Study: Clean Power Plan would have minimal impact on electricity prices

CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• An EIA outlook projects 40,000 megawatts of coal power would stay online if the federal rules are rejected in court. (Columbus Business First)
• The EIA also says electricity prices would be modestly impacted by the rules, growing by roughly 3 percent in the later years than without it. (ClimateWire)
• Pennsylvania continues work on Clean Power Plan compliance, but won’t submit anything to the EPA until court challenges are resolved. (NPR)

CLIMATE: Researchers say atmospheric CO2 levels may have topped 400 ppm for good. (InsideClimate News)

BIOFUELS: The EPA proposes a modest increase in the Renewable Fuel Standard, disappointing both the oil and ethanol industries. (Reuters)

CLEAN ECONOMY: A report finds Vermont has the most clean-energy jobs per capita in the U.S., with roughly 6 percent of the state’s workforce involved in the industry. (VTDigger)

SOLAR:
• A Department of Energy study says solar power could deliver $400 billion in health and environmental benefits across the U.S. by 2050. (Phys.org)
A Nevada proposal would allow existing solar customers to be grandfathered in to the state’s earlier net metering rules. (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
After rejecting freestanding solar projects, a Massachusetts town moves instead to install solar on municipal rooftops. (Salem News)

OIL AND GAS:
• Texas regulators raise doubts about a study linking decades of earthquakes to oil and gas activity. (Reuters)
• An Indiana study finds local economic benefits tend to ease opposition to fracking. (Indiana Daily Student)
• American Energy Partners, the oil and gas company founded by the late Aubrey McClendon, is shutting down. (Associated Press)
• A landowner challenges a federal agency’s moratorium on drilling in a Pennsylvania watershed. (EnergyWire)

COAL:
• Declining federal funding raises doubts about the future of ​“clean” coal projects in the U.S. (Houston Chronicle)
• Peabody Energy is granted $800 million in financing to continue operations during bankruptcy proceedings. A Missouri court also approved Peabody’s selling its interest in the Prairie State Energy Campus. (St. Louis Business Journal)
• Nationwide, self-bonding in the coal industry tops $3.3 billion, as federal regulators look to curtail the practice. (Associated Press, Reuters)

COAL ASH: In a long-awaited step, North Carolina regulators rank eight ash ponds managed by Duke Energy as ​“high risk” for closure by 2019 and 25 ​“intermediate risk” ponds for closure by 2024. (Fayetteville Observer)

WIND: Sen. Lamar Alexander urges constituents to oppose a large wind farm proposed in his home state of Tennessee. (The Chattanoogan)

NUCLEAR: A U.S. Senate hearing on new nuclear reactors turns into a debate over the extent to which expensive plants should be subsidized. (E&E Daily)

EFFICIENCY: A state program in Iowa helps communities save money by making energy efficiency upgrades. (Midwest Energy News)

COMMENTARY: How wireless charging could be the solution to ​“range anxiety” for a wind range of electric devices. (Vox)