Clean Power Plan gains a Republican supporter in Congress

CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• A New Hampsire senator becomes the first congressional Republican to openly support the Clean Power Plan. (The Hill)
• As opponents line up to challenge the new federal rules in court, the EPA is helping states buy time on complying with the plan. (ClimateWire)

OVERSIGHT: Arizona regulators reject a public records request that would help determine whether they collaborated with utilities on a letter regarding campaign finance disclosure. (Arizona Republic)

SOLAR:
• New York state is betting $750 million on a solar plant that officials hope will help revive Buffalo’s economy. (New York Times)
• A Utah utility says its plan to allow subscriptions to utility-scale solar projects ​“will offer customers a terrific value.” (St. George Daily Spectrum)

COAL: A judge rules the Interior Department shouldn’t have allowed the expansion of a Montana coal mine without taking a closer look at environmental impact. (Associated Press)

NUCLEAR: Federal regulators advance an application to add two new reactors to a Texas nuclear plant. (San Antonio Business Journal)

NATURAL GAS: Though barriers remain, Great Lakes ships may turn to Liquified Natural Gas instead of petroleum for fuel, which could significantly cut the industry’s emissions. (Great Lakes Echo)

CLIMATE: A prominent social scientist in Michigan explains how a recent executive order from President Obama will make it easier for people to help fight climate change. (Midwest Energy News)

MEDIA: ExxonMobil is attacking journalists who revealed the company’s climate research history. (Vice)

POLLUTION: Murray Energy sues over new federal ozone standards, calling the new rules ​“illegal and destructive.” (The Hill)

DIVESTMENT: Rockefeller Brothers Fund’s decision to drop fossil fuel stocks turns out to have been a wise move. (CNN Money)

TECHNOLOGY: Meet the engineer whose invention helped expose the VW emissions scandal. (Greenwire)

POWER GRID: A study by the Union of Concerned Scientists illustrates how ill-prepared the East and Gulf coasts are to a category 3 or higher hurricane. (InsideClimate News)

COMMENTARY:
• Why the House science committee is undermining science. (Vox)
• The coal industry has wounded itself much worse than President Obama’s policies ever could. (Forbes)