NEW JERSEY: Gov. Phil Murphy signs bills raising the state’s renewable energy standard to 50 percent and providing zero-emission credits for nuclear power plants. (RTO Insider)

WIND:

• Massachusetts and Rhode Island announce procurement deals for offshore wind farms totalling 1.2 GW of new capacity. (CommonWealth Magazine, Providence Journal)

• The projects represent a major leap forward for the U.S. in offshore wind, a technology that is mainstream in Europe. (New York Times)

• North Carolina wind power hangs in the balance as lawmakers prepare to debate the extension of a wind power moratorium. (InsideClimate News)

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SOLAR:

• Minnesota regulators consider an incentive payment to ease the transition into lower rates of return expected for community solar customers. (Midwest Energy News)

• The CEO of Nevada’s largest electric utility says a clean energy initiative would upend net metering, dramatically increasing rooftop solar customers’ bills. (Nevada Appeal)

BIOFUEL:

• U.S. oil refiner Marathon Petroleum asks the EPA to exempt one of its facilities from federal biofuels rules, according to two sources. (Reuters)

• Sources say Trump administration officials will meet today to discuss planned changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard. (Reuters)

OIL & GAS:

• ExxonMobil announces a plan to cut its methane emissions 15 percent by 2020. (Reuters)

• Sources say China will import record amounts of oil from the United States as part of an effort to avert a trade war between the two countries. (Reuters)

• A major oil spill would threaten 23 national parks and monuments in the Southeast, according to U.S. National Park Service data compiled by conservation groups. (Southeast Energy News)

• Oklahoma oil and gas regulators order companies to reduce wastewater injections or cease operations entirely in a heavily drilled part of the state recently rocked by earthquakes. (Associated Press)

UTILITIES:

• Utility companies are working on innovative projects to help them meet power needs through distributed resources and efficiency instead of transmission lines. (Utility Dive)

• Xcel Energy has reduced carbon emissions by 35 percent since 2005, mostly by closing aging coal plants, an internal report shows. (Denver Post)

GRID: PJM’s capacity auction yesterday resulted in higher prices for generators, but fewer nuclear plants cleared the auction — possibly because operators are avoiding long-term commitments. (Bloomberg, Utility Dive)

POLITICS: Senate Democrats hold a press conference at an Exxon filling station on Capitol Hill to draw attention to high gas prices linked to President Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. (The Hill)

EPA: Members of the EPA’s Science Advisory Board want to examine the scientific basis behind a number of proposed regulatory rollbacks, including weakening of auto efficiency standards and scrapping the Clean Power Plan, at an upcoming meeting. (InsideClimate News)

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CLIMATE:

• The Trump administration considered ignoring federal scientists’ data about the effects of man-made climate change, according to an internal memo. (Washington Post)

• Major charitable foundations fund renewables and energy efficiency as a means to combat climate change, but ignore options like nuclear power, carbon capture and geoengineering, according to a new study. (Grist)

COMMENTARY:

• If EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is fired, President Trump is likely to replace him with someone equally committed to dismantling the agency, according to three researchers. (Washington Post)

• Young conservative voters are increasingly concerned about environmental issues like climate change, and businesses should be paying attention, says a conservative political consultant. (Vox)