Reuters: Obama Looks to Raise $2 Billion in Climate Change Investments

The Obama administration on Tuesday set a goal of raising $2 billion in philanthropic investments to fight climate change, including technologies to slash carbon emissions.

The Clean Energy Investment Initiative is seeking investments to try to bridge the "valley of death" -- the gap in funding between research and development and commercialization that holds back many clean-energy startup companies.

Mother Jones: Are Solar Companies Ripping You Off?

Back in December, a group of Republican members of Congress from Arizona and Texas sent a worried letter to the Federal Trade Commission. Solar panel companies, the letter claimed, might be using deceptive marketing practices to lease their rooftop systems to homeowners without fully disclosing the financial risks. The concerns were similar to those raised a month earlier by Democratic lawmakers -- also from Arizona and Texas -- in a letter sent to the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Slate: Climate Hacking Is Barking Mad

This week, the National Research Council is releasing a report on climate engineering that deals with geoengineering proposals I find most terrifying. The report even recommends the creation of a research program addressing these proposals. I am a co-author of this report. Does this mean I’ve had a change of heart?

No.

The nearly two years’ worth of reading and animated discussions that went into this study have convinced me more than ever that the idea of “fixing” the climate by hacking the Earth’s reflection of sunlight is wildly, utterly, howlingly barking mad. In fact, though the report is couched in language more nuanced than what I myself would prefer, there is really nothing in it that is inconsistent with my earlier appraisals.

Forbes: Virginia Votes to Suspend Oversight of State-Sanctioned Utility Monopolies

You don’t need a degree in economics to understand how dangerous monopolies can be for consumers. You need nothing more than common sense. Tragically, common sense appears to have been in short supply last week in Virginia’s state senate.

On Friday, the Virginia Senate passed legislation, S.B. 1349, which would suspend regulatory oversight of the state’s privately owned utility monopolies for several years.

Charlotte Business Journal: Duke Energy Proposes $69M Investment in South Carolina Solar

Duke Energy plans to spend $68.7 million over the next five years to get 111 megawatts of new solar capacity on its South Carolina grid by 2021.

That will include requests for proposals for about 53 megawatts of utility-scale capacity from solar developers, in which Charlotte-based Duke's utilities could either buy the projects or sign contracts to purchase the power.

There would also be 58 megawatts of rooftop solar, encouraged by a $5,000 rebate program operated by both Duke utilities in the state, and from community solar programs.