STUFF ... Sao Paulo in water crisis. Failed rainy season ... Mass regulators approved new NG power plant but limited life span, requiring less and less CO2 emissions until '50 closure. $800M for 630Mw at site of coal plant closing this year. Online in '16. Stricter emission limits start in '26 ... $1.9B project to connect 3 US grids in NM nearing initial construction phase. Still working on finance ... Abengoa wants to get its credit rating raised 2 levels to reduce financing costs ... World Bank switched 4.8Gw Republic of Congo hydropower project to private sector status from public sector. Withdrew $73M IDA grant. To pursue private investment deal with IFC ... Since '05, total world oil production up 5.8Mb/d. 1.7M of that in NG liquids. The rest shale oil, oil sands. Conventional oil production fell ~1Mb/d since '05. World's existing fields depletion ~4Mb/d/yr. Oil comps invested ~$4T since '05 to explore, drill. $2.5T of that spent on just replacing production from existing fields. ~$350B since '05 went to drill/frack shale oil/NG wells in US, increase oil sands production ... Poet's $250M cellulosic ethanol plant should be ready to start in June. 7-12M gal expected from it this year. 25M gal/yr capacity ... USDA doesn't expect much increase in ethanol production through '23 ... US NG production now close to 70BCF/d. Expected to reach over 100B by '40: EIA chief. Shale gas will be 50% or more of production soon. 30B now ... Russia considering building 2nd reactor at Iran's Bushehr plant in exchange for oil ... Israel to supply Jordan $500M of NG over 15 yrs starting in '16. Potential expansion to $30B deal ... Neb court found state law used to approve Keystone pipeline in Neb unconstitutional. The governor approved it, not PSC ... Fed court struck down rules that govern strip mining. Office of Surface Mining also still delaying substitute rules called Stream Protection Rule ... Tesoro denied feds access to refinery after workers burned by acid ... Auditors blasting DOE for allowing nuclear site's costs to escalate ... 5 inspectors oversee railroad bridge safety across entire US ... WV regulators cited Patriot Coal again for slurry spill ... Bhutan govt EV deal with Nissan ... Contract awarded to extend lives of 7 UK nuke plants. Doosan Babcock, EDF deal worth 70M Pounds/yr for several yrs ... Iberdrola to invest near Eur4B in UK next 3 yrs ... Renesola to supply 13Mw for US solar project ... Sun Edison (SUNE), Azure Power India among biggest winners in India's 1st national auction of solar permits since '12. Each won 100Mw of 750Mw auctioned. ACME Solar Energy got at least 80Mw. India offered up to $302M in grants to allow plants to sell power at 5.5 rupees/Kwh - grid cost ... Japan may cut solar FIT 14% to reflect lower ops, maintenance costs ... Beta Wind Farm got $107M financed for 144Mw wind projects in India over next 10 yrs. Also $141M for 156Mw more of India wind projects ... ReEnergy Holdings (NY) signed PPA with US Army for 28Mw biomass plant ... US Army awarded 20 contracts for solar, wind, biomass. 15 solar, 3 wind, 2 biomass ... United Photovoltaics (China) got China Development Bank financing for 1Gw China solar projects ... The Renewables Infrastructure Group (UK) got 3-yr 80M Pounds revolving acquisition funding ... Energiaprima (Italy) to build 200Mw solar in Romania. 4 or 5 projects ... Origin Energy delaying 471Mw wind project, waiting on Australia's renewable target review ... 905 natural catastrophes worldwide in '12. 93% weather related costing $170B public funds. Insurers paid out $700B/yr globally for extreme weather damages for last 3 yrs ... 10-yr cycles in oceans affect jet stream, contributing to unusual weather.