EMISSIONS: Volkswagen pleads guilty to a scheme to cheat vehicle emissions standards and agrees to pay $4.3 billion in criminal and civil penalties. (Associated Press)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• By rolling back electric vehicle incentives, states could put the industry in a precarious position. (New York Times)
• Researchers in California are developing a process to create renewable solar fuel using water and sunlight. (E&E News)
• In a push to help Tesla sell electric cars in Texas, state lawmakers introduce a bill that allows vehicle manufacturers to sell directly to customers, bypassing car dealerships. (Texas Tribune)

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WIND:
• The Oklahoma House votes to end a tax credit for wind energy, which is projected to save the state about $60 million a year over the next 15 years. (Associated Press)
• Maryland regulators will consider proposals from two developers seeking to build offshore wind farms. (Baltimore Sun)

SOLAR:
• New York’s new compensation structure for distributed energy resources will protect net-metered households and pave the way for more community solar. (Greentech Media)
• A closer look at how Arizona regulators and solar advocates ultimately reached a solar rate design settlement after five years of debate. (Utility Dive)
• Public outrage over anti-solar policies is causing electric utilities in the Southwest to soften their stance against solar incentives. (High Country News)

HYDRO: While a bill to push pumped hydro storage in eastern Virginia passed with strong support, experts say the technology has yet to be proven in former coal mines. (Southeast Energy News)

OIL & GAS: A Canadian company plans to manufacture and sell natural gas compression equipment in West Virginia, creating up to 130 jobs by 2019. (Associated Press)

PIPELINES:
• Residents are divided over a proposed 195-mile natural gas pipeline that would run through the center of West Virginia. (Associated Press)
• Agencies that regulate pipeline safety are understaffed, with an average of one inspector for each 5,000-mile stretch of pipeline. (Quartz)
• Thousands of Dakota Access Pipeline protesters march in Washington, D.C. (Mother Jones)

FRACKING: The Maryland House easily passes a bill to ban fracking by a 97–40 vote. (ThinkProgress)

COAL: Montana could offer up to $10 million a year in low-interest loans to help a troubled coal-fired plant that’s slated for closure. (Associated Press)

POLITICS:
• A recently removed Department of Energy appointee was a Trump supporter and massage therapist with no apparent background in energy. (Greentech Media)
• Budget experts say the Trump administration’s spending cuts could hit the Energy Department hard. (E&E News)

CLIMATE: President Trump’s statements on climate change and renewable energy are contradictory and confusing. (New York Times)

POLICY: Critics say a study that claims Ohio’s renewable energy standard would eliminate thousands of jobs is flawed. (Midwest Energy News)

COMMENTARY: By rolling back the Clean Power Plan, President Trump may undercut his effort to create new jobs, says a contributor at Forbes.