AEP TO CLOSE 7 COAL PLANTS IN OH, WV, IN, VA BY JUNE. 2 more converting to natgas. Some plants date to '50's. 9 plant total ~6Gw .... Defense comps to join NATO in June to start testing military ability to use clean/ren power in combat, humanitarian ops .... Northeast US utilities could lose up to 1/2 of residential sales by '30 as customers install solar with batt storage: Rocky Mountain Institute .... Cal residents cut water use 2.8% in Feb. Many Cal residents pay flat rate for water not measured .... Americans drove 3.02T miles in '14, up 1.7% v. '13. US vehicle emissions ~30% of all US emissions .... Global revenues for products that increase energy efficiency of buildings est. to increase to over $620B/yr by '23 from $307B in '14: Navigant .... Conservation investing could triple in 6 yrs: Nature Conservancy, EKO .... Gulf spill (BP) cleanup dispersant causes respiratory damage: study .... Fukushima radioactive water could be evaporated, stored underground .... Shell to buy BG Group (LNG) for near $70B to get up to Exxon level .... Exxon seeking $500M tax rebate from Russia for Sakhalin work .... Maersk Oil started production from new N Sea field. 30 yrs of reserves. Peak production by '17. $650M invested .... India bought its 1st oil for its strategic petrol reserve .... Chevron pulled out of Australia shale gas project. Conoco, Hess, Statoil already out of their projects. (Logistical costs, etc.) .... Africa Petrol Production Ass calling for global oil output cut for price rise .... Argentina sitting on 802TCF shale gas, 27B bls shale oil. But $11M/well v. intl standard $7M. (And politics.) .... 200-mile NG pipe to be built from Permian Basin to Mexico border. '19 completion of 570-640MCF/d capacity. $450-500M cost. 1st phase 170MCF/d online in '17 .... US crude production (including condensate) up 1.2Mb/d - 16.2% - in '14 to 8.7M. Rystad predicting US peak at 9.7Mb/d this Sept if WTI avgs. $55 .... ND now requiring removing volatile fuels from oil before loading on trains .... ND joined WY lawsuit challenging BLM requiring fracking chem disclosure on Fed lands .... NOAA collecting air samples over oil/gas drilling to document higher ground level ozone .... Georgetown, TX - 50K citizens - going 100% clean/ren power when Sun Edison (SUNE) completes 150Mw solar plant next year .... EIA lowered '15 US oil production growth to 550Kb/d from 700K, '16 growth to 80Kb/d from 140K .... EIA revised US NG demand to 2.8BCF/d in '15 from 2.3B for 76.3BCF/d. (My math 27.8TCF/yr.) Supply to increase just .1BCF/d. (There's a prob.) Est. '16 demand to fall to 75.8BCF/d. (How does that happen with everyone going NG?) .... Brent prices may fall $5-15/bl in '16 if Iran sanctions lifted .... Iran media calling for boycott of Saud oil over Yemen bombing (as Iran reportedly sending battleships to Yemen.) .... US March oil-by-rail shipments down 7% on year .... Gazprom Neft agreed to buy 49% stake in Vietnam's only refinery, joining with Petro Vietnam to explore/develop oil/gas in Pechora Sea (Arctic) .... Wind Capital Group selling its last 2 wind farms - 150Mw, 210Mw - to Pattern (PEGI) for $244M .... Yingli supplied 15.5Mw solar to Marina for 3 NJ projects. All online by 3Q .... Sun Ed, Flextronics (FLEX) expanding partnership to make solar modules in Mexico .... Enphase (ENPH) expanding to Netherlands .... Joule Assets expects to close $100M energy efficiency fund this month .... New Tesla (TSLA) base model includes AWD, longer range .... India officials killed 20 wood smugglers. (Can't law enforcement aim for legs?! Godssakes.)