RENEWABLE ENERGY: How the Department of Energy has “really changed the world” over the last eight years when it comes to energy. (Washington Post)
ALSO:
• A lack of new transmission lines is stifling renewable energy projects in Maine. (Portland Press Herald)
• A city in northern Michigan votes to become the second in the state to adopt a goal of 100 percent renewable energy to power city services, such as streetlights, a wastewater treatment plant and government buildings. (Midwest Energy News)
• Advocates see a mixed bag on clean energy policy as legislatures in Michigan, Illinois and Ohio close out 2016. (Midwest Energy News)
• A program in Maryland is making it easier for owners of large office buildings and warehouses to pay for renewable energy projects. (Baltimore Sun)
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OIL & GAS:
• Sources say President Obama is preparing to use a 1953 law to block future oil and gas leasing in the parts of the Arctic and Atlantic. (New York Times)
• Hedge fund executives are charged in a $1 billion fraud case linked to a deadly oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. (Associated Press)
• A Southern California utility asks customers to reduce their natural gas consumption to help prevent shortages in the region during a bout of severe cold weather. (Reuters)
• Four oil and gas drillers pay over $1.71 million to lease nearly 680 acres in Ohio’s only national forest. (Columbus Business First)
FRACKING: California officials file a lawsuit challenging a federal finding that offshore fracking in the state will cause no significant environmental impact. (Associated Press)
PIPELINES:
• Locals in North Dakota have grown weary of Dakota Access Pipeline protests. (Los Angeles Times)
• A North Dakota senator asks tribal officials for help clearing about 10,000 pipeline protesters from two campsites. (The Hill)
COAL: The Obama administration finalizes rules to protect streams from coal mining pollution, but the regulations could be threatened by Donald Trump’s administration. (Associated Press, Washington Post)
SOLAR:
• The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission says Montana regulators were wrong to end guaranteed rates for small solar projects in the state. (Billings Gazette)
• County officials in Maryland are considering new regulations for solar installations on farmlands. (Baltimore Sun)
• Arizona regulators begin hearings over whether to change net-metering rates in the state. (Arizona Republic)
ENERGY STORAGE: Engineers in New York are promoting a plan to convert an abandoned iron mine into a pumped hydro facility for energy storage. (Associated Press)
WIND: Norway-based Statoil will lease nearly 80,000 acres for a wind farm off the coast of New York. (FuelFix)
CLEAN POWER PLAN: The EPA has stopped working on model rules that states could use to comply with the Clean Power Plan, instead releasing drafts that could help states cut emissions on their own. (The Hill)
POLICY: The CEO of a Chicago-based nonprofit explains how a sweeping energy bill in Illinois will help low-income families. (Midwest Energy News)
CLIMATE: Roughly 70 percent of registered voters believe the U.S. should cap CO2 emissions and participate in international agreements to limit global warming, according to a new study. (The Guardian)
COMMENTARY: Killing the Clean Power Plan and Clean Air Act won’t be easy. (Huffington Post)