Last California nuclear plant to close within 10 years

NUCLEAR: Pacific Gas and Electric plans to close the last nuclear plant in California within 10 years, replacing it with efficiency, renewables and storage. (Los Angeles Times)

ALSO:
• The ​“big economic lesson” here is not simply about the amount of carbon emissions saved, but that operating costs for many nuclear reactors ​“has become very high.” (Forbes)
• Environmental groups that back nuclear power hope plans to close the Diablo Canyon plant fail. (Forbes)
• Decommissioning a nuclear plant is a long and expensive process, though PG&E officials are optimistic. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

COAL:
• A White House study says the federal government’s coal-leasing program is costing taxpayers billions of dollars a year ​“due to lax oversight and permissive royalty rules.” (Reuters)
• At a public meeting in Seattle on proposed changes to the federal coal-leasing program, coal critics far outnumbered supporters. (Seattle Times)

GRID: This summer, Consolidated Edison will begin developing a ​“virtual power plant” in New York that involves solar-plus-storage at 300 customer locations. (Utility Dive)

CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY: In a new survey, 72 percent of companies say they are actively procuring renewable energy, driven largely by corporate sustainability policies rather than price alone. (Greentech Media)

SOLAR: Supporters of a net metering referendum in Nevada submit double the amount of signatures needed to get on the ballot. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

EFFICIENCY: A consumer advocacy group and a clean energy group are pushing Illinois utilities to allow customers to share real-time energy usage data with third parties as a way to increase energy efficiency. (Midwest Energy News)

FRACKING:
• A federal district judge says the federal Bureau of Land Management lacks authority to set rules on fracking. (Associated Press)
• Supporters of the Obama administration’s rules for fracking on public and tribal lands say the new regulations are overdue and can coexist with state laws. (EnergyWire)

RATES: Opposition mounts against an Arizona utility’s request to institute demand charges for residential customers. (Phoenix Business Journal)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES:
• Widespread adoption of electric vehicles could reduce U.S. gasoline demand by up to 20 percent over the next 20 years. (Fortune)
• New Jersey launches a grant program to expand the number of electric vehicle charging stations in the state. (NJ.com)

REGULATION: The former general counsel of the Nevada Public Utilities Commission denies that her resignation was due to controversial social media posts. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)

STORAGE:
• President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers say storage will help deliver greater penetration of wind and solar, ​“dismantling” critics’ longstanding argument that renewables can’t compete with baseload sources like coal and gas. (Washington Post)
• The distributed energy trend can help municipal utilities ​“reinvent” themselves through software-managed energy storage, according to a research and consulting firm. (Utility Dive)

TRANSPORTATION: New Jersey may have to take the once ​“politically unthinkable” route of raising the state’s gasoline tax to improve transportation infrastructure. (New York Times)

MERGERS: Tesla offers to buy solar installation firm SolarCity — both under the direction of Elon Musk — for $2.8 billion to create a ​“clean energy powerhouse” that could sell customers an electric car, home battery and solar system all at once. (Reuters)

OIL AND GAS: A new study finds extreme oil prices — whether high or low — may hamper climate change efforts. (Climate Central)

POLITICS: Presidential candidate Donald Trump turns to the coal industry to boost his campaign war chest. (Grist)

COMMENTARY:
• The federal Bureau of Land Management has an ​“ideal opportunity” to redesign its coal-leasing program so it’s not selling rights to mine for a ​“pittance.” (Sightline Institute)
• Offshore wind makes good economic sense for the Carolinas. (Southeast Energy News)
• It will be a ​“tricky balancing act” for PG&E to displace generation from the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant with efficiency and renewables rather than natural gas. (Vox)