RENEWABLES: Madison, Wisconsin sets an ambitious goal to power the entire city with 100 percent renewable energy – including steps to be taken on transportation and heating. (Midwest Energy News)

COAL:
• The cost of cleaning up former Peabody Energy sites will largely fall on taxpayers as a result of the company’s bankruptcy. (Wall Street Journal / Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis)
• Coal ash being shipped into Virginia from overseas is being delivered to Wisconsin and Ohio for reuse. (Associated Press)
• Local officials in Ohio pass a resolution hoping to stop the planned closure of two nearby coal plants. (Ripley Bee)

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PIPELINES:
• As anticipated, the Trump administration will issue a permit for construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. (New York Times)
• A large West Michigan diocese calls on Gov. Rick Snyder to scale back the transportation of oil through a pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac. (MLive)
• An oil pipeline spill in North Dakota in December is three times larger than originally thought, making it one of the most significant spills in the state’s history. (Forum News Service)
• The FBI is investigating recent acts of vandalism against the Dakota Access pipeline in northwest Iowa. (Radio Iowa)
• It remains unclear when oil will begin flowing through the Dakota Access pipeline. (Bismarck Tribune)
• The chairman of Energy Transfer Partners defends the construction of Dakota Access. (Forbes)

SOLAR: Two solar projects have come online in a Minnesota county in recent weeks, and several more are coming. (Chaska Herald)

WIND: Whirlpool is moving forward with wind development projects in Ohio. (Marion Star)

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OIL AND GAS: A federal judge dismisses a lawsuit against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission brought by environmentalists who accused the agency of being biased toward approving natural gas pipelines. (E&E News)

COMMENTARY:
• Four Republican governors in the Midwest show how the region is moving forward with clean energy despite the Trump administration’s plan to roll back Obama-era policies, one advocacy group says. (Midwest Energy News)
• The Cleveland Plain Dealer says backers of a plan to eliminate Ohio’s clean energy standards are “in denial of the jobs, investment, growth and future economic stability that come from a broad energy portfolio in Ohio.”
• The Environmental Defense Fund says that in order for the U.S. to remain competitive globally in the auto sector, it should be investing in cleaner-running cars. (Forbes)
• The EDF also points out that a growing number of rust-belt states are tackling methane emissions even if the Trump administration won’t. (Forbes)
• Despite some amendments, an Indiana columnist says a bill to dismantle the state’s net metering program still has “many problems.” (NUVO Weekly)