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)

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.

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