TRANSPORTATION: The EPA says it plans to keep strict fuel economy standards in place, finding automakers are already on track to meet them. (Washington Post)
FRACKING: More questions are raised about the U.S. EPA’s controlling the message of a controversial study that, when released, said fracking had not “led to widespread, systemic impacts.” (American Public Media)
PIPELINES:
• A new map shows the locations of over 9,000 oil and gas pipeline accidents between 1986 and 2016. (CityLab)
• North Dakota’s Republican senator says the Obama administration has “prolonged and intensified” protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline by refusing to approve the project. (Huffington Post)
• North Dakota’s Emergency Commission votes to borrow an additional $7 million to cover the cost of policing protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline through December. (Associated Press)
• Activists say they are planning to “double down on the state and local level” to combat pipeline development. (Bloomberg)
OIL & GAS: The U.S. is becoming a global supplier of oil and natural gas, with 2017 poised to be a record year. (Bloomberg)
COAL: The Obama administration wants to strengthen a rule to protect streams from coal mining pollution before Donald Trump takes office, but Republicans in Congress could use an obscure law to overturn it. (Mother Jones)
GRID:
• American Electric Power seeks to build up to 10 solar-powered microgrids at critical facilities in Columbus, Ohio. (Greentech Media)
• A Minnesota-based consultant discusses what the political outlook means for microgrid research and development, as well as trends in regional deployment. (Midwest Energy News)
NUCLEAR:
• Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner agrees to a deal with Exelon over a major energy bill that would subsidize nuclear plants there. (Quad-City Times)
• Are nuclear plants necessary for lowering emissions without the Clean Power Plan? (Utility Dive)
WIND:
• Amid protests over the Dakota Access pipeline, seven Sioux tribes in North and South Dakota are developing what would be an enormous collection of wind farms on six reservations. (Midwest Energy News)
• People in the wind industry say a new program to lease federal land for renewable energy development will actually make it more costly and time-consuming to develop wind projects. (Grist)
SOLAR:
• A California-based solar developer registers for certificates to build over $1.8 billion of solar projects in North Carolina. (Charlotte Business Journal)
• In the last six months, price drops for solar systems have been “more dramatic than anything we’ve seen since 2011 or 2012,” according to a new report. (Greentech Media)
• A Maine solar installer calls for an overhaul of the state’s grid. (WLBZ)
• Arizona regulators postpone a hearing on the value of solar. (Arizona Daily Star)
• Delaware cuts state incentives for residential solar systems. (Wilmington News Journal)
EFFICIENCY: Michigan’s energy efficiency standard continues to exceed targets while producing $4.35 in benefits for every dollar spent, according to a new state report. (Midwest Energy News)
RENEWABLE ENERGY:
• How a minor data tweak is having a major impact on how clean energy is valued on the grid. (EnergyWire)
• The tribe protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline has been quietly been pursuing renewable energy development on the Standing Rock Reservation and other tribal lands across the Dakotas. (Midwest Energy News)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Companies like GM are manufacturing electric cars at a loss in order to meet state mandates that require automakers to sell some non-polluting vehicles. (Bloomberg)
CLIMATE:
• Prominent scientists and Nobel prize winners write an open letter to Donald Trump and the next Congress asking them to respect science in their policy decisions, particularly on climate change. (Christian Science Monitor)
• The Obama administration has spent nearly $34 billion on 70 fossil fuel projects around the world. (The Guardian)
• Sources say Ivanka Trump wants to make climate change one of her signature issues as “first daughter.” (Politico)
COMMENTARY: North Dakota’s oil resources are unlikely to be fully developed without the Dakota Access Pipeline. (Bloomberg)