SOLAR:
• An Indiana lawmaker faces backlash over controversial statements he made about plans to eliminate the state’s net metering law. (Associated Press)
• Advocates in Iowa ask state regulators to reconsider a ruling they say could imperil solar development in the state. (Midwest Energy News)
WIND: A 6.9-megawatt expansion of a wind project is underway in northeast Nebraska. (Norfolk Daily News)
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COAL: Some coal producers are casting themselves as a contributor to a clean-energy future. (New York Times)
GRID: An Indiana utility announces plans for a grid modernization plan that includes several solar projects. (Daily Energy Insider)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: A dysfunctional federal gas tax system is causing more states to implement fees on electric vehicles, with 10 states already charging customers. (Vox)
PIPELINES:
• The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has begun the final cleanup at the Dakota Access protest site in North Dakota. (Associated Press)
• Protesters vow to take up pipeline fights in other states. (Reuters)
OIL-BY-RAIL: The director of Minnesota’s rail safety agency says the department is moving forward with new regulations. (The Uptake)
POLICY: An energy lobbyist and former top aide to President Trump tells a coal association that research funding for wind and solar power will likely be cut by the administration. (Time)
UTILITIES: Dynegy and AEP exchange ownership of two Ohio power plants, in “another indicator of an Ohio electric market caught in a sea of change.” (Columbus Business First)
POLITICS: President Trump will demand tens of billions of dollars in budget cuts from the EPA and State Department, while sharply increasing spending on defense, according to four senior administration officials. (New York Times)
COMMENTARY: The vice president for research at MIT explains how to fight coal emissions while still supporting coal communities. (Washington Post)