CLIMATE: While publicly rejecting climate science, Exxon in the 1990s was quietly studying how a melting Arctic could improve its bottom line. (Los Angeles Times)
CAP AND TRADE:
• New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says his state will consider joining with California to create a “North American market” for carbon trading. (ClimateWire)
• Meanwhile, the number of national and regional carbon trading systems continues to grow. (Bloomberg)
CLEAN POWER PLAN: Utilities see profitable paths by complying with their states’ carbon emissions targets. (Wall Street Journal)
SOLAR:
• How Georgia Power’s solar service model could foster a new utility business model. (Greentech Media)
• Loss of a state tax credit after 2015 in North Carolina for solar systems clouds the industry’s outlook there. (Fayetteville Observer)
• New Mexico regulators approve Xcel Energy’s agreement to purchase 140 MW of capacity from two new solar farms, the state’s largest. (Associated Press)
• A group of California agricultural businesses urge state regulators to uphold net metering. (Lake County News)
• Co-ops are warned of possible solar hardware shortages next year. (Electric Co-op Today)
• Solar panels still face opposition from California homeowners associations. (San Jose Mercury News)
WIND:
• A North Carolina county declares a four-month moratorium on wind farms amid complaints from neighbors about a proposed project. (Virginian-Pilot)
• A settlement between a developer and a conservation group in Maine exposes a rift among anti-wind activists. (Portland Press Herald)
FINANCE: A once popular financing mechanism for clean energy is falling out of favor. (New York Times)
EFFICIENCY: A construction trade group says new building requirements in California’s climate bill are “not earth-shaking.” (Silicon Valley Business Journal)
OIL AND GAS:
• The U.S. House approves ending the ban on crude oil exports, but the policy has a more uncertain fate in the Senate and possibly a presidential veto. (New York Times)
• A major legal fight may be brewing in Oklahoma over state officials’ authority to regulate seismic activity due to oil and gas development. (EnergyWire)
POLLUTION: Neighborhood activists who formerly took on a fight to close Chicago’s coal plants now face a new challenge in rising diesel exhaust emissions. (Midwest Energy News)
COAL: Former Sen. Mary Landrieu lands a job lobbying for the FutureGen Alliance. (The Hill)
CARBON CAPTURE: A Canadian startup has found a way to capture CO2 from the air and convert it into fuel. (Quartz)
COMMENTARY: Naomi Oreskes on Exxon: “like the tobacco industry — Exxon chose the path of disinformation, denial and delay.” (New York Times)