NOTE TO READERS: U.S. Energy News is taking a break for the holidays. We’ll return on Monday, January 4.

SOLAR: In a blow for the rooftop solar industry, Nevada regulators vote to slash the value of credits customers get for generating excess energy for the grid. Major installers have threatened to end sales and installations in the state, while regulators say the decision is about eliminating “hidden subsidies.” (Las Vegas Sun, Greentech Media)

ALSO:
• Solar installations surge in the Southeast, thanks primarily to North Carolina and Georgia. (Climate Central)
• The extension of federal tax credits removes a “drop dead date” for community solar projects in Minnesota that were scrambling to build out without an extension. (Midwest Energy News)

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CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Wyoming officials say the federal rules will negatively impact sage grouse conservation. (Greenwire)
• The nation’s largest cities are stepping up in defense of the federal rules in court. (Associated Press)
• Tennessee’s attorney general will not be joining a lawsuit challenging the Clean Power Plan. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

EMISSIONS:
• In the ninth week of a natural-gas leak in Los Angeles County, it’s still unclear how the state will account for the spike in greenhouse gas emissions. (ClimateWire)
• Environmental groups want policymakers to rethink the role methane emissions play in contributing to climate change, which could make natural gas a less attractive fuel source into the future. (ClimateWire)

CLIMATE:
• Along with Exxon, most major U.S. oil companies were aware of the risks of climate change as early as the 1970s. (InsideClimate News)
• A new poll shows a majority of U.S. Republicans support working with other countries to curb climate change in the wake of the Paris agreement. (Reuters)
• A conservative group sues a federal agency to obtain what has become a controversial climate study. (The Hill)

COAL:
• While California Gov. Jerry Brown “talks a good game on climate change,” he remains silent on an important local issue involving a proposed coal terminal. (East Bay Express)
• Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the coal industry prepare for a “last stand” against the forces of shale gas, renewables and new regulations. (Bloomberg)

OIL AND GAS:
• Environmental groups are challenging a report from Pennsylvania regulators that says radiation levels in oil and gas industry wastewater and byproducts pose little threat. (Associated Press)
• One expert says 2015 “was really a monumental year for both litigation and regulatory action” in the oil and gas industry. (EnergyWire)
• House Speaker Paul Ryan says lifting the crude oil export ban was a victory on the order of “100 Keystone pipelines.” (The Hill)

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CLEAN ENERGY: Google confirms it will build a new data center in Tennessee running on 100 percent renewable energy. (Associated Press)

COMMENTARY: Lifting the crude export ban creates an uneven playing field for domestic oil refiners and could have several unintended consequences. (Forbes)