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RENEWABLES: Utilities are left in a bind to either increase renewable energy capacity or risk losing customers as large corporations seek to boost their renewable portfolios. (Midwest Energy News)
EMISSIONS:
• Illinois is among states imposing significant staffing cutbacks on state agencies that enforce federal air pollution rules. (Center for Public Integrity)
• Methane emissions from fossil fuel production are between 20 and 60 percent higher than previously thought, according to new research. (InsideClimate News)
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SOLAR: Dane County in Wisconsin looks to install more solar panels and save about $87,000 in electricity costs in the first year of the initiative. (Badger Herald)
COAL: A former surface coal mine in Ohio is now a “thriving reserve for wildlife and its own ecosystem.” (Perry County Tribune)
PIPELINES:
• Activists attempt to shut down pipelines in Minnesota, North Dakota and elsewhere by turning emergency valves to stop the flow of oil through them. (Forum News Service)
• Two of the pipelines in Minnesota that were temporarily shut down but have since been reopened. (Minnesota Public Radio)
• Construction resumes on the Dakota Access pipeline near disputed sections in North Dakota, and protesters consider chaining themselves to equipment. (Bismarck Tribune)
• More Wisconsin deputies are sent to North Dakota to help with Dakota Access pipeline protests. (WISC-TV)
• Dakota Access protesters are “redoubling efforts” in an attempt to permanently shut down the entire project. (InsideClimate News)
OIL AND GAS: The company looking to develop an oil refinery near Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota submits its permit application to state regulators. (Forum News Service)
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STORAGE: Energy storage had a “banner year” in 2015 and analysts say 2016 is “poised to best that performance.” (Utility Dive)
COMMENTARY: The coal industry does not have a regulation problem, but rather a “growing market problem“ as other technologies produce electricity at lower cost. (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis)