Oil executives pushing Trump to stay in Paris climate agreement

CLIMATE:
• A meeting scheduled to take place yesterday between President Trump and his top advisers to discuss whether the U.S. will stay in the Paris climate agreement was postponed. (New York Times)
• Members of the Trump administration are recruiting oil and gas executives to help convince the president to stay in the Paris climate agreement, according to two anonymous sources. (Bloomberg)

COAL:
• A review of the U.S. electric grid ordered by Energy Secretary Rick Perry is sparking controversy for implying that clean energy ​“subsidies” are contributing to coal plant closures. (Washington Post)
• Citing market pressure from natural gas, the head of the country’s biggest public utility, Tennessee Valley Authority, says it won’t reopen coal-fired power plants. (Associated Press)
• The EPA asks a federal appeals court to delay oral arguments scheduled for next month over an Obama-era regulation that limits the amount of mercury and other toxins emitted from coal-fired power plants -- a rule that most utilities are already complying with. (Washington Post)

RENEWABLE ENERGY: The California-based cloud computing company Salesforce reaches net zero carbon emissions 33 years ahead of schedule. (Greentech Media)

GRID: Solar-plus-storage technology will reduce customers’ reliance on the grid and disrupt the power sector, according to three separate studies. (Utility Dive)

SOLAR:
• A Kentucky coal company unveils plans to build the state’s largest solar farm on a recovered strip mine site. (Lexington Herald-Leader)
• Nevada’s largest electric utility completes a 100-megawatt solar project outside Las Vegas. (Associated Press)
• Georgia-based solar manufacturer Suniva files for bankruptcy, which could prompt a trade dispute between America and Asia. (Greentech Media)
• The solar industry challenges Duke Energy’s claim that customers would pay $1 billion too much for solar power under current contracts. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• A look at why California’s community solar program is off to a slow start, with virtually no developers showing interest. (Greentech Media)

PIPELINES:
• Gulf Coast refineries will need new oil pipelines from Canada in order to avoid transporting oil by rail, according to a new report. (FuelFix)
• An environmental group in New Jersey asks a judge to block construction on a controversial pipeline that would run through the protected Pinelands forest while the court considers several appeals against the project. (Philadelphia Inquirer)

POLLUTION: A Chevron oil refinery in Utah will switch to producing cleaner burning fuel by the end of 2019 thanks to a new law that provides tax incentives. (Deseret News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: An electric car dealer announces a special offer to ship Nissan EVs from Miami to Cuba, which is facing a gasoline shortage. (Reuters)

BIOFUELS: The city council of Portland, Oregon, will consider a $12 million proposal to turn methane produced at a wastewater treatment plant into natural gas that would fuel city vehicles. (Portland Business Journal)

COMMENTARY:
• A writer at Vox considers the possible outcomes of President Trump’s decision on the Paris climate agreement.
• When President Trump talks about supporting coal, he’s really talking about helping billionaire coal executives -- not coal miners -- says a former coal miner from West Virginia. (Herald-Dispatch)
• Scrapping the Bureau of Land Management’s methane rule would waste energy, hurt national security and makes no sense, says the CEO of American Security Project. (The Hill)