Report: U.S. nuclear capacity to decline 25 percent by 2050

NUCLEAR: About 25 percent of U.S. nuclear capacity will be retired over the next three decades, according to a report from the Energy Information Administration. (Utility Dive)

CAP-AND-TRADE: The California Chamber of Commerce is appealing a state appeals court decision to uphold cap-and-trade, arguing that the program functions as an unconstitutional tax. (Los Angeles Times)

CLEAN POWER PLAN: Supporters of the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan say a federal court should send the case, which has been frozen indefinitely by the Trump administration, back to the EPA so it can consider changes. (InsideClimate News, The Hill)

CLIMATE: Scientists are teaming up with lawyers to combat the Trump administration’s attacks on climate science. (New York Times)

SOLAR:
• The Solar Energy Industries Association is gearing up to fight Suniva’s petition to impose import duties on solar panels, saying it ​“poses an existential threat to the broad solar industry and its 260,000 American jobs.” (Greentech Media)
• As Dominion Energy boosts its solar installations, small solar advocates say Virginia’s progress on utility scale solar has been largely at the expense of rooftop and community-owned installations. (Southeast Energy News)
• A Utah-based residential solar company could create as many as 50 jobs as it expands operations into New Mexico. (Albuquerque Business First)

UTILITIES: Oregon regulators are opposing Portland General Electric’s plan to spend nearly $1 billion on renewable energy in the next few years, calling it risky and unnecessary. (Portland Business Journal)

GRID: At a conference in Washington D.C., utility executives challenge the idea that digitizing the grid inherently creates a security risk. (Morning Consult)

OIL & GAS:
• A family that lives near the site of a fatal home explosion in Colorado is suing the previous operator of a nearby gas well, as well as housing developers where the incident occurred, saying they have suffered severe anxiety and post-traumatic stress. (Denver Post)
• Over 100 members of Congress send a letter asking the Trump administration not to open up the Atlantic and Pacific oceans for drilling, saying the move would threaten local economies. (The Hill)
• Green groups are asking Colorado’s governor not to fight a recent ruling that requires state officials to protect public health and the environment from oil and gas developers. (Denver Post)

PIPELINES: The Canada-based company behind the Keystone XL pipeline is reassessing whether oil producers in North Dakota and Montana still need the line. (Associated Press)

COAL:
• Environmental protections can only be attributed to 3.5 percent of the coal industry’s decline, according to a new study. (Greentech Media)
• The president of the Navajo Nation tells coal miners that a new deal will keep a massive Arizona coal plant open until 2020. (Arizona Republic)
• Three bipartisan proposals in Congress aim to help mining communities with economic, environmental and health challenges. (WKU)
• A look at recent employment numbers in the coal industry in West Virginia and Kentucky. (WSAZ)

COMMENTARY:
• Solar developers can help the environment by using ​“pollinator-friendly” solar installations that include native flowering plants, according to an editorial in GreenBiz.
• Litigation is the only near-term answer to stop ​‘around market’ power subsidies from spreading, according to partners at a power sector law firm. (Utility Dive)
• Even some advocates for nuclear power are suggesting the industry may be coming to an end. (Yale E360)