NUCLEAR: Unlike in New York and Illinois, environmental groups are not pushing Michigan officials to keep a nuclear plant open in order to hold down greenhouse gas emissions. (EnergyWire)

SOLAR:
• The executive director of a national solar advocacy group discusses how Wisconsin has made clean energy advances despite some state officials’ hostile positions toward renewable energy. (Midwest Energy News)
• A mid-Michigan county is revisiting its zoning ordinances to allow for solar farms as a developer considers a 50-megawatt project on 300 acres. (Lansing State Journal)
• Officials in Ann Arbor, Michigan are looking to resolve concerns over the property tax impacts of going solar within the city. (MLive)
• Property Assessed Clean Energy financing helps a Minnesota business install solar panels on its property. (Faribault Daily News)

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CLIMATE: The Wisconsin Public Service Commission is the second state agency to remove climate change information from its website. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

CLEAN ENERGY: Advocates say Minneapolis suburbs are leading the way in changing attitudes toward clean energy adoption. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

PIPELINES: 
• While oil pipeline proposals have faced resistance and setbacks in the Great Plains, a network of pipelines through the Great Lakes region continues to grow in capacity. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• Two Michigan members of Congress are calling for Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac to shut down if a federal study shows it threatens the Great Lakes. (Michigan Radio)
• Three protesters are arrested for trespassing at the construction site of the Dakota Access pipeline. (Reuters)
• In response to Dakota Access pipeline protests, a North Dakota lawmaker introduces legislation that would protect drivers from legal consequences if they inadvertently hit, injure or kill pedestrians who are obstructing traffic. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

HYDRO: Xcel Energy says its hydroelectric stations in Wisconsin set a new record for the amount of generation during the past year. (Wisconsin Ag Connection)

EMISSIONS: The U.S. EPA tentatively rejects a request from several East Coast states that it crack down on interstate air pollution that originates from the Midwest. (Baltimore Sun)

WIND: Officials in a South Dakota county look to increase setback requirements for wind projects following intense opposition toward a recently proposed project. (Watertown Public Opinion)

OIL AND GAS:
• Plans for two major natural gas plants in an Ohio city will give a needed economic boost, local officials say. (Youngstown Vindicator)
• WE Energies says a proposed 16-mile gas pipeline in Wisconsin is meant to keep up with future demand. (LaCrosse Tribune)
• Disputes over mineral ownership along the Missouri River in North Dakota have led to multiple lawsuits and disagreements between the state and federal government. (Bismarck Tribune)

COAL: Peabody Energy secures $1.5 billion in financing to help the coal company through its bankruptcy exit plan. (Reuters)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Officials in Grand Rapids, Michigan look to evaluate the use of city-owned electric vehicle charging stations. (MLive)

COMMENTARY:
• An indigenous scholar and activist gives five reasons why the North Dakota pipeline fight will continue in 2017 as tribes face ongoing threats from fossil fuel companies. (MinnPost)
• “Threatening to hold natural resources hostage” in order for a company to obtain a frac sand permit in Wisconsin “is outrageous.” (LaCrosse Tribune)
• “Ohio could lose nuclear power if the state government and regional electric grid continue to undervalue it.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer)