Reuters: Trump Considering Fracking Mogul Harold Hamm as Energy Secretary

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is considering nominating Oklahoma oil and gas mogul Harold Hamm as energy secretary if elected to the White House on Nov. 8, according to four sources close to Trump's campaign.

The chief executive of Continental Resources would be the first U.S. energy secretary drawn directly from the oil and gas industry since the cabinet position was created in 1977, a move that would jolt environmental advocates but bolster Trump's pro-drilling energy platform.

Dan Eberhart, an oil investor and Republican financier, said he had been told by officials in Trump's campaign that Hamm, who has been an informal advisor to Trump on energy policy since at least May, was "the leading contender" for the position.

Las Vegas Sun: Peppermill in Reno Latest Casino Aiming to Leave NV Energy

The Peppermill resort in Reno is asking regulators for permission to leave NV Energy and buy electricity from another provider.

The resort, operated by Peppermill Casinos Inc., is the latest casino to ask the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada to leave NV Energy and adds to speculation that several other Reno casinos might take similar action.

A 2001 law allows large energy consumers to purchase power from alternate sources.

Earlier this year, the commission gave three casino operators on the Strip the option to leave NV Energy for a collective fee of more than $125 million. Two companies -- MGM Resorts International and Wynn Resorts -- plan to exit by October.

Fortune: Bankrupt Solar Company SunEdison Wants to Sell Its Interests in Terraform Global

Bankrupt solar company SunEdison is looking to sell its interests in TerraForm Global, the “YieldCo” said on Wednesday.

Shares of TerraForm Global, which holds renewable energy assets primarily outside the United States, were up 11.1 percent at $3.61 in light premarket trading.

YieldCos are publicly traded subsidiaries that hold renewable energy assets, including assets bought from their parents. They are backed by long-term power-purchase contracts with utilities, allowing them to pay regular dividends.

PV Magazine: New Renewable Law Does Not Spell the End of Feed-In Tariffs, Says Germany

Around two weeks ago the German passed an update to its Renewable Energy Sources Act, the EEG. The reworking of the law underpinning solar PV and other renewable generating capacity development in the country has been widely reporting as spelling an end to FITs. However, the German energy agency BEE counters that tariffs for large-scale projects will still be awarded, albeit under a tender system, and will remain in place for solar arrays smaller than 750 kWp.

“There was a big misunderstanding in most press coverage in the German media, which said the new EEG was the end of the FIT and afterwards the system has transitioned to a tender system,” explained Carsten Pfeiffer, the head of strategy and politics at the BEE. “However, this is not the point, as a tender results in a FIT being awarded.”

Tech Insider: A Half-Built Futuristic 'Eco-City' Is Sitting Abandoned in the Arabian Desert

Abu Dhabi officials had big plans for Masdar City.

When they broke ground on the development in 2008, it was slated to be the world’s most sustainable city, with zero carbon emissions, zero waste and zero cars. But construction, which was originally scheduled to wrap up this year, has been much slower than expected. And the city has not achieved full carbon neutrality -- according to the Guardian, current plans suggest that only half of the city’s power will be renewable.

As of now, the city sits mostly empty -- only around 300 people live there, and the completion date has been pushed back to 2030.