MICHIGAN: Voters defeat a proposed constitutional amendment to expand Michigan’s renewable energy standard by a wide margin. (Midwest Energy News)
CHICAGO: Chicago and several suburbs adopt municipal electricity aggregation, allowing cities to negotiate rates with utilities. The decision could stall the growth of renewable energy in Illinois without additional policy fixes. (Midwest Energy News)
ELSEWHERE: Michigan Rep. Fred Upton, chair of the House energy committee, is re-elected; renewable energy backer Brad Crabtree is defeated in his bid for North Dakota’s public service commission; and the city of Longmont, Colorado bans fracking. (The Hill, Fargo Forum, Boulder Daily Camera)
WHAT’S NEXT? As President Obama is re-elected, fossil fuel industries brace for tougher regulation, and environmental groups push for action on climate change and rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline. (Reuters, San Francisco Chronicle, The Hill)
WIND: A North Dakota wind turbine plant shuts down, Danish wind company Vestas announces it’s cutting 3,000 more jobs, and Sioux City’s city council approves backyard wind turbines. (Fargo Forum, Bloomberg, Sioux City Journal)
ETHANOL: Indiana’s oldest ethanol plant, which is also for sale, shuts down indefinitely, laying off 40 workers. (South Bend Tribune)
COMMENTARY: Why opposing tax credits for the wind industry cost Mitt Romney votes in Iowa, Andrew Revkin is skeptical that Hurricane Sandy will change the climate conversation, and why Businessweek’s “It’s global warming, stupid” cover story is a wake-up call for journalists. (Daily Beast, New York Times, Columbia Journalism Review)