Record year for renewable investment, but still not enough to curb climate change

RENEWABLES: Global investment in renewable energy hit a world record of $286 billion in 2015, yet even more is needed to make sharp carbon emission cuts to address climate change. (Climate Central)

SOLAR: Renewable energy standards will continue to play a smaller role in driving new solar development. (Greentech Media)

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FINANCE: SunEdison, the world’s largest clean-energy developer, has a ​“big issue coming” with its $11.7 billion debt. (Bloomberg Business)

COAL:
• The U.S. government looks to increase royalty payments by 50 percent on coal extracted from massive strip mines on public lands. (Associated Press)
• A Peabody Energy spokesman declares: ​“Coal is going to be around for a long time, and Peabody is going to be around for a long time.” (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

EFFICIENCY: Since 2012, New York has announced 112,000 energy efficiency projects resulting in $341 million in customer savings. (Utility Dive)

MICHIGAN: Emails released as part of the ongoing Flint water crisis also shed light on Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s energy policy and the attorney general’s ​“awkward” pursuit of an injunction against the Clean Power Plan. (Midwest Energy News)

MERGERS:
• California regulators approve a $12 billion merger, making Southern Co. the second-largest combined gas and electric utility in the U.S. (Utility Dive)
• However, Moody’s Investor Services says these types of high-profile mergers with gas companies are not without risk. (Utility Dive)

WIND: The Obama administration clears the way for up to six turbines off Virginia’s coast.(Associated Press)

DIVESTMENT: The Rockefeller Family Fund’s divesting from fossil fuels — and particularly Exxon Mobil — carries symbolic weight as the nonprofit trust was born of oil wealth. (Huffington Post)

CLEAN POWER PLAN: Uncertainty clouds the timeline of meeting goals following the U.S. Supreme Court’s stay and states are questioning whether they will be ​“caught flat-footed if they stop planning.” (ClimateWire)

FRACKING: Industry attorneys say the negative publicity around ​“frackquake” lawsuits may do more damage to the industry than any legal outcomes. (Forbes)

COMMENTARY:
• The U.S. has ​“dithered” on the ​“clear and present danger” of radioactive waste from nuclear plants for far too long. (Scientific American)
• Subsidies for the U.S. coal industry are ​“bigger than anyone knew.” (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis)