SOLAR:
• Large corporations are turning to independent power producers in deregulated markets to meet their solar needs. (Utility Dive)
Maryland regulators are finalizing plans for a statewide three-year pilot community solar program. (Baltimore Sun)

OIL AND GAS:
• In a world of climate change concern and plummeting oil prices, the future of the Canadian tar sands is uncertain. (Minnesota Public Radio)
• The developer behind a major gas pipeline project in the Northeast is having financial problems. (Associated Press)
House Democrats are said to be open to lifting the crude oil export ban and will seek negotiations with Republicans. (Bloomberg)

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CLIMATE:
• The U.S.’s support of a climate pact in Paris ultimately hinged on one word; France downplays it as a typing error and easily solved. (ClimateWire, Reuters)
The U.S. got nearly everything it wanted out of a climate deal in Paris, despite claims that it bullied smaller countries or that the deal could be undone by Republicans. (Greenwire)
Militaries around the world will no longer be automatically exempt from emission-cutting obligations under the Paris deal. (The Guardian)
Environmental activists say their plans will shift now to ensuring that the goals laid out in the Paris negotiations will be achieved. (New York Times)
Analysts say significant reductions will need to come from the industrial sector to achieve emissions goals outlined in Paris, but it’s unclear how that would happen. (ClimateWire)

CLEAN POWER PLAN:
• Stakeholder groups are divided over how or whether the grid operator MISO should provide guidance or advocacy while states comply with the Clean Power Plan. (RTO Insider)
An ongoing question surrounding Clean Power Plan compliance will be how states are given emissions allowances under a mass-based approach. (EnergyWire)
• The rush to replace coal with natural gas instead of renewables and nuclear to generate electricity may be undermining a lower carbon future. (Nashville Public Radio)

FINANCE: Renewable energy stocks rise after the Paris agreement is announced. (The Hill)

REGULATION:
• American Electric Power in Ohio reaches a settlement agreement with regulatory staff and a key environmental group over its “bailout” plan, which includes commitments to renewable energy. (RTO Insider)
Despite revisions to a proposed settlement agreement, environmental groups and consumer advocates are still opposed to FirstEnergy’s “bailout” request. (Midwest Energy News)

SUSTAINABILITY: Grand Rapids, Michigan becomes a “2030 District” city, with downtown property owners pledging to cut energy use in half over the next 15 years. (Midwest Energy News)

SOLAR: A Minnesota project is helping electric co-ops gain experience in distributed and community solar. (Midwest Energy News)

OFFSHORE DRILLING: A new study challenges an industry estimate of jobs to be created by opening the Southeast coast to oil and gas drilling. (The Virginian-Pilot)

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COAL: Some analysts see divestment and other financial pressures as the last straws in coal’s decline. (SNL)

COMMENTARY:
• We’re still not even close to hitting the “end of the fossil fuel era.” (Vox)
If the ban on crude oil exports is lifted, it must come with tax incentive extensions for renewable energy. (New York Times)

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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