ETHANOL: The U.S. EPA will launch an in-house investigation into whether the agency is properly accounting for the environmental benefits and drawbacks of requiring ethanol in gasoline under the Renewable Fuel Standard. (Reuters)

OIL AND GAS:
• The Obama administration blocks Alaskan Arctic drilling for the next two years, canceling auctions for drilling rights. (New York Times)
• A federal judge has tossed a Pennsylvania township’s ordinance banning oil and gas operations. (Pittsburgh Business Times)
• A new review of scientific literature shows fracking inevitably pollutes water and air and harms people. (Inside Climate News)

TRANSPORTATION: Recent trends of developing in dense urban areas closer to public transportation are spreading to the Midwest. (Midwest Energy News)

CLIMATE CHANGE:
• The prospects for an emissions deal in Paris increase as 150 countries file pledges to curb them. (The Guardian)
• The shipping industry bristles at the idea of a carbon tax or trading program to curb rising emissions. (ClimateWire)
• A new report says rich nations aren’t doing their fair share to reduce carbon emissions. (Reuters)

NUCLEAR:
• Federal regulators are close to issuing the first operational permits for a new reactor in 20 years. (Platts)
• Up to 11 percent of the U.S.’s nuclear fleet is at risk of early retirement, potentially making Clean Power Plan compliance much more difficult. (Utility Dive)

EFFICIENCY: The costs of building sustainable housing in the Midwest continue to drop, which early adopters hope will encourage more property owners. (Pioneer Press)

LOBBYING: A federal inspector general’s report sheds more light on the intense lobbying efforts behind operating Sandia National Laboratories. (Greenwire)

PIPELINES: Despite the public outcry against Dakota Access, roughly two-thirds of landowners along its proposed path have signed easements allowing the company to build on their property. (The Gazette)

CLEAN POWER PLAN: Texas’ power grid operator predicts far less of the state’s coal plants will need to close to comply with new federal carbon emissions rules. (Dallas Morning News)

COAL:
• An analysis shows that despite ongoing legal challenges with federal pollution rules, utilities are largely staying the course and closing coal plants. (Utility Dive)
• A former coal executive testifies that his company took shortcuts to produce more coal under CEO Don Blankenship. (Associated Press)

UTILITIES: Energy analysts say utilities are running out of time to plan for a future whose landscape is changing rapidly. (Forbes)

OIL BY RAIL: Track failure is at the heart of a growing safety problem for the industry. (Los Angeles Times)

COMMENTARY:
• An analysis done on Ohio’s renewable portfolio standard “uses a statistical trick to inflate the economic impacts” of the rules. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
• Oregon’s clean-fuel standard helps tackle climate change and protect public health. (The Oregonian)