CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Multiple state regulators will meet Tuesday with senior Obama administration staff in an attempt to shape the final version of the forthcoming EPA rule to curb carbon emissions from existing power plants. (EnergyWire)
• Governors of six conservative states are threatening to disregard the EPA’s emissions limits, which opponents hope will lead to destruction of President Obama’s signature climate rule. (The Hill)
• The National Republican Senatorial Committee wants federal officials to revoke a green group’s tax-exempt status over an ad campaign against a senator for voting against the Clean Power Plan. (The Hill)
COAL:
• Global coal consumption has risen dramatically in the past decade according to an analysis published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States. (ABC-Australia)
• Indiana and Montana have formally told the Obama administration they no longer want to be considered cooperating agencies for the forthcoming federal rule on mountaintop removal mining. (The Hill)
CARBON CAPTURE: The U.S. Department of Energy has suspended funding for a California project to trap carbon emissions from a coal-fired power plant. (Greenwire)
INVESTMENT: Global investment in clean energy slumped 28 percent in the second quarter as volatile financial markets damped funding deals, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. (Bloomberg)
OIL RIGS: The number of rigs drilling for oil inched up last week, just as crude prices plummeted again, leaving a net gain of one rig. (FuelFix)
FRACKING:
• The battle between environmentalists and the energy industry over fracking could go to a ballot fight in Colorado during the 2016 election. (Associated Press)
• A scientific assessment in California found that fracking chemicals are mostly not identified or tracked, making it impossible to gauge damage to the state’s water supply. (ThinkProgress)
SOLAR: A new material design tested in experiments at the National Accelerator Laboratory could dramatically boost efficiency of low-cost solar panels. (ScienceDaily)
MICROGRIDS: Every region of New York state is studying the feasibility of installing a community microgrid, thanks to NY Prize Microgrid Competition funds awarded to 83 communities. (FierceEnergy)
STREETLIGHTS: A battle is brewing in the Michigan Public Service Commission over the rate DTE Energy will charge municipalities to operate LED streetlights. (Midwest Energy News)
OIL SPILL: An estimated 4,200 gallons of crude spilled from a Plains All American Pipeline pump station near St. Louis on Friday, with some of the oil reaching a nearby creek. (FuelFix)
NEW YORK CITY: New York City’s mayor wants to power all city government operations with renewables within 10 years and on Friday he put out a call for help finding new sources of clean electricity. (Grist)
DENIAL: The Union of Concerned Scientists has released a report containing 85 internal memos showing a variety of efforts to manufacture uncertainty about climate change. (Sustainable Brands)