EPA: As anticipated, the EPA has delayed carbon rules for new power plants. (Washington Post)
MICHIGAN: Michigan passed a law allowing PACE financing in 2010, but few cities have taken the steps to make the deals possible. A Detroit-area lawyer wants to change that. (Midwest Energy News)
OIL: Environmentalists say shipping infrastructure projects in Michigan could lead to a repeat of the 2010 Kalamazoo River oil spill, and Exxon will remove a section of its ruptured Pegasus pipeline in Arkansas today. (Detroit Free Press, Reuters)
ALSO: Experts say Alberta has a “substance abuse problem,” slashing royalty rates for oil sands producers and relying on overproduction to make up the difference. (InsideClimate News)
WIND: A Wisconsin town wants to suspend a state-imposed timeline to consider a wind farm application, citing unresolved concerns about noise impacts; and the manager of an Ohio wind energy company questions Ann Arbor, Michigan’s plan for a $1.4 million wind project. (Sheboygan Press, AnnArbor.com)
GRID: Despite the high cost of batteries, an energy-storage firm says it’s making money by helping to stabilize the grid. (MIT Technology Review)
CLIMATE: In a statement released over the weekend, the U.S. and China vow to work more closely together to address climate change. (The Hill)
FRACKING: An Ohio company seeks a permit to drill a new wastewater disposal well that would have a capacity of up to 5,000 barrels per day. (Canton Repository)
IOWA: Iowa’s chief utility regulator, facing at least two major proposals in the coming year, says “we can’t afford to rule out anything.” (Des Moines Register)
NUCLEAR: The EPA is revising federal regulations for responding to radiation contamination. (New York Times)
BIOFUELS: Neil Young makes a stop with his biofuel/electric-powered 1959 Lincoln in Sioux Falls, to promote ethanol and speak about climate change: “You don’t see much about what’s really going on with the climate in the media.” (KELO-TV)
COMMENTARY: Why “Peak Oil” isn’t really dead. (Washington Post)