COAL: Energy Secretary Rick Perry says coal plants are needed for reliability, while also misstating how supply and demand work. (Associated Press, WFPL)
ALSO: Mississippi regulators pull the plug on the Kemper “clean coal” plant, ordering a utility to fuel the plant with natural gas instead. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)
OIL AND GAS: The Interior Department issues an order to accelerate permitting for drilling on federal lands. (Washington Post)
NUCLEAR:
• In March and April, output from U.S. nuclear power plants was surpassed by renewable energy for the first time since 1984. (Bloomberg)
• A federal report warns that hackers are targeting companies that operate nuclear power plants. (New York Times)
CLIMATE:
• In a rebuke to the Trump administration, California Gov. Jerry Brown announces plans to host a global climate summit in San Francisco next year. (Los Angeles Times)
• Cities can only go so far in their pledges to lead on climate change. (E&E News)
• A closer look at Aspen, Colorado’s effort to reach 100 percent renewable energy. (NPR)
ELECTRIC CARS: A report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicts electric cars will outsell gasoline models by 2040. (InsideClimate News)
RENEWABLES: Many worry North Carolina’s proposed wind moratorium is a threat to the state’s solar energy efforts, as the two are tied together in a bill awaiting the governor’s signature. (Utility Drive)
POLLUTION:
• A report finds Texas didn’t impose fines for 97 percent of air pollution incidents reported from 2010 to 2014. (Austin American-Statesman)
• Following an Ohio Supreme Court ruling last week, consumer advocates say ratepayers should not be on the hook for paying legacy pollution costs at utilities’ former power plants. (Midwest Energy News)
COMMENTARY:
• What utilities and solar companies can learn from Nevada’s net metering compromise. (Utility Dive)
• An advocate warns that time is running out to protect California’s marine sanctuaries from drilling. (Los Angeles Times)
• An author points out that numerous rigorous studies have shown that growth in renewable energy like wind and solar does not threaten the U.S. electric grid. (Yale Environment 360)