CleanTechnica: Cheap Michigan Wind Energy Set To Save Consumers $15 Million Annually

Higher consumer prices are often cited by fossil-fuel interests to oppose state renewable energy targets, but what about when they actually lower utility bills?

That’s the case in Michigan, where utility DTE Electricity has asked regulators to let it cut monthly residential electricity rates, citing fast-falling wind energy costs as it works to comply with the state’s 10% by 2015 renewable portfolio standard.

Vice News: Thieves Are Looting Germany's Solar Farms

Germany's market for solar power has become so lucrative that crooks are stealing solar panels and cashing them in for thousands of dollars, according to a report by the Financial Times.

In the state of Brandenberg, thieves walked off with more than $567,000 worth of solar equipment in the first four months of this year alone, said the FT. Last year, more than 3,000 panels were stolen, adding up to more than $805,000 worth of losses.

Guardian: Secretive Donors Gave U.S. Climate Denial Groups $125M Over Three Years

The secretive funders behind America’s conservative movement directed around $125M (£82M) over three years to groups spreading disinformation about climate science and committed to wrecking Barack Obama’s climate change plan, according to an analysis of tax records.

The amount is close to half of the anonymous funding disbursed to right-wing groups, underlining the importance of the climate issue to U.S. conservatives.

Bloomberg: U.S. Ousts Russia as Top World Oil, Gas Producer in BP Data

The U.S. has taken Russia’s crown as the biggest oil and natural-gas producer in a demonstration of the seismic shifts in the world energy landscape emanating from America’s shale fields.

U.S. oil production rose to a record last year, gaining 1.6 million barrels a day, according to BP Plc’s Statistical Review of World Energy released on Wednesday. Gas output also climbed, putting America ahead of Russia as a producer of the hydrocarbons combined.

Washington Post: After Plunge in Oil Prices, Hope Fades for Group of Beleaguered Workers

The collapse in oil prices came as a surprise to the nation’s oil workers. While there had been booms and busts before, this was supposed to be a sustainable renaissance in American energy. And though oil has bounced back a bit -- to about $60 a barrel -- the pressure on American oil drillers isn’t subsiding.

On Friday, Saudi Arabia and other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries announced that they would continue to pump 30 million barrels of oil a day, the latest recent instance of the group breaking with a long-running strategy of reducing supply when prices fall. On the same day, new U.S. jobs data indicated that another 17,000 jobs in and around the oil and gas industries disappeared in May.