SOLAR: “Practically everyone who has tried this has failed”: While solar is booming, large installers continue to struggle with financial losses. (New York Times)

ALSO:
• A solar trade group filed a lawsuit last week over President Trump’s decision to exempt bifacial solar panels from tariffs. (Bloomberg)
• A Minnesota utility seeks to add roughly 500 MW of new large-scale solar generation near a coal plant site. (Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal)
• A climate law passed in Massachusetts exempts residential and small commercial solar systems from property taxes but requires larger projects to pay taxes or reach payment agreements with their host communities. (CommonWealth Magazine)

CLIMATE:
• A new study finds that while a certain amount of global warming is now inevitable, reducing emissions now can delay that impact for centuries. (Associated Press)
• A former CIA scientist talks about how she pushed the agency to use spy satellites to uncover environmental issues, including retreating polar ice sheets. (New York Times)
• Environmental groups have accelerated efforts to track misinformation about climate change circulating on social media. (E&E News)

OVERSIGHT: The EPA finalizes science standards, modeled after efforts to shield the tobacco industry from accountability, that experts warn will make it harder to incorporate health impacts into rulemaking. (New York Times)

EFFICIENCY: Boston is moving forward with plans to require net-zero energy consumption in large new building construction. (Energy News Network)

OIL & GAS:
• A judge is expected to decide later today whether to halt this week’s planned lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge amid challenges from Indigenous and conservation groups. (Associated Press)
• The Trump administration extends five natural gas export licenses for terminals in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas through 2050. (Natural Gas Intelligence)

COAL: Colorado’s largest utility accelerates plans to close a 441 MW coal-burning power station by 2028, but many critics say that’s not soon enough. (Denver Business Journal, Mountain Town News)

RENEWABLES: A large manufacturer signs a deal with Nebraska Public Power District that is likely the largest renewable energy purchase agreement in the state’s history. (Lincoln Journal Star)

GRID:
• New Jersey’s largest utility and state regulators reach a tentative agreement on a $700 million smart meter rollout plan with timing and customer charges still to be worked out. (NJ Spotlight)
• A focus on small-scale generation and storage is helping California quickly add needed capacity to the grid. (Los Angeles Times)

HYDROGEN: While interest has been growing in renewable hydrogen, experts say this year will determine how viable the technology will be. (E&E News)

NUCLEAR: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signs a first-in-the-nation law that allows communities to collect taxes on spent nuclear fuel. (Bloomberg Law, subscription required)

COMMENTARY:
• An energy advisor says while nuclear power advocates are quick to extoll its carbon-free benefits, they must also account for its other consequences like radioactive waste. (NJ Spotlight)
• “We hold a funeral nearly every week from fossil fuel-related illnesses.”: a Ponca Nation elder says Indigenous people can provide lessons on how to protect future generations. (The Independent)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.