CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Obama administration attorneys say they’re preparing for the “Super Bowl” of climate litigation. (Greenwire)
• A court decision on whether to halt the plan as legal challenges play out won’t be issued until after the Paris climate talks. (Reuters)

NATURAL GAS: Hopes for a “golden age” of gas are fizzling as moderate demand and strong supplies are lowering prices – and with them some plans for Gulf of Mexico terminals to export it. (Wall Street Journal)

CLIMATE:
• A Maryland task force unanimously urges the state to cut carbon emissions 40 percent by 2030. (Baltimore Sun)
• Texas continues to lead the U.S. in carbon emissions. (Climate Central)

SOLAR:
• A nonprofit announces plans to “solarize” Santa Fe, New Mexico by installing solar arrays on homes at no cost. (Albuquerque Journal)
• The nation’s first fully dispatchable solar-plus-storage project takes shape in Hawaii. (Utility Dive)
• Wisconsin regulators are again considering a utility request to raise fixed charges while wading into the contentious politics of rooftop solar. (EnergyWire)

WIND: Police are investigating after someone apparently shot a turbine in a controversial wind farm with a high-powered rifle. (Colorado Springs Gazette)

TRANSMISSION: A need for new transmission could be an economic bright spot for utilities facing challenges to their business models. (Utility Dive)

GRID:
• A study finds more quickly dispatchable resources are needed on the western grid, and that demand response, batteries and other sources are better suited than power plants for this purpose. (Greentech Media)
• A judge approves an Oklahoma utility’s $183 smart meter opt-out fee. (Tulsa World)
• New York’s energy transition will involve millions of smart meters. (Greentech Media)

BIOFUELS: A Minnesota company is taking its innovative approach to speed up the waste-to-fuel process to the Pacific Northwest. (Midwest Energy News)

POLITICS:
• Four Senate Republicans form a coalition to back environmental initiatives. (The Hill)
• Michigan conservatives tell college Republicans why it’s important to build bipartisan bridges on energy policy. (Michigan Daily)

OIL AND GAS:
• An audit finds Montana is failing to adequately inspect oil train traffic through the state. (Associated Press)
• Kansas regulators extend restrictions on the oil and gas industry meant to limit earthquakes in the southern part of the state until at least March 2016. (Associated Press)
• For the second consecutive month and only the third time ever, the amount of gas generation exceeds coal. (Utility Dive)

CLIMATE: Hillary Clinton joins Bernie Sanders in saying the Justice Department should investigate the failure of ExxonMobil to disclose research on climate change. (Reuters)

UTILITIES: Maryland’s attorney general petitions a state court calling on regulators to reconsider their approval of Chicago-based Exelon’s merger with Pepco Holdings. (Baltimore Sun)

COMMENTARY:
• The Los Angeles Times urges California regulators “not to cast a cloud over the solar boom.”
• “West Virginia has wasted enough time” delaying a transition away from coal. (Charleston Gazette-Mail)
• What if Exxon had told the truth about climate change? (The Guardian)