filing a legal challenge to New York’s fracking ban, but is “considering other options.” (Rochester Democrat & Chronicle)
• An area in southern Kansas has seen more earthquakes in the past two weeks than it did between 1990 and 2013, though it’s unclear whether they’re linked to drilling or disposal wells. (Washington Post)
• Pennsylvania drillers adapt to a governor who is less friendly to the industry than his predecessor. (EnergyWire)

EFFICIENCY: A new report shows the growth potential in Ohio for industrial efficiency through combined heat and power and waste heat to power. (Midwest Energy News)

COMMENTARY: Republicans should pick up where Reagan and Thatcher left off on climate change. (The Hill)