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STATE OF THE UNION:
• President Obama pledges to revamp the way the federal government manages fossil fuel development on public lands. (InsideClimate News)
The president calls for investing in communities that have been hurt by the decline in fossil fuels. (Washington Post)
Obama calls out climate deniers, saying if they want to debate climate science, “You’ll be pretty lonely.” (Grist)

SOLAR: For the first time, solar now outpaces wind and hydro as the leading renewable energy source in California. (Utility Dive)

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STORAGE: New Jersey regulators vote to double the amount of funding for energy storage projects as the amount of renewables continue to increase statewide. (New Jersey Spotlight)

MICROGRIDS: An Oregon utility will receive nearly $300,000 from state and federal agencies to test microgrids’ resiliency. (Utility Dive)

NATURAL GAS: Experts say flaring of the world’s natural gas supply has remained constant at around 3.5 percent for several years. (Nature Magazine)

NUCLEAR:
• A House committee approves a bipartisan bill to fund research currently conducted by the private sector. (The Hill)
• The chair of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it is keeping a close watch on whether plant safety is being compromised by cost-cutting. (Platts)

COAL:
• The Obama administration is set to refund as much as $14 million in royalties to a coal company run by billionaire investor William Koch that was too costly to operate on federal lands. (Reuters)
• The U.S. House approves a bill to block President Obama’s new stream-protection rules. (Associated Press)
• While U.S. coal generation will still exceed gas in 2015, low natural gas prices have sped up the transition, according to new EIA data. (Utility Dive)
Arch Coal has broad lender support for a plan to cut $4.5 billion in debt as part of its bankruptcy proceeding. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

TRANSMISSION:
• Officials say a new project to move clean energy from Nevada will be a “game changer.” (Las Vegas Review-Journal)
• Developers a transmission line to move wind energy from Iowa eastward are dealt another setback by state regulators. (Midwest Energy News)

CLEAN POWER PLAN: Clean-energy advocates are criticizing Pennsylvania lawmakers’ budget plan they say halts progress on the state’s Clean Power Plan strategy. (StateImpact Pennsylvania)

OIL & GAS:
• A new panel will look at the safety of using oilfield wastewater to irrigate crops. (Associated Press)
• The industry’s financial hardship is likely to deepen, a new study predicts. (The Wall Street Journal)
• The industry’s downturn may be worse than the decline in the mid-1980s. (The Advocate)
• The slump in oil prices is leading to tens of thousands of job losses in the U.S. from major companies to suppliers and contractors. (Associated Press)

RATES:
• In additional filings with Ohio regulators over two utility income-guarantee requests, grid operator PJM says the plans are “inconsistent” with the competitive electric market, while Dynegy says it can offer a better deal for ratepayers. (Midwest Energy News)
• Advocates are criticizing plans by a Minnesota utility to lower rates for struggling industrial customers while raising them for residents. (Midwest Energy News)

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VW SCANDAL: U.S. EPA and California officials reject the automaker’s recall plans for vehicles that cheated on emissions testing, calling them incomplete. (National Public Radio)

TRANSPORTATION:
• Once one of the top markets for EV ownership, registrations in Georgia are off by 90 percent since a $5,000 tax credit was rescinded July 1. (GPB News)
Some large automakers are still hoping hydrogen-powered cars offer a promising future. (Michigan Radio) 

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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