CLIMATE: A compilation of government documents shows climate change was discussed in Congress and the media in the 1960s and 1970s, including a Nixon administration report that said “the greatest consequences of air pollution for man’s continued life on earth are its effects on the earth’s climate.” (Grist) 

ALSO: The research, compiled by historian Naomi Oreskes, contradicts assertions in recent Supreme Court rulings that climate change was not a topic of concern when the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970. (Inside Climate News)

UTILITIES: Hawaiian Electric and six other entities agree to pay $4 billion in damages to settle lawsuits stemming from last year’s deadly Maui wildfires. (CNN) 

ELECTRIFICATION: Nearly $500 million in federal funding will help encourage heat pump adoption in Alaska and New England. (Canary Media)

COAL: 

  • Indiana is emblematic of a larger problem as utility-owned coal plants are dispatched despite the availability of cheaper resources like wind and solar, costing ratepayers hundreds of millions and contributing to air pollution. (Energy News Network)
  • An Arizona utility plans to retire its remaining coal generation by 2028 while adding energy storage, wind, solar and quick-ramping gas plants to meet a predicted 1.2% annual demand increase. (Arizona Daily Star)
  • Federal data says coal stockpiles at U.S. power plants are at their highest level since 2020. (Energy Information Administration)

GRID: An Exelon executive says the record-high prices awarded in PJM Interconnection’s latest capacity auction could lead to double-digit rate increases for some of its utilities. (Utility Dive)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: 

SOLAR: Michigan farmers seeking additional revenue through solar leases are backed by a new state law that gives state regulators greater oversight in the event of local opposition. (Bloomberg)

POLITICS: 

COMMENTARY: A utility-funded California program relies on innovative approaches to help low-income homeowners take advantage of electric heat pump rebate programs. (CalNEXT, sponsored)

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Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy, and has led the project from its inception as Midwest Energy News in 2009. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he held a variety of editing, production, and leadership roles, and played a key role in the newspaper's transition to digital-first publishing. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon.