COAL: Arch Resources maps an “exit strategy” from thermal coal used for electricity production after another grim quarterly earnings report. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

ALSO:
• North Dakota regulators approve more funding for a carbon capture and storage project that supporters say would help keep open a major coal plant set to close in 2022. (Bismarck Tribune)
• Coal plants in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan are in areas predicted to face risks from water stress and thus more pressure to close. (S&P Global)

***SPONSORED LINK: The University of Minnesota Law, Policy, and Business Conference on Equity and Electrification of Transportation, Friday, October 23, from 10 am – 2:30 pm, will discuss broader reforms to our transportation systems through the lens of law, policy, and business. Register here. ***

TRANSMISSION: Opponents of a planned transmission project in Wisconsin say text messages between a former state regulator and a utility he later sought a job with raise questions of bias. (Wisconsin State Journal)

OIL & GAS: North Dakota officials consider a plan to use $16 million in federal pandemic relief funds for hydraulic fracturing projects, which critics call “totally inappropriate.” (Bismarck Tribune)

WIND: A central Illinois village and its mayor file a lawsuit seeking to halt construction of a planned wind project. (Herald & Review)

CLEAN ENERGY: A small Kansas town that rebuilt after a 2007 tornado with several clean energy projects provides a lesson for other communities. (Washington Post)

OHIO:
• The ongoing power plant bailout scandal is now in the spotlight of many statewide political races. (WOSU)
• Indicted former House Speaker Larry Householder has used $1 million in former campaign contributions on legal fees. (Columbus Dispatch)

EMISSIONS: Most cities that have pledged to meet goals in line with the Paris climate agreement are falling short or haven’t started to track local progress, according to a Brookings Institution report. (E&E News, subscription)

SOLAR: The battery storage component of a 2.55 MW solar-plus-storage Alliant Energy pilot project is now online in central Iowa. (KCCI) 

UTILITIES: AEP’s recent earnings show a rebound to 2019 levels and reflect increased demand from commercial and industrial customers after pandemic-related closures this spring. (Columbus Dispatch)

POLITICS: The candidates competing to replace Iowa Congressman Steve King have a heated debate exchange over the role of renewable energy and biofuels. (E&E News, subscription)

BIOFUELS: A group of Republican U.S. senators ask the EPA to consider a waiver that would prevent higher biofuel blending obligations for oil refiners in 2021. (Reuters)