CNET: Elon Musk Says Apple Hires Engineers That Tesla Fires

There has never been confirmation that Apple is actually building a car. Indeed, CEO Tim Cook replied, "Next question," when asked about it last week in an NPR interview.

Still, "Next question" doesn't sound quite the same as "no." So the assumption remains that Cupertino, California-based Apple must be working on something vehicular. Indeed, some rumors suggest that an Apple car will roll along the highway as soon as 2019.

Musk, though, thinks the results may not be so great. He said, "They have hired people we've fired. We always jokingly call Apple the 'Tesla Graveyard.' If you don't make it at Tesla, you go work at Apple. I'm not kidding."

Tampa Bay Times: Duke's Long Love Affair With Nuclear Is Ending

Hard to believe, but the country's biggest power company -- the same one that once swore on a stack of fuel rods that nuclear power would always be a big part of how it generates electricity -- is finally having second thoughts and, notably, saying so in public.

"Nuclear will continue to be an important part of energy supplies in the Carolinas," Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good said this week in remarks to the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce. "But whether or not new nuclear is a part of the picture remains to be seen."

Wall Street Journal: Germany Says Utilities’ Reserves Adequate for Nuclear-Power Exit

German utilities’ reserves for the country’s planned exit from nuclear power are adequate, the ministry for economics and energy said, citing a government-commissioned report on the matter.

“The affected companies have fully covered the costs with the designated provisions,” economics minister Sigmar Gabriel said in a statement.

The Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy had called for the stress test to determine whether utilities’ reserves are up to the task of financing nuclear waste and the decommissioning of plants.

Arizona Republic: Solar Customers Underpay Significantly, Says APS

Customers with solar panels pay about one-third of the cost of supplying them with power, a summary of a new study filed by Arizona Public Service Co. concludes.

A so-called “cost-of-service” study is required for utilities to submit to the Arizona Corporation Commission in rate cases, and the report summary APS filed Thursday could indicate some of the strategy the utility will use in mid-2016 when making its pitch for rate increases.

The study reviews the hard costs to deliver power and weighs calculable savings to the utility from customers’ solar panels. For example, power-plant maintenance expenses are included in the analysis. So is the fuel saved at power plants when solar panels generate electricity.

PV Magazine: Spain's Government Approves 'Sun Tax'

Spain's center-right government has been perhaps the most hostile to the solar industry among European nations, including sweeping retroactive changes to the nation's feed-in tariff which have been challenged in Spanish and European courts. Today Spain's Council of Ministers hit a new low by approving fees on solar self-consumption, which have been dubbed the “sun tax.”

While full details will not be out until the full text is published in the Official Gazette, Spain's Energy Ministry indicated (in Spanish) that there will be charges on both existing and new installations, both on a capacity and generation level. The ministry says that these are not taxes or compensation for utility losses, but contributions to overall system costs.