‘THE PRESIDENT’S UTILITY’: The New York Times looks at Exelon Corporation’s high level of access to the White House, and whether the relationship has led to policies unfavorable to Exelon’s competitors.
CLIMATE: A spokesman for the Obama campaign says while climate change “clearly is something that is important to the administration,” it won’t figure prominently in the presidential campaign. (The Hill)
TRANSMISSION: MISO approves a scaled-down transmission upgrade plan for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, critics say the plan still unfairly burdens Wisconsin ratepayers. (Midwest Energy News)
ALSO: American Transmission Company calls on FERC to rehear a case that gave Xcel Energy part ownership of a segment of the CapX2020 project. (LaCrosse Tribune)
ETHANOL: A study from Purdue University finds suspending the ethanol mandate could cut food prices next year, and a biofuel producers group says the oil industry is driving efforts to cut ethanol quotas. (Washington Post, The Hill)
SOLAR: Rapid City-based Black Hills is ending a solar incentive program in Colorado, citing low natural gas prices; and an Ohio officials say solar manufacturer Willard & Kelsey is in default on a $5 million state loan. (Denver Post, Columbus Dispatch)
NUCLEAR: Crews begin applying a protective waterproof coating to the cracked shield building at the Davis-Besse nuclear plant in Ohio. (Toledo Blade)
WISCONSIN: A national electricity choice coalition files comments with the PSC, urging the state to deregulate its electricity markets. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
ANOTHER PLAN: Republican governors say the president has “failed to develop a sensible, comprehensive energy policy,” and unveil their own “Energy Blueprint for America.” (Politico)
MICHIGAN: How the town of Wyandotte got to 30 percent renewable energy. (Bloomberg)
TRANSPORTATION: GE says its developed the first railway locomotive that will meet 2015 emissions standards. (Reuters)
COMMENTARY: Michael Levi says Mitt Romney’s energy plan “overpromises on results while ignoring many of the biggest energy problems the United States faces,” Dawn Stover explains why water constraints give renewable energy an advantage, and Bloomberg offers a compromise on the wind tax credit. (Foreign Policy, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Bloomberg)