Critics say proposed methane regulations lack teeth

OIL AND GAS: The U.S. EPA today is expected to propose regulations aimed at cutting methane emissions from the oil and gas sector; environmental groups say making the rules voluntary for existing infrastructure limits their impact. (Reuters, InsideClimate News)

ALSO:
• Shell gets final approval to begin drilling in the Arctic. (Los Angeles Times)
• South Los Angeles residents protest a plan to flare natural gas at a longtime drilling site. (Los Angeles Times)
• Abandoned oil wells pose a threat to wildlife, and there’s little federal regulators can do about it. (Greenwire)
• Pennsylvania officials work on plans to divert oil trains around Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. (Pittsburgh Business Times)

FRACKING:
• A California lawmaker says food irrigated with wastewater from fracking should be labeled. (L.A. Weekly)
• A Colorado town’s fracking ban could be going before the state’s Supreme Court; meanwhile, a proposed ballot measure would give cities more control over drilling. (Associated Press, Denver Business Journal)

SOLAR:
• Google has developed an online tool that helps owners calculate potential savings from installing rooftop solar. (Greentech Media)
• Alliant Energy announces plans to build the largest solar array in Wisconsin at one of the utility’s coal-ash landfills. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• Solar financing is shifting from leases to loans. (Utility Dive)
• California utilities are modeling new solar fees on a similar effort in Arizona. (Arizona Republic)

COAL:
• A costly coal-gasification gamble in Mississippi hits a testing phase as doubts persist about its financial and operational viability. (EnergyWire)
• More than 1,000 unionized coal miners protest at Patriot Coal’s headquarters over the company’s attempt to nix health benefits and pension contracts during its bankruptcy. (Associated Press)
• Patriot agrees to sell most of its remaining assets to a Virginia conservation nonprofit. (SNL Energy)

GRID:
• How new transmission infrastructure has led to less curtailment of wind in Texas. (Energy Collective)
• California could be entering a radical new phase in utility and grid planning. (Greentech Media)

CLIMATE: A paper by James Hansen predicting drastic sea level rise this century begins the peer-review process. (Washington Post)

MEDIA: A beltway publication is failing to disclose sources’ ties to the fossil fuel industry in Clean Power Plan coverage. (Media Matters)

POLITICS: Observers say Ohio Gov. John Kasich could take a more definitive stance on clean energy and set himself apart from the rest of GOP presidential contenders. (National Journal)

COMMENTARY: Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm says the Clean Power Plan can lead to innovation and job growth. (Detroit Free Press)