CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Since the final rules were announced in August, the “just say no” approach to complying has “slowly and quietly receded.” (Greenwire)
An EPA administrator becomes the public face of the agency, traveling the country to build support for the federal rules. (EnergyWire)

RENEWABLES: Federal regulators say 60 percent of new electricity generation this year came from renewables. (Utility Dive)

RPS: Researchers in Michigan are fighting back against an out-of-state organization that has been publishing what critics call erroneous renewable portfolio standard reports in several states trying to influence policy. (Midwest Energy News)

SOLAR: In a major expansion to its commitment to solar, Minnesota looks to offset 30 percent of the power used at various state-owned facilities through community solar contracts. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

CARBON:
• Governments around the world will raise $22 billion this year by putting a price on carbon through taxes or trading systems. (Reuters)
• 
Massachusetts joins five others states with proposed legislation to put a price on carbon. (Inside Climate News)

OIL AND GAS:
• A major producer quits the North Dakota oil patch after posting a quarterly loss of $2.6 billion. (Reuters)
Three major U.S. oil exploration companies prepare for another year of spending cuts as the slump in energy markets shows no signs of abating. (Bloomberg News)

CLIMATE CHANGE: The backstory of two investigations into Exxon Mobil’s history of climate change research. (ClimateWire)

MERGER:
• D.C. regulators agree to reconsider the proposed merger between Pepco and Chicago-based Exelon after new terms were announced. (RTO Insider)
An exclusive letter obtained shows seven of 13 members of the D.C. Public Service Commission support the merger. (Utility Dive)

POLITICS: South Carolina’s Lindsay Graham: Accepting climate science doesn’t make me a Democrat. (Think Progress)

PIPELINES: Researchers look at gas pipeline infrastructure across the country to find faulty systems leaking methane. (Chemical & Engineering News)

2010 GULF OIL SPILL: Federal court records show all five Gulf of Mexico states have reached a settlement with drilling rig owner Transocean. (Associated Press)

ETHANOL:
• The oil industry is launching an ad campaign against the federal ethanol mandate. (The Hill)
• The federal government will spend $100 million to help install 5,000 additional ethanol fuel pumps in 21 states. (KCCI-TV)

COMMENTARY: President Obama can’t lobby world leaders in Paris on a climate deal “in good faith” based on his weakening of renewable fuel standards in the U.S. (Huffington Post)

Andy compiles the Midwest Energy News digest and was a journalism fellow for Midwest Energy News from 2014-2020. He is managing editor of MiBiz in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was formerly a reporter and editor at City Pulse, Lansing’s alternative newsweekly.

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