RENEWABLE ENERGY:
• Energy experts warn that Donald Trump’s presidential victory could reverse the nation’s shift to clean energy. (The Guardian)
• A Q&A with experts on how to finance clean energy technologies. (Wall Street Journal)
SOLAR:
• As the cost of solar installation drops, Florida’s utilities have little recourse to stop development. (Miami Herald)
• The Obama administration offers $125 million in funding for solar energy projects in El Salvador and India. (Morning Consult)
• The head federal lobbyist for SolarCity says solar is an easy concept to sell, but the real challenge is protecting federal policies that promote rooftop installations. (The Hill)
WIND: Microsoft acquires 237 megawatts of wind energy to power its U.S. data centers, bringing its total wind power portfolio to over 500 megawatts. (Fortune)
POLITICS: Donald Trump is considering Oklahoma oil tycoon Harold Hamm and North Dakota Rep. Kevin Cramer for the next energy secretary. (Associated Press)
EMISSIONS:
• With the transportation sector emitting more CO2 than any other segment in the U.S., undoing auto emissions standards would be a huge step back for the climate. (New York Times)
• A member of California’s Air Resources Board says the state has no intention of backing away from clean-air enforcement and zero-emission car rules, even if Trump undermines federal mandates. (Bloomberg)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Big automakers are aggressively pushing electric cars because of stricter government mandates on fuel economy. (Los Angeles Times)
BIOFUEL: An Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Washington, D.C., is being hailed as the first commercial flight powered partly by wood-based biofuel. (Seattle Times)
NUCLEAR: A company agrees to buy an unfinished nuclear plant in Alabama for $111 million and will invest up to $13 billion to complete construction of the facility. (Associated Press)
CLIMATE: Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy says he “will demand that Europe put in place a carbon tax at its border” for all products coming from the U.S. if Trump follows through on his promise to scrap the Paris climate agreement. (Quartz)
TECHNOLOGY: Scientists are genetically engineering yeast to help produce cellulosic biofuel. (Midwest Energy News)
OIL & GAS:
• Entrepreneurs are trying to fix Oklahoma’s earthquake problem by figuring out new ways to dispose of wastewater from drilling operations. (Bloomberg)
• A city in Maine has spent nearly $750,000 defending an ordinance that bans the loading of crude oil onto tankers, which is being challenged in federal court by a pipeline company. (Portland Press Herald)
PIPELINES: The Army Corps of Engineers says permitting for the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline “comported with legal requirements,” but it won’t grant an easement for construction before discussing the matter with a Native American tribe opposing the project. (The Hill)
ADVOCACY: Groups opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline are planning over 200 protests across the U.S. today. (Associated Press)
COMMENTARY:
• President-elect Donald Trump’s energy plan is incoherent and doesn’t account for economic realities. (The Guardian)
• Most coal-fired power plants that closed since President Obama took office would have closed regardless due to their age, and the trend is likely to continue thanks to cheap natural gas. (Reuters)