CLIMATE CHANGE: 10 of the worlds largest oil and gas companies pledge support for an “effective” climate change deal in Paris next month. (Associated Press)
ALSO:
• Interior Secretary Sally Jewell visits the Pacific Northwest to meet with local officials on preparing for natural disasters in the era of climate change. (Seattle Times)
• Two congressmen ask the Justice Department to investigate whether ExxonMobil broke the law by allegedly suppressing climate change research and spreading disinformation. (Los Angeles Times)
EFFICIENCY: Xcel Energy announces it will replace all 100,000 of its streetlights in Minnesota with LEDs. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
COAL:
• Members of the Sierra Club in Minnesota spent the summer helping to collect 11,000 petition signatures in support of shutting down the state’s largest coal plant. (Midwest Energy News)
• Activists float plans to allow environmental advocates and energy sector competitors to buy up coal mines with the intent of leaving them untouched. (Grist)
• The Canadian tar sands industry and electric operator NRG are sponsoring a $20 million competition seeking for useful ways to reuse carbon emissions. (Climate Central)
• The Obama administration is granting $14.5 million to 36 programs designed to help coal-dependent communities cope with economic hardships. (The Hill)
FRAC SAND: While the frac sand industry is seeing a downturn in Midwest states, advocates there are fighting harder to shut it down for good. (Inside Climate News)
CLEAN POWER PLAN: Kansas Republicans accuse the federal rules of directly leading to job losses in their state. (Lawrence Journal-World)
WIND:
• 72 new wind turbines being delivered to Michigan pushes the manufacturer Vestas over the 6,000-megawatt milestone for this year. (Denver Business Journal)
• In Colorado, Xcel Energy set new state records for the amount of single-day and one-hour wind production. (Denver Business Journal)
SECURITY: Concerns over cyber threats to the grid are “compelling government and private-sector defenders to stand together closer than ever before.” (EnergyWire)
OIL AND GAS:
• A new federal study says grassland birds are losing habitat due to drilling in western North Dakota and more needs to be done to prevent further displacement. (Associated Press)
• In addition to low prices, cost-cutting measures being taken by companies suggest a dire outlook for tar sands oil. (MinnPost)
NUCLEAR: An energy analyst says maintaining nuclear plants is vital to keeping President Obama’s climate rule from collapsing. (Greentech Media)
EMISSIONS: The Obama administration wants to crack down on harmful chemicals found in air conditioners and refrigerators that it says are 10,000 times worse for the climate than carbon. (The Hill)
DEMAND RESPONSE: A former FERC chairman and champion of the commission’s demand-response rule is not encouraged by oral arguments made before the Supreme Court. (Greenwire)
ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Electric car maker Tesla Motors unveils a new autopilot system that lets cars change lanes by themselves. (National Public Radio)
PIPELINES: An Ohio State University researcher wants to know whether natural-gas pipelines negatively affect crop production on farmers’ property. (Columbus Business First)
COMMENTARY: In Ohio utility “bailout” case, “AEP’s executives are unwilling … to take the risk but are perfectly happy to push it onto customers.” (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis)