NEW YORK: Gov. Andrew Cuomo orders a state agency to “design and enact” regulations mandating 50 percent renewables by 2030. (Huffington Post)

OIL BY RAIL:
• Maine will no longer disclose details to the public about oil shipments by rail through the state. (Reuters)
• New York’s attorney general calls for tighter federal restrictions on the volatility of oil that can be transported by rail. (The Hill)

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BUSINESS: The CEO of major energy company NRG is stepping down, effective immediately. (SNL)

COAL:
• “Clean coal” technology continues to falter in the U.S. and fails to gain traction at the Paris climate talks. (Associated Press)
• Officials from around the world are seeing signs of a long-term decline for the industry. (New York Times)
• A new study shows that coal is king among all sources of pollution as a cause of heart disease. (The Washington Post)

INVESTING: Responding to investor concerns about climate change, State Street launches its first fossil-fuel free exchange-traded fund. (Reuters)

CLIMATE CHANGE:
• Officials abroad say Congress’ vote to undermine a domestic carbon-reduction plan isn’t gaining traction in Paris. (Greenwire)
• President Obama says in Paris that he favors a carbon tax over regulations like the Clean Power Plan to reduce emissions. (ClimateWire)

BIOFUELS: The oil industry may pay close to $1 billion this year to comply with federal renewable fuel standards, which could be passed on to consumers. (Reuters)

CLEAN POWER PLAN: While partisan politics cloud the direction of the Clean Power Plan, engineers see the rules as an opportunity to reinvent the power grid. (EnergyWire)

OIL AND GAS:
• The grid operator in the Northeast says constraints on the region’s natural-gas pipelines could cause reliability problems this winter. (Transmission & Distribution World)
• Despite committing to do so earlier, Exxon Mobil refuses to disclose its U.S. taxpaying information to a global transparency group. (Associated Press)
• A bill that would lift the crude oil export ban and speed up pipeline permitting moves forward in Congress. (E&E Daily)

SOLAR:
• Amid the push for more renewables nationwide, it has become “mission critical” to commercially deploy grid storage technology. (Greentech Media)
• The industry will lobby Congress hard in the next two weeks to extend a 30 percent tax credit on installations. (Reuters)
• One Minnesota community embraces community primarily as a way to save money on electricity. (Midwest Energy News)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: One reason electric-car ownership hasn’t taken off is because car dealers are reluctant to sell them. (New York Times)

2010 GULF OIL SPILL: A judge drops manslaughter charges against the last two of four BP supervisors involved in the litigation. (Associated Press)