WIND: President Trump’s ban on offshore drilling along the southern Atlantic coast also prohibits leasing for offshore wind farms, an administration official confirms. (Bloomberg)

CALIFORNIA: EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler says Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order to require all new cars sold in the state to be zero-emissions by 2035 may require federal approval, in a letter that ridicules the state’s grid capacity issues over the summer. (Reuters, Associated Press)

PUBLIC LANDS: Friday’s court ruling that William Perry Pendley is illegally serving as director of the Bureau of Land Management could upend years of policy decisions, including an expansion of oil and gas drilling. (The Hill)

GRID:
• Grid congestion is a key factor in wind and solar developers’ canceling projects in grid operator MISO’s territory over the past five years. (Energy News Network)
• Federal regulators recommend granting anonymity to utilities that fail to meet cybersecurity standards. (Utility Dive)

UTILITIES:
• Ameren announces a 2050 carbon neutral target that includes about $8 billion in renewable energy investments, though much of its coal fleet would remain online through 2040. (Greentech Media)
• Advocates in Maine begin the process to place a petition on the state ballot to create a publicly owned utility after legislation promoting the same concept stalled this year. (Maine Public)

SOLAR:
• As Virginia schools increasingly adopt solar power, a utility contract in Appalachian Power territory is getting in the way. (Virginia Mercury)
• Utah regulators begin a two-week hearing today that solar advocates say could “make or break” the industry in the state. (Salt Lake Tribune)

PIPELINES:
• Mountain Valley Pipeline opponents again take legal action to stop the project, asking a federal appeals court to review newly reissued permits for it to cross streams and wetlands in West Virginia and Virginia. (Roanoke Times)
• Critics say Enbridge hasn’t submitted enough documentation to the state of Michigan on the company’s plan to build a tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac for Line 5. (Michigan Radio)

ELECTRIC VEHICLES: Massachusetts awards $1.4 million in grants to promising initiatives to spread wider adoption of electric vehicles and reduce transportation emissions. (Energy News Network)

NUCLEAR: Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso introduces a bill to limit the import of uranium from Russia, aiming to support his state’s struggling uranium industry. (Casper Star-Tribune)

COMMENTARY:
• An Ohio editorial board says ratepayers across the state “deserve answers regarding the money trail behind HB 6.” (Columbus Dispatch)
• A public policy expert explores how rooftop solar could reduce transmission and distribution costs for the grid. (Energy Institute at Haas)
• Entergy’s plan to achieve “net-zero emissions” by 2050 would still rely on gas to generate as much as a quarter of its electric capacity. (Energy & Policy Institute)

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Ken Paulman

Ken is the director of the Energy News Network at Fresh Energy and is a founding editor of both Midwest Energy News and Southeast Energy News. Prior to joining Fresh Energy, he was the managing editor for online news at Minnesota Public Radio. He started his journalism career in 2002 as a copy editor for the Duluth News Tribune before spending five years at the Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a copy editor, online producer, features editor and night city editor. A Nebraska native, Ken has a bachelor's degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a master's degree from the University of Oregon. He is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors.